Doesnt seem that long now. The regulars often spent hours preparing for the night, and the morning the night morphed into. He was about 50 years old and massive. Peter Gatien is mentioned in the lyrics of three songs: 17. You can withdraw your consent or find out more by clicking on our Privacy Policy link below. The arcade room downstairs Renowned for their sexy vibes, pumping playlists and heaving dancefloors, we've been out to track down the very best places for music in London. Sad to see the old clubs flattened, but everyone clearly took so much from their experiences there that I hope the post is also a real celebration. In 2018 it was bought by chain The Deltic Group and given a. When Limelight fell out of favour as a celebrated nightspot it was sold and in 2003 became a Walkabout bar. Memories of its glamorous showbiz past as one of the places to be seen in London in the 1980s echo around through the wall of this beautiful piece of architecture. Before and during the Second World War, most lesbian bars and clubs were found in central London. Since June 15, non-essential shops have been able to reopen and now leisure attractions are starting to open as well. Some partners do not ask for your consent to process your data and rely on their legitimate business interest. 4. Wow, it was a long time ago. Ah. Great article. These cookies do not store any personal information. But if you were part of that tiny privileged crowd then you would have been drinking, dancing and pestering David Bailey to take your portrait in Scotch of St. James. circa 1990. A club with really innovative nights and for the hardcore Metalheadz on a Sunday night. (1989) "Megamix". 3 books with local connections, Two cultural winter highlights: La Maupin and LuYang, 3 things to consider: Makers Market, New Wine Bar and Live Jazz, Leigh Hunt and the secret history of 13 Mortimer Terrace NW5, Its 10 years since Fields Beneath, Camden Brewery, The Grafton and Pizza East opened, The Parakeet, Kentish Town: what you need to know, The Parakeet Kentish Town: ex-Brat chef in the kitchen, A beginners guide to.Harringay Green Lanes. The Cross, Kings Cross 1993-2007Speaking to Time Out after its closure, Billy Reilly, who ran a road haulage company in Kings Cross before opening warehouse venue the Cross, admitted that back in 1993 he, didnt know Judge Jules from Judge Dredd. The Whirlitzer seating in The Cross Garden It closed in 2010 to make way for housing, flats and a theatre, in a high street regeneration scheme. Want the best food, film, music, arts and culture news in London sent straight to your inbox? All rights reserved. Written by. As always you can unsubscribe at any time. Glad to have been part of that London dance scene. Want the best food, film, music, arts and culture news in London sent straight to your inbox? Great article Tom. And since the turn of the Millennium some of our city's best party establishments have had to close. Great article, and Ill second and third and fourth what has been said here. Its also a shame to lose 93 Feet East recently too. Punters at The Bubble Club, The Que Club, 1996. I was the promoter of Double Dipped at Bagleys on Friday nights around 91 93 (Photo by Carl Allen) 7 Sir George Robey/Powerhaus, Seven Sisters Road Sign up to our weekly email. Remaining stock was given away free at the apocalyptically hedonistic farewell party so they do crop up online occasionally. 1. Many thanks We use your sign-up to provide content in the ways you've consented to and improve our understanding of you. In the 1990s, the scene reverted back to Soho, revitalised by new style bars like The Village. Madame JoJo's closure was a massive blow to Soho 's nightlife scene. By the mid-1990s the venue was no longer used as a cinema, instead functioning as a music venue, nightclub and snooker hall. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. Even if we cant and possibly shouldnt prevent their almost inevitably fleeting existence. Big small club! I took a diversion myself up York Way a while back and took similar snaps of Bagleys and The Cross. And there are also some intriguing facts about the nightclub's sister venues across the pond. With a capacity of barely 200, the vibe, somehow, always kept its intimate, non-exclusive air. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. Speaking to the Guardian after its closure, Marcus Harris, who co-ran the venues long-running indie night White Heat, described it as a community of fringe culture. SeOne, London Bridge2002-2010It was billed as Londons biggest nightclub, a 3,000-capacity venue set in a vast set of arches beneath London Bridge station, known for big-name Saturday nighters as well as regular Moondance raves. Boy George worked the cloakrooms, Spandau Ballet played their early gigs here and you simply (for better or worse) would never have heard Ultravox or Visage were it not for the Blitz Club. Today, bar the indefatigable fabric, its secret warehouse parties all the way invariably cold, austere and over crowded, with awful sound and non existent facilities (one toilet between 500, anyone?) The Blitz Kids were the gang who unofficially ran the club, with members included Gary and Martin Kemp from Spandau, dance choreographer supremo-to-be Michael Clark and Siobhan Fahey (later of Bananarama). The music, the mixing, the vibe. Anyone have a time machine so I can attend the all night Cox party or a Laurent Garnier night. Now, is that the same Tom Kihl I employed in the heady days of Covent Garden based vegetarian restaurants? Andy Warhol, Tina Turner, Rod Stewart, Grace Jones, Debbie Harry, Village People's Randy Jones and Tom Cruise were all names seen at the Atlanta club, which closed in 1985. Limelight in London opened in 1985 in a Grade II listed former Welsh Presbyterian church in Shaftsbury Avenue in the West End borough of Westminster. Luckily they are putting up a great fight, so Ministry wont find itself demolished just yet. With the post-lockdown future of so many live music venues in doubt, Paul Tallings new book is a timely reminder of what we have already lost. Ive loved reading ur write up about the old clubs and the memories came flooding back with the pics!! The Fridge, Brixton1981-2010When it opened, the Fridge was the club of the New Romantics Boy George was a regular before becoming famous for its nights hosted by Soul II Soul. Bagley's, King's Cross (1990-2008) Instagram The massive warehouse club in King's Cross was a close as you could get to a legal rave. Our journalists cover all the news you need - from City Hall to your local streets, so you'll never miss a moment. But its about the memories though, for me. 13. We could party on until 1pm without worrying if the police were going to turn up, says Smokin Jo, who was resident DJ at the night. A producers first booking at the club was a serious rite of passage. Great article and very sad reading. Its really sad that the times have achanged and in a reflection of this, all these fantastic places are being bulldozed. But I will never forget the fabulous nights and camaraderie that I shared with friends and total strangers whilst waving my hands in the air like I just didnt care x, I met my husband at The Cross in 2004, now happily married with kids. I was there at the closing parties on the last two nights without leaving! Fact is we WERE around when these incredible bastions of modern culture were in their pomp negotiating a route through the tunnel room at Turnmills, walking up that incredibly long slope towards the cab rank at 5am after The Cross and getting hopelessly lost in those pokey rooms at the bottom of Bagleys. A great article , and so sad that many of these truly iconic places may be but a memory in the minds of millions . The End just had to be #1 But the party was brought to an abrupt end after a stabbing there led it to lose its licence and subsequent closure. -d(-L-)b-. The duo ran the popular basement club in Holborn for years. It was almost impossible due to vibration from the soundsystem Later feeling sick in the stomach because of the same reason. Sadly, the chances of mere mortals gaining access to the club today are about as likely as Keith Moon making an appearance and he died in 1978. Maggie's, 329 Fulham Road, SW10 9QL, maggies-club.com The Jazz Caf 5 Parkway Every Saturday night, the Jazz Caf hosts I Love the 80s v I Love the 90s, a retro night combining all the best bits of. MyLondon's brilliant newsletter The 12 is absolutely jam packed with all the latest to keep you keep you entertained, informed and uplifted. It makes me feel quite sad how our communities are being transformed into bland faceless environments in some cases. The demise of seminal clubs like Shelleys In Stoke, Quadrant Park in Liverpool and Coventrys Eclipse should also be documented. But in London most places turf revellers out well before 4am and there's a severe lack of "after hour" options. Throughout the 90s and 00s the venue attracted party-lovers from far and wide and also played host to a number of big-name acts. Peter Gatien's daughter Jen Gatien made a documentary called Limelight in 2011, about New York City night life in the 1990s and the rise and fall of her father's club empire. Would love to break that story! . In its 80s heyday, Limelight was one of London's top nightclubs and a hangout for the decade's biggest celebrities. And while theres nothing worse than the club bore going on about how the music and the parties were so much better back in the day, we should give these classic institutions more reverence. We forgive all this because nightclubs in our fair city also provide some of the most euphorically happy moments of collective felicity and joy that well experience in the course of our lives. . By the 90s, everyone from Desmond Dekker to the Prodigy had played there. I walked into the toilet and my brother was stood at the urinal. The place was a really important hub for the fledgling dubstep family, says 6Music DJ Mary Anne Hobbs, who went to FWD>> religiously in the mid-2000s. The first Limelight club opened in Hallendale, Florida in the 1970s and after a devastating fire later that decade, Gatien opened his next Limelight venue in Atlanta. October 2018 the anonymous landlord of the former chapel won planning approval from Westminster council to upscale the venue into a major performance venue on the West End's arts scene with a restaurant and basement bar, run by Stone Nest. From sweaty rave spots to Soho institutions, these are the iconic nightlife haunts we most miss. People queuing to get into The Cross mid 1990s, Madame Jojo's in London's Soho closed after losing its licence in 2014, The O2 Arena was once a massive nightclub, The Good Ship supported emerging artists and comedians and was a gem of the London gig scene. In the 1950s and 1960s, especially with the growing popularity of the Gateways nightclub in Chelsea, . Bagleys was always my favourite. But many of the places that clubbers flocked to every weekend in their thousands in the post-Criminal Justice Act heyday are being erased from todays landscape. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. London Night Guide is your nightlife concierge for the most best clubs in London. It has St Martin's Art College in Granary Square and Thomas Heatherwick's upmarket shopping centre Coal Drops Yard. Nice read Scary thought that Ive actually worked at all of them!!! Despite a big campaign to save it, the club fell victim to a compulsory purchase order from Hackney council to build a new cinema. Matter, Greenwich2008-2010It was perhaps always a slightly over-optimistic proposition opening a nightclub in Greenwich, let alone one inside the Millennium Dome, but if anyone was going to have a good stab at it, then it would be the pair behind Fabric: Cameron Leslie and Keith Reilly. I Did the lighting and laser systems at turnmills for many different promoters. The five-storey building is rather wonderfully detailed inside and out. It was one of the premiere south London nightspots of the time, with Glenn Miller, Audrey Hepburn and Charlie Chaplin among the top names to grace its stage. The venue reopened as Electric Brixton the following year, but as owner Andrew Czezowski told the South London Press when it was put up for sale: Whoever buys it, if they buy it, they are only getting bricks and mortar., Cable, London Bridge2009-2013This cavernous 1,300-capacity club, located beneath the railway arches of London Bridge station, was as renowned among clubbers for its airport-style security as for its bass-heavy parties and rapid rise as a significant dance music brand. Ill email you! The music was smooth and progressive, which moved into a feeling of just less than trance. Excellent piece Tom. Oasis performed their debut London show at The . London nightclubs facing 'perfect storm' of threats . How weve missed it all: the overly zealous bouncers in high vis jackets by the entrance, the larcenously overpriced plastic bottles of water, the sweaty bloke in the gents toilets who rents the watered down cologne and Chupa Chups lollies concession and the DJ whose pretence of being a serious artist is such that he spends his six hour set peering down at his decks in the manner of an A Level geography student cramming for the final exam. The street was home to the 1980s Batcave nightclub where regulars such as Robert Smith, Marc Almond and Alice Coop. The massive venue had a 24 hour drinking licence and a 4,0000 people capacity. 3. next. Read more: Has Covid-19 ended Sohos indie spirit for good? The pictures are quite shocking, but their club history often deliciously more so. Slightly off topic but I fear for the Camden Brewery bars license once the new posh flats open at Talacre. Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right. Seems quite a few people would like to get their hands on The Cross book dont suppose youve got a lockup full of a last, forgotten batch? Saw Joey Negro play there a few times. I will be following developments closely. Before the Millenium Dome became the O2 Arena we know today it was home to a couple of nightclub's. But before it was shut down to make way for King's Cross redevelopment, The Cross Club's six arches would fill with partygoers every weekend. There were a couple of years I was there 8 nights out of the Christmas/ New Year season. No Bar Rumba though? Top 5 Lost London Nightclubs of the 90s - The pace of progress eh? We took a nostalgic look back at some of the capital's notorious nightclubs which have all closed since 2000. how about PLEASED on a wednesday at the Velvet underground !!! Central to the Black jazz scene at the time, and closely linked with African. When record producer and DJ Paul Oakenfold went to Ibiza in 1985 to celebrate his birthday, he hired a villa and invited then-unknown DJs Nicky Holloway, Pete Tong and Danny Rampling. Ask Billy if there are more? I love this article! Gaz ran a weekly night there from. Herbal, Shoreditch2000-2009It was small (and sweaty) but Herbal consistently pounded out some of the best drum and bass in the capital, filling out every Sunday for Grooveriders seminal night, Grace, as well as regularly hosting the likes of Goldie and the Metalheadz crew. Many clubs in London's West End (Gullivers, Gossips, Crackers, Africa Centre, the 100 Club) and areas like Hackney, Haringey, Brent, Ealing and Lambeth, were now creating a new experience of. Having recently celebrated its 50th birthday, Tramp has changed remarkably little in the half century since the small door on Jermyn Street in Mayfair opened its doors. I remember Bagleys that was a long time ago. From the weekly FWD>> nights, where the UK bass scene emerged, to the broken beat nights Co-op, this was a club that managed to evolve and change while somehow remaining the same for over 20 years, a run that ended only when long-standing manager Charlotte Kepel felt the time was right to pull the plug in 2015. Proud2, Greenwich 2011-2012Following the closure of Matter, Alex Proud became the next investor to have a go at making a nightclub at the O2 work. For a year or so, this was an explosion of androgyny, increasingly bizarre and fabulous homemade fashion and lashings of clunky, proto synths. In its 80s heyday, Limelight was one of London's top nightclubs and a hangout for the decade's biggest celebrities. Peter Gatien produced the 1993 film A Bronx Tale after having produced it as a one-man play. At that time the venue was owned by Terry (cant rememember his surname) and hed made his money from jiffy condoms and then for some reason he got involved with starting up bagleys as a venue Pretty sure the very last ones got dished out at the end of that rather special final bash, Xmas 07. A perfect storm of London property economics, redevelopment zones and major transport improvements (rather than any lack of interest from music fans) has seen off an unprecedented number of key venues in the last few years. Fictional clubs. Memories from each venue for sure. In Berlin you can rave for days at the Berghain without ever having to leave and in Madrid no one hits the "discoteca" before 4am. the cross in king cross the best partyever is vertigo italian style, thanks Joel glad you like Electric and the Van Dyk show smashed it. Something went wrong, please try again later. 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I completely agree would be a fitting tribute to see them all immortalised appropriately in some way. Demonstrators protest against the closure of Madame JoJos, in 2014. mixed the burlesque glamour of Soho with Londons contemporary music scene, Speaking to the Guardian after its closure, Marcus Harris, Hackney council revoked the clubs licence, the capitals biggest modern developments, stand in the way of the Crossrail development, taking the scalp of the Metro with the same swoop of the sword that ended the Astoria. (1989) " London Nights " is British Europop duo London Boys ' biggest hit single, released in 1989 from their debut album, The Twelve Commandments of Dance. So while we salute the nightspots that have weathered the Covid storm, lets now recall the clubs that have fallen, not just during the pandemic but way, way before that, all of whom, in their day, contributed to the aching limbs, sore feet and empty wallets of hedonistic Londoners of yore. I used to be the membership girl at Freedom. Magic was created on those dancefloors and longstanding relationships and friends. A dominant hair design was de rigueur. Nights spent on the VIP/guestlist gate were also quite entertaining as was the office at 5am in the morning when I went to pick up my wage before driving home to my university campus in Watford. The award-winning print and online title Kentishtowner was founded in 2010 and is part of London Belongs To Me, a citywide network of travel guides for locals. One for you beer and one for the otherThat place was magic. Stealth on a Thursday night, marvellous http://wharferj.wordpress.com/2011/09/29/stealth-the-blue-note/ Crazy night. All the London clubs now are appearing and disappearing like mushrooms. It hosted huge weekend parties that were at hit with House music fans. Thats brought back some memories. Those that were there will never forget and those that werent would wish they were if they knew. For more news and featuresabout London directly to your inbox sign up to our newsletter here. I was just chatting away, when I heard this rhythmic, squeaking sound, along with heavy, thundering footsteps. Killjoy councils, student debt and stolen phones: the slow death of British clubs, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning. OMG London clubbing in the 90s, was there ever a time in history that was better? The brand name is constantly evolving and the club continues to survive despite numerous threats of closure. At the fulcrum of the acid house scene, it became absurdly popular, partly thanks to its strawberry scented smoke machines and strobe lights. best dominic madden, Sundays @ The End with The A corner crew slapping the walls to Malcom Duffy. Happy days. I will never forget it. Remember one night trying to adjust the needles for them not to jump on the vinyls. Clubs in Mayfair London are the most prestigious nightclubs in town. It was made for DJs by DJs and those who fumbled fumbled spinning the decks were quickly called out by the crowd. Keeping mine though , Sounds great, have been looking for a fb page for The Cross but cant find anything at all, would be amazing to see pics over the years, Its a hardback book called the cross 1993-2003 by j. cutting. The demise of so many iconic spaces, proper clubs, remains a tragedy for a city that still considers itself a capital of European partying. Arts charity Stone Nest began to restore and redevelop the former chapel into flexible performance space for theatre, dance, music, video and performance art in 2012. Wow. Jimi Hendrix played his first UK gig here, Paul McCartney, The Who, The Kinks, Rod Stewart and various members of the Stones all partied in this subterranean spot secreted down a cobbled mews behind Fortnum and Mason. Jon Cook. For drum and bass legend Fabio, who hosted Swerve, the clubs midweek blowout, every Wednesday, it was one of the first clubs in London built by DJs for DJs. Finally closing after 18 years in 2008, Trade never again found a permanent home as Turnmills itself was demolished; the site is now home to the most anonymous possible looking corner office block. Last modified on Tue 2 Jun 2020 05.49BST, Photograph: Ray Stevenson/REX/Shutterstock, Photograph: Dick Barnatt/Redferns & Paul Talling, Photograph: Paul Talling & Ilpo Musto/REX/Shutterstock, Photograph: Ray Stevenson/REX/Shutterstock & Paul Talling, Photograph: REX/Shutterstock & Paul Talling, Photograph: Paul Talling & Marc Sharrat/REX Shutterstock, Composite: David Corio/Redferns & Paul Talling, Photograph: Paul Talling & David Corio/Redferns, Photograph: Brendan Beirne/Rex Shutterstock & Paul Talling, Photograph: Alan Davidson/REX/Shutterstock, Photograph: Paul Talling & Ray Stevenson/REX/Shutterstock, Photograph: Suzie Gibbons/Redferns & Paul Talling, Photograph: Ray Stevenson/REX/Shutterstock & Paul Talling, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every We also ran revesceen magazeen Losing those places feels like losing a family member never to return. Don't skip a beat and sign up to The 12 newsletter here. 15. To order the clip clean and high res visit http://www.kinolibrary.com. RIP Turnmills, Im glad I was there to experience it. Keep us up to date with how your inspiration is getting on. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience. For more info on what we write about and why, see our About section. In 2010 a group which was known for squatting in large homes and embassies moved into the the building. House night Freedom ran at the club for years and Philip Sallons Mud Club also took place there, as well as the Pussy Posse Party, which included mud-wrestling. Whats in the new July issue of Kentishtowner? Me and my brother went there, 2 days before we flew out to Zante in 1994. 2. The works. Will come back around and write more. Amen. If anyone sees them please can you let me know? This means that we may include adverts from us and third parties based on our knowledge of you. 16. 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