The Walkabout bar closed after its parent company went into administration in October 2009. I would work a ten hour shift at a newspaper then drive to Bagleys to spend 5/6 hours talking to ravers, taking photos of people, checking they werent eating their tongues and giving out free condoms (Durex sponsors had given us hundreds of boxes of the things). In pictures: The history of some of London's iconic music venues 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). Then Dane Bowers went and ruined it all. But the magic was gone weve since seen the end for the Den, too. 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. 3. If anyone sees them please can you let me know? circa 1990. But we've been getting all nostalgic and wishing we could have a final drink at Limelight. 13. Depressing isnt it? Lots of good memories but it was living on borrowed time even back then in the early 00s. 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. The smell of leather was unmistakeable! The very social cafe upstairs, the dense dry-ice on the main floor with the mesmerising lasers, hottest guys, new bizarre sounds, the knowledge that the rest of England was sleeping and had no idea that such hedonism was taking place on a Sunday morning and night (you missed out Warriors) all fuelled after an initial polite and orderly wait in line to see Nick (is he out yet?) The clubbing map: What has happened to London nightlife? Eighties London: where to party like it's 1980 | London Evening Black Sheep Bar, Croydon. MoS is an institution, still respected by much of the dance music cognoscenti but derided in many quarters for having long since become the Bluewater of nightclubs; mostly now populated by coach parties from Essex. 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. Must be sat looking pretty on a fair few coffee tables to this day, The cross & turnmills, nothing did or has come close. The Astor Club was a nightclub which operated in Mayfair, London from the 1930s to the late 1970s. And good to see you the other night (I was in the ridiculous blue jacket). 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 During the 1990s, photographer Steve Eichner documented the rowdy, over-the-top debauchery that was New York City's club scene and nightlife. We list 18 things you might not know about the Limelight club, the building it was in and its links to the US. But at least theres still Visions Video Bar. Sign up to our newsletter and be the first to know about the latest fashion, travel, going out and lifestyle happenings, Subscribe to the Luxury London print edition, Celebrate the return of clubbing with a trip through the capitals infamous after dark drinking dens. 18 things that happened at former top West End nightclub - MyLondon All rights reserved. Remind trade on sat nite dj smokin joe the paradise at angel station the lazerodrome in peckam carl cox at m.o.sound crazy nite misss you. It was the trend-setting precursor to London's super clubs, and transformed the terrain of LGBTQ clubbing in the capital. Acts to have played The Scala include Foo Fighters, The Killers and Coldplay. The sad fact of the matter is that there aren't the same options there used to be. Councils across London are cracking down on late night licences. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. We put a swimming pool onthe terrace one night, fairground rides another. It was in King's Cross's golden triangle of night clubs which all shut down in the face of the area's redevelopment. Fantastic and long-needed article, thanks for bringing back the memories. It set the tone for mixed gay clubbing and for techno music especially to become more mainstream. It most certainly is me. Limelight in New York, which closed in 2001, was in the media in 1996 when Michael Alig was arrested and later convicted for the killing and dismemberment of Angel Melendez, who frequented the New York Limelight - the 2003 biopic Party Monster, starring Macaulay Culkin and Seth Green, was based on this event. Electrowerkz was the name!!! Before the Millenium Dome became the O2 Arena we know today it was home to a couple of nightclub's. As of today, we can once again form outdoor queues seemingly without point or purpose, lose our cloakroom tickets and get furiously sweaty to throbbing, seductive and oft just downright filthy beats in darkened rooms until the earliest of hours. You had, in all probability, just left Turnmills, the first club in the UK to receive a 24 hour license. 9. We also may change the frequency you receive our emails from us in order to keep you up to date and give you the best relevant information possible. It makes me feel quite sad how our communities are being transformed into bland faceless environments in some cases. Enjoyed the trip into nostalgia very much.. London, became a popular lesbian bar at the end of the 1990s. 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. Thanks to this article I have found a local website for local people. It wasnt always such a corporate machine, however. You can head back to a mate's house and lounge with a cold one until your party mood completely fades, but what if you still have itchy feet and the urge to dance? Or many others, would not stop writing and remembering about them. Those that were there will never forget and those that werent would wish they were if they knew. 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. We went to the opening night of Fabric. All the London clubs now are appearing and disappearing like mushrooms. RIP Turnmills, Im glad I was there to experience it. A dominant hair design was de rigueur. Today the building is, quite fittingly, home to an arts organisation with new plans afoot to take the arts venue into the future. As always you can unsubscribe at any time. Ask Billy if there are more? People from across the capital will flock to Herbal, an exposed brick warehouse which regularly hosted big name DJs. A string of London's best-loved night clubs have closed since 2000. When I was at DJ Magazine, Paul Oakenfold once said to me that important former nightclubs should, at very least, have a blue plaque on the wall. Timeline of London Bars and Clubs - LGBT Archive It hosted huge weekend parties that were at hit with House music fans. 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. The West End night spot was based in a former chapel on Shaftsbury Avenue until its popularity declined and sadly, it was sold on and converted into a bar. I do remember my first time in Trade and deemed it like the descent into Soddom and Gomorrah .. and there were many happy times there after!! In the 1980s some clubs opened up in Earls Court, where the rent was cheaper. Thanks Tom sad to read but glad youve documented. Because of the sleazy, druggy, mischievous late night vibe (exactly what makes such haunts so exciting), we tend to reduce their cultural significance. The street was home to the 1980s Batcave nightclub where regulars such as Robert Smith, Marc Almond and Alice Coop. I frequented all of these bar Velvet and had many a great night in all. Home (nightclub chain) - Wikipedia The End and AKA, West End1995-2009A venue that just seemed to stick in the hearts of all who frequented it, the End was an intimate basement club run by Mr C and Layo, tucked just behind High Holborn. Electric benefits from the amazing history of the Fridge. 12. (1989) "Megamix". Sir Bob Geldof had his stag do at Limelight before he married Paula Yates in 1986. In its 80s heyday, Limelight was one of London's top nightclubs and a hangout for the decade's biggest celebrities. 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. 18. We use your sign-up to provide content in the ways you've consented to and improve our understanding of you. It hosted huge weekend parties that were at hit with House music fans. I walked into the toilet and my brother was stood at the urinal. London's lost nightclubs in pictures - Time Out London Good to see http://givingupdrugsforlent.tumblr.com/ in full swing again this year. I took a diversion myself up York Way a while back and took similar snaps of Bagleys and The Cross. Pretty sure the very last ones got dished out at the end of that rather special final bash, Xmas 07. 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. Clubbing at 1990s Ministry of Sound Nightclub, London It didnt last long though. The Blow Up Metro Club, Soho2001-2009Crossrail dealt the West End club scene another blow, taking the scalp of the Metro with the same swoop of the sword that ended the Astoria. Sat 30 May 2020 17.00BST I was a fresh of the boat straight laced Kiwi lad who was let loose in London in the mid nineties , I was lucky to become a promoter of Fevah and Fahrenhite ,I was blessed with bring able to run events in most of the iconic venues , experience the glamour and the seedy side of all , to me the cream was either the sound shaft or the London Astoria , but have so many sensational memories and adventures from most . 16. It was like a small amphitheatre with the DJ the absolute centre of attraction, he says. I think great venues have heritage. 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. After all they shaped todays society in one way or another. I wouldnt even know where to go nowadays for a night out. Clubbing and raving back in the day | The Voice Online Were you a Crank? Do you want to stay up to date with the latest news, views, features and opinion from across the city? George Michael often arrived at the nightclub accompanied by a woman before he came out as gay. The five-storey building is rather wonderfully detailed inside and out. But things turned sour after after a double stabbing took place in the club, leading to its licence being revoked. A great club pre-2001. The demise of seminal clubs like Shelleys In Stoke, Quadrant Park in Liverpool and Coventrys Eclipse should also be documented. I used to be the membership girl at Freedom. Nowadays the capital's former red light district is swanky. Now can you expand on one for the rest of London please, would love to see Club UK brought back to life if only in words! it probably was ha ! In the middle years of the 60s this was the place to be seen. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. I think the concern is that given the way that redevelopment is happening across town, one day soon there wont be any suitable spaces where clubs can settle. Do you remember these South East London nightclubs? The massive venue had a 24 hour drinking licence and a 4,0000 people capacity. In the 1950s and 1960s, especially with the growing popularity of the Gateways nightclub in Chelsea, . Pre-club beers in the Backpacker, I was never really that keen on Turmills as I felt the space was a little awkward. One for you beer and one for the otherThat place was magic. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. Would love to break that story! If the Mayor grants planning permission for a huge development of flats opposite Ministry of Sound, club bosses know their days at the Elephant & Castle bus depot cum internationally renowned temple of DJ culture will be numbered. Lashana Lynch: Its inspiring to see a young black woman on screen not be perfect, The biggest films coming out in 2023 and when theyll be released, Bulgari to open Serpenti exhibition at the Saatchi Gallery. surprised Heaven isnt in thereas well as SoundshaftGood article though! Its the perfect lunchtime read. We also ran revesceen magazeen The music, the mixing, the vibe. Still, this wasnt the reason the venues got turfed; the bailiffs were eventually called in as a result of long overdue rent and bills. It is quite sad seeing a place that holds so many memories for whatever reasons e.g. Open till 5am and with no alcohol license, this, more than any other London club, marked the end of the sticky carpets and flock wallpaper design of clubs in the capital and triggered the beginning of nightspots being seen as somewhere to dance rather than a place to get hammered and attempt to grope members of the opposite sex. For a year or so, this was an explosion of androgyny, increasingly bizarre and fabulous homemade fashion and lashings of clunky, proto synths. Shelves in the loos. The clientele these days is more likely to include the sons and daughters of sheiks and potentates quaffing Cristal and dancing to mainstream RnB but the restaurant area (yes, this is one of those kinds of nightclubs) still sees the odd A-lister float by when theyre in town. 11. London's lost venues - in pictures | Music | The Guardian Heaven is a Gay superclub in Charing Cross, London, England.It has played a central role and had a major influence in the development of London's LGBT scene for the last 40 years and is home to long-running gay night G-A-Y.The club is known for Paul Oakenfold's acid house events in the 1980s, the underground nightclub festival Megatripolis, and for being the birthplace of ambient house. The energy and the hedonism of the club gave a new life to the scene and other clubs sprung up trying to emulate Trade, giving more choice to clubbers. The reality of the Swinging Sixties was that about 45 people were having an incredible time around Carnaby Street while the rest of the country continued drinking stout in working mens clubs and listening to Val Doonican. Top 5 Lost London Nightclubs of the 90s Former DJ Magazine Deputy Editor Tom Kihl investigates what happened to the clubs that once dominated London's nightlife By Tom Kihl March 1, 2013 T his week, Boris Johnson has been considering a decision that will affect the future of London's most famous nightclub. R&B Clubs And Events In London. The End just had to be #1 But Crossrail was the final nail in the coffin for the much-loved Soho venue. Astor Club - Wikipedia The works. It has St Martin's Art College in Granary Square and Thomas Heatherwick's upmarket shopping centre Coal Drops Yard. Luckily they are putting up a great fight, so Ministry wont find itself demolished just yet. He then says, whilst his tash does this little dance/shuffle thing, in the deepest booming, bass-like voice Awighht, Lads, you havin yerselves a good night, then? Me and my brother just cracked up. This week, Boris Johnson has been considering a decision that will affect the future of Londons most famous nightclub. Over the next few pages, we show you whats become of these former nightlife hotspots, and pay tribute to the glorious madness they once hosted. At the Astoria I met a bloke who ended up being my significant other for a decade. I dont think so. Sign up to our weekly email. Great memories of perhaps the greatest clubbing/club music period history has known! Its sudden closure came as a big shock to staff and owners; Network Rail turned up with angle grinders, cut through the metal shutters and took possession of the venue so it could go ahead with its station upgrade plans. Breaks my heart to see whats happened. Here are some of the South London clubs and bars that are sadly no more. Home. There were a couple of years I was there 8 nights out of the Christmas/ New Year season. Remaining stock was given away free at the apocalyptically hedonistic farewell party so they do crop up online occasionally. Founded in an old bus garage in 1991, its far from salubrious location deep in pre-gentrification Elephant and Castle gave it genuine edge. Maybe we can campaign to put a blue plaque up on the inevitable bland glass front of its replacement I wonder what on earth it would say?! Lead singer of the pop group Visage Steve Strange (left) pictured with Boy George at London's Limelight. The history of London's 10 greatest live music venues A former Goth club with 2/3 rooms over 2 floors. Plus Lion & Unicorn and LGBTQ History Month, Black History Month 2022: 5 picks across Camden, Foodscape: own a vertical plot in Londons first urban farm, Queer Jubilee: Drag at Zabludowicz, Queer Britain and Mighty Hoopla, LGBTQ History Month 2022: top 10 Camden & Islington highlights, My Boy Danny: the acclaimed play tackling LGBTQ hate crime, Where to find the summer special issue and whats in it. I couldnt do it now, but I so glad I did it all then. The Cross, bouncers nicking you gear *unts. Even more so for you, of course! Bagleys was always my favourite. It closed in 2010 to make way for housing, flats and a theatre, in a high street regeneration scheme. lol, The tranny on stilts LuvDup were djing (one of them fell over on the stage), Princess Julia was stood by the decks dancing. We had amazing nights, including joint parties with labrynth and raindance. RM 2HTCTTN - Ace Cinema, Alexandra Avenue, Rayners Lane, Harrow, London, 1983. Cheers Mike. The small room was great. London Boys singles chronology. What is the Cross Book? So sad to see it all boarded up. A bare room with the most rudimentary of bars at one end (cans of Red Stripe or nothing) in a Hoxton basement, the place came to prominence in the Nineties and Noughties as an incubator for dubstep and for possessing one of the greatest sound systems ever owned by a nightclub. I will be following developments closely. In its 80s heyday, Limelight was one of London's top nightclubs and a hangout for the decade's biggest celebrities. When 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. If you screwed up, you were thrown to the lions. After 14 years, however, its owners wanted to move on, saying they wanted to leave on a high. Fabric is the Only venue to stick to its principles avoiding putting in any old rubbish that draws a crowd. Wednesday 10 June 2015. Limelight in London was one of a string of Limelight clubs owned by Canadian Peter Gatien - other Limelight clubs in the chain were in Hallandale in Florida, Atlanta, Chicago and New York City. 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. This made me rather emotional. 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? Those Cranks days were the era that I fully embraced the concept of the 3-night sleepless weekender and other wonderous, if slightly unprofessional, ways to fill the hours between shifts. musical boundaries being broken, relationships being formed, inspiration etc, is then taken and truned into something else. Have to confess my favorites were Frantic at the Academy, and The Fridge. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website. Essex nightlife: The 13 iconic nightclubs and bars around - EssexLive Amen. Thanks for the article, brought back awesome memories!
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