Mike Nolan from Bucks Fizz appeared at the club in 1997, and boy band D.V.S and singing star Caprice also made memorable appearances. http://www.moviemakersguide.com/data/c/cross0630/cross0630a.htm. A string of London's best-loved night clubs have closed since 2000. Luckily they are putting up a great fight, so Ministry wont find itself demolished just yet. A great club pre-2001. A linchpin in London's dubstep scene, it was a shock for bass-loving partiers when the Shoreditch venue announced its sudden closure in 2015. Stars from the world of the music who were regulars at the nightclub included Boy George, Duran Duran, Spandau Ballet and Steve Strange. Nowadays the capital's former red light district is swanky. Former DJ Magazine Deputy Editor Tom Kihl investigates what happened to the clubs that once dominated London's nightlife. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. Hearing those tunes led to me pestering the record shops for a record I didn;t kow the name of, who it was by but it went something like this Mmmm, mmm,mm uh-uh dah-dah! Its really sad that the times have achanged and in a reflection of this, all these fantastic places are being bulldozed. 9. There are now just 1,733 venues compared with 3,144 in 2005 and in the last 10 years London has lost 10 top clubs. Great article. 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. Remember one night trying to adjust the needles for them not to jump on the vinyls. Fantastic and long-needed article, thanks for bringing back the memories. Stealth on a Thursday night, marvellous http://wharferj.wordpress.com/2011/09/29/stealth-the-blue-note/ According to its owners, the time felt right to move on. 9/10 you lose 1 point for making me feel old! Nice article Tom, brought back some memories. All rights reserved. The five-storey building is rather wonderfully detailed inside and out. Good to see http://givingupdrugsforlent.tumblr.com/ in full swing again this year. Sign up to our weekly email. I remember one of their selling points was drinks at pub prices. Sold out, obviously, although there might be a ticket on the door for 30. At the Astoria I met a bloke who ended up being my significant other for a decade. Something went wrong, please try again later. Or did that go the way of the marbles?! Hi Martyn! It had its licence revoked after a "serious incident of disorder" in 2014 and its closure left many Londoners with heavy hearts. 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. 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 dont think so. They are where modern electronic music was crafted, where couples met then got married, where career paths changed and a whole generation learned about the highs and the lows of unbridled hedonism. The best til last- no one did it like The End. 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. All the new secret location parties `I work in these days are usually stuck in cold,dirty and faceless arches. Copyright 2023 London Belongs To Me Ltd|All Rights Reserved|More info: With your agreement, we and our partners (click on 'Find Out More' below for a list) use cookies or similar technologies to store, access, and process personal data like your visit on this website, IP addresses and cookie identifiers. 3. 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. The venue hosted international DJs as well as some seminal club nights such as broken beat fix Co-op and dubstep-founding FWD>>. We do have to move on though and surely there are opportunities for a new generation of people who want to create new nightclub venues, with fresh ideas. 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 triple-bowed frontage of the Ace Cinema viewed from the south-west. Nice article that has brought back some wonderful memories. We had amazing nights, including joint parties with labrynth and raindance. London Night Guide is your nightlife concierge for the most best clubs in London. Anyone who is anyone has DJd there over the years (as the endless MoS series of album releases testifies), including Paul Oakenfold, Pete Tong and Armand Van Helden. As of 2021, MoS now also has its own record label, gym, cruise ship franchise and full size members only shared workspace on Borough Road incorporating private offices, a cinema, meeting rooms for hire and a full service restaurant. Hey Janine, I remember you well! -d(-L-)b-. 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. We use your sign-up to provide content in the ways you've consented to and improve our understanding of you. The gay scene in London has always been centred around the West End, especially Soho. I was the promoter of Double Dipped at Bagleys on Friday nights around 91 93 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. By the 1990s gay venues across the country started to transform. Salmon and Compass in Angel. 7. Many a themed student bash was hosted at London Bridge's notorious Cable Club in the mid 2000s. 12. Bagleys was always my favourite. Big small club! Glad you like it Phil. I worked at AKA for many years. Astoria in Charing Cross Road was London's largest live music club for years. 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. Punters at The Bubble Club, The Que Club, 1996. You had, in all probability, just left Turnmills, the first club in the UK to receive a 24 hour license. Historic Brick Lane: Black and white photographs depict the rapid Sir Bob Geldof had his stag do at Limelight before he married Paula Yates in 1986. 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. I completely agree would be a fitting tribute to see them all immortalised appropriately in some way. At the fulcrum of the acid house scene, it became absurdly popular, partly thanks to its strawberry scented smoke machines and strobe lights. Wow, it was a long time ago. 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? These days? Same here. Ironically, the development never happened and the club was eventually reopened as the Den and Centro. If anyone sees them please can you let me know? The End just had to be #1 1. Top 5 Lost London Nightclubs of the 90s - The pace of progress eh? We WERE there, we DID live it, and now were sentimental old bastards. Today the building is, quite fittingly, home to an arts organisation with new plans afoot to take the arts venue into the future. Bagleys moody security also trying to half in your gak. In pictures: The history of some of London's iconic music venues Its hours ran from 3am to 1pm on a Sunday afternoon, handily catering to the predominantly gay crowd who wanted to carry on partying after clubs like G-A-Y and Heaven closed. Enjoyed the trip into nostalgia very much.. Had some amazing times in those clubs, never to repeated in TBA East London warehouses. Bring your dancing shoes and prepare for a night packed with tunes from the likes of Rihanna, Nicki Minaj, Drake, Beyonce and Jay-Z as we introduce the best R&B events . Those that were there will never forget and those that werent would wish they were if they knew. Special times in special places all round though. It was hip long before Shoreditch was, and paved the way for the plethora of nightlife venues that have popped up in the area since. 8. London's lost nightclubs in pictures - Time Out London have always wondered where he is now and what hes up to. It was the image I had in my head before we got there of what Heaven might be like and then this guy walked in. The Norman-style Welsh Chapel was built in 1888 by James Cubitt for inner London's Welsh community and was empty for 15 years before it found new life as nightclub Limelight. The exterior of Hammersmith Palais nightclub in 1968 when it was still known as Hammersmith Palais de Danse . Was often at Bagley's but it was never my first choice. After all, it did have a capacity pushing 4,000 people and a 24-hour drinking licence. In the 90s, it was all about wild weekly party Love Muscle, one of the capitals most renowned gay nights. it probably was ha ! I Did the lighting and laser systems at turnmills for many different promoters. 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. It wasnt always such a corporate machine, however. The massive warehouse club in King's Cross was a close as you could get to a legal rave. This labryinth of a club was under the arches of London Bridge station and got packed out with sweaty 20-somethings without fail every weekend. My favourite break-time activity was to go up to the rafters and watch everybody raving. The spot is now a lap dancing club called The Red Rooms. 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. Never crossed my mind that even the buildings would be gone. What I would say is be glad we are the ages we are. But the party was brought to an abrupt end after a stabbing there led it to lose its licence and subsequent closure. #5 Where could you find warehouse raving complete with funfair rides right in the heart of the capital? 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. Despite quality residencies from the likes of Hospitality and a body kinetic dance floor, the club eventually closed due to financial difficulties, blamed on delays with the upgrade to the Jubilee line. When the lease ran out, Turnmills left amicably, leaving the buildings owners to develop the site into an office block. And good to see you the other night (I was in the ridiculous blue jacket). 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.