In its 80s heyday, Limelight was one of London's top nightclubs and a hangout for the decade's biggest celebrities. Ive loved reading ur write up about the old clubs and the memories came flooding back with the pics!! We took a nostalgic look back at some of the capital's notorious nightclubs which have all closed since 2000. Kids going out today wont realise its a tragedy, but it is. In the 1980s some clubs opened up in Earls Court, where the rent was cheaper. It most certainly is me. Best London Club and Rave Venues that are now closed This week, Boris Johnson has been considering a decision that will affect the future of London's most famous nightclub. Great article Tom. With a capacity of barely 200, the vibe, somehow, always kept its intimate, non-exclusive air. In the 1950s and 1960s, especially with the growing popularity of the Gateways nightclub in Chelsea, . Top 5 London Nightclubs of the 90s - Kentishtowner You had, in all probability, just left Turnmills, the first club in the UK to receive a 24 hour license. Mass was a particularly important south London club, notably as the home of DMZ, which turned the venue into a pilgrimage spot for dubstep fans from way beyond the capital. We also ran revesceen magazeen Went to all of them, I think Turnmills shades it for me for atmosphere, but I probably had my best nights out at the End. Weve picked our Top 5 such venues, all of which were in stumble-home-from distance for Kentishtowners (thats why theres no Club UK for example, if youre wondering). Stir some memories with these photographs from the '90s Birmingham club and rave scene. 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. This made me rather emotional. Dirty, worn, in your face, street cred with banging, hard but funky beats. Memories from each venue for sure. Its sad though, as these were truly iconic clubs I am not from UK, but had a chance to party in Turnmills and The Fridge at their best times I felt everyone is equal kind of things there. Still, this wasnt the reason the venues got turfed; the bailiffs were eventually called in as a result of long overdue rent and bills. 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. Pubs and Clubs | Historic England 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. Glad you like it Phil. Here are some of the South London clubs and bars that are sadly no more. The cinema was never built; now locals have a block of fancy flats to enjoy instead. 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 . It always felt like it was on borrowed time after that. Good to see http://givingupdrugsforlent.tumblr.com/ in full swing again this year. I would also like to add The Blue Note to this list of sadly missed. London Boys singles chronology. I (just about) have wonderful memories of all 5 of those venues. Paul Tunkin, who ran the club night Blow Up, which took over the running of the venue in 2001, significantly raising its profile, said at the time: It is another nail in the coffin for central Londons live music and club scene.. 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. It had to close due to Network Rail redevelopment in 2013. But its about the memories though, for me. It hosted huge weekend parties that were at hit with House music fans. First there was Matter and then there was Proud2. Pete x. Im good thanks Pete. Isnt that, now, the Apple shop? Before the Millenium Dome became the O2 Arena we know today it was home to a couple of nightclub's. Magic was created on those dancefloors and longstanding relationships and friends. Clubbing at 1990s Ministry of Sound Nightclub, London List of gentlemen's clubs in London - Wikipedia 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. The spot is now a lap dancing club called The Red Rooms. 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. The Walkabout bar closed after its parent company went into administration in October 2009. I have one precious copy, sadly. Behind the clubs infamous pitch-black curtains, the dance floor was like the vortex that drew you bodily and consciously into a completely free space. I couldnt do it now, but I so glad I did it all then. 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 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. 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. He looked down at me, then to my brother, we both leant forward in unison, looked at each other, as if to say Have you seen this, dude? and then back up at him. The clubs licence was suddenly revoked after a serious incident of disorder outside the venue, in which, according to the police report, bouncers used baseball bats to fight off a customer who had been throwing bottles at them. 2. Ask Billy if there are more? By the 1990s gay venues across the country started to transform. Our journalists cover all the news you need - from City Hall to your local streets, so you'll never miss a moment. We put a swimming pool onthe terrace one night, fairground rides another. The importance of the issue has been recognised in the Mayor of London's decision to appoint a Night Tsar with responsibility for the night-time economy and the debate surrounding the 2016 closure, and subsequent reopening, of Fabric one of London's most famous clubs. 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. The sad fact of the matter is that there aren't the same options there used to be. 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! 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. They also gave these out at the closing party in a goodie bag with a poster and a sleeping mask! The venue hosted international DJs as well as some seminal club nights such as broken beat fix Co-op and dubstep-founding FWD>>. With increasing interest in the 'pink pound', gay pubs and clubs proliferated in London and other cities and towns across the country. 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. Acts to have played The Scala include Foo Fighters, The Killers and Coldplay. 10. The Astoria, Soho1976-2009Not even Londons largest live music club could stand in the way of the Crossrail development. Hope youre healthy and happy When a property developer came along offering to buy the End and its sister bar next door, AKA, they decided to accept the offer. 10. Wednesday 10 June 2015. The MyLondon team tells London stories for Londoners. MyLondon's brilliant newsletter The 12 is absolutely jam packed with all the latest to keep you keep you entertained, informed and uplifted. The arcade room downstairs Bagatelle Card Club - One of Colonel Sebastian Moran's clubs in the Sherlock Holmes story The Adventure of the Empty House. It hosted huge weekend parties that were at hit with House music fans. 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. Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right. In the 90s, it was all about wild weekly party Love Muscle, one of the capitals most renowned gay nights. Fantastic times. A great club pre-2001. If you were staggering down the Clerkenwell Road on a Sunday afternoon at around 4pm in the early '90s then you can consider yourself a true nightclub pioneer. 15. Whats in the new July issue of Kentishtowner? Great article. But in London most places turf revellers out well before 4am and there's a severe lack of "after hour" options. 3. When the lease ran out, Turnmills left amicably, leaving the buildings owners to develop the site into an office block. Velvet Rooms, Soho1993-2003Ibiza party man Nicky Holloway kickstarted this central London club originally named Velvet Underground after his previous project, Milk Bar, lost its lease. Would love to have a peek! Pre-club beers in the Backpacker, I was never really that keen on Turmills as I felt the space was a little awkward. For more info on what we write about and why, see our About section. Plus I think Friction was there for a bit to. All the new secret location parties `I work in these days are usually stuck in cold,dirty and faceless arches. So goooood memories!!!! Ive had experiences at all of these nightclub venues and brought back many memories reading your article. The history of London's 10 greatest live music venues -d(-L-)b-. 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. 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. He was about 50 years old and massive. Nice read Scary thought that Ive actually worked at all of them!!! Turnmills was the first and best, never surpassed and so fondly remembered, well as much as my pitted brain will allow. Getting lost Thanks Liam. Taking Ecstasy for the first time and experiencing the euphoria of the blissed out Balearic beats at Space nightclub, Oakenfold and his wife Jenni came home and tried to re-create it in a 300 capacity basement gym on Southwark Street. Amen. Mass and Babalou, Brixton1996-2012Bearing in mind this pair of venues were hosted within Brixtons St Matthews Church, which leased the space to them, it was always pretty cheeky for Mass to host Torture Garden events in the crypt. 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. In one fell swoop, however, the Cross, Canvas and the Key were culled in favour of the regeneration of Kings Cross. Gaz ran a weekly night there from. Remember one night trying to adjust the needles for them not to jump on the vinyls. Worse than that, advanced ticketing is now the only option promoters are now willing to risk, destroying that brilliant spontaneous thing of being in the pub and deciding who you wanted to see and where (knowing you had a good choice of reliable venues that you knew inside out.) Want the best food, film, music, arts and culture news in London sent straight to your inbox? Written by. At Camden a Palace, I met my best friend, who is now the godmother of my 7 year old son. The place has many special memories for many people. 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. However, a thumping set and fab laser show by the master PVD at the re-invented Fridge aka Electric Brixton a while ago demonstrated, with the right amount of desire, opportunity and application it can still be done. I took a diversion myself up York Way a while back and took similar snaps of Bagleys and The Cross. 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. The street was home to the 1980s Batcave nightclub where regulars such as Robert Smith, Marc Almond and Alice Coop. Sat 30 May 2020 17.00BST 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 I stood at one and there was one in between us, unmanned. The huge venue, which filled six arches, brought a Balearic party vibe to a run-down corner of London, with club nights including Glitterati and Cheeky People. Luxury London is not responsible for the content of external sites. The End on a Friday and Turnmill on a Saturday were more my thing. To order the clip clean and high res visit http://www.kinolibrary.com. Eight Liverpool nightclubs from the 90s everyone still remembers Hi Martyn! Even Prince Charles has been to the Limelight club - he was snapped getting out of the royal car as he arrived to attend a reception for the Prince's Trust at the venue in December 1997. 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. Between 1987 and 1990, when police pressure forced its closure, Shoom was where the London dance club as we know it today was born. It was almost impossible due to vibration from the soundsystem Later feeling sick in the stomach because of the same reason. Well, sort of in fairness as all venues involved being pretty blitzed. Stars from the world of the music who were regulars at the nightclub included Boy George, Duran Duran, Spandau Ballet and Steve Strange. In 2010 a group which was known for squatting in large homes and embassies moved into the the building. It was 2 for a beer which was great value at the time. It was the place to go. Despite pioneering an anything goes party culture in London, by the late noughties, the buzz was fading. 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. By the 90s, everyone from Desmond Dekker to the Prodigy had played there. Punters at The Bubble Club, The Que Club, 1996. 12. Great article. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. All rights reserved. Great article. it probably was ha ! Much better than the cross! 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. It drew in big name DJs and its club night FWD>> was a rite of passage for many Londoners going out in the early 2000s. Pete.. Killjoy councils, student debt and stolen phones: the slow death of British clubs, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning. magazine. When Limelight fell out of favour as a celebrated nightspot it was sold and in 2003 became a Walkabout bar. Trying to find your mates This week, Boris Johnson has been considering a decision that will affect the future of Londons most famous nightclub. We went to the opening night of Fabric. The Whirlitzer seating in The Cross Garden I lived in London back in the late 90s early 00s and went to all of these clubs. 15 South London clubs and bars from the 2000s we all really miss However, I do hold dear the fact I took advantage of the last ever NYE at The End..needless to say Laurent Garnier did not disappoint:). From the Kinolibrary archive film collections. It set the tone for mixed gay clubbing and for techno music especially to become more mainstream. 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