It wasnt always such a corporate machine, however. Cans of beer It was the venues teen parties that got it into hot water, however, when police found evidence of underage drinking there in 2009. In the 90s, it was all about wild weekly party Love Muscle, one of the capitals most renowned gay nights. In one fell swoop, however, the Cross, Canvas and the Key were culled in favour of the regeneration of Kings Cross. 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. We use your sign-up to provide content in the ways you've consented to and improve our understanding of you. Fictional clubs. The MyLondon team tells London stories for Londoners. At Camden a Palace, I met my best friend, who is now the godmother of my 7 year old son. I will never stop thinking it was incredible. 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. 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. Four Aces, Dalston1966-1998In what was, ostensibly, a simpler time for Dalston, the Four Aces was the areas flagship club. The likes of Oasis and Nirvana played there and it hosted regular LGBT club nights. Top 5 London Nightclubs of the 90s - Kentishtowner Eight Liverpool nightclubs from the 90s everyone still remembers They also gave these out at the closing party in a goodie bag with a poster and a sleeping mask! Today the building is, quite fittingly, home to an arts organisation with new plans afoot to take the arts venue into the future. The place has many special memories for many people. Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right. It was made for DJs by DJs and those who fumbled fumbled spinning the decks were quickly called out by the crowd. 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. These might have often been dank, crumbling, smelly old places, but they are where countless people enjoyed some of the most intense and vital moments of their lives. 2023 Guardian News & Media Limited or its affiliated companies. Have to confess my favorites were Frantic at the Academy, and The Fridge. Memorable days and nights. Back then, the huge 2,000 capacity venue was a Saturday night lockout and one . 3. next. List of gentlemen's clubs in London - Wikipedia The music, the mixing, the vibe. Madame JoJo's closure was a massive blow to Soho 's nightlife scene. Boy George was a regular at this New Romantics haunt which hosted some of the capital's biggest gay nights. 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. 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. Sir Bob Geldof had his stag do at Limelight before he married Paula Yates in 1986. Remember one night trying to adjust the needles for them not to jump on the vinyls. Remaining stock was given away free at the apocalyptically hedonistic farewell party so they do crop up online occasionally. In the 1980s some clubs opened up in Earls Court, where the rent was cheaper. 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. 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!! I think great venues have heritage. Here are some of the South London clubs and bars that are sadly no more. Some partners do not ask for your consent to process your data and rely on their legitimate business interest. No Bar Rumba though? 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. Darling, Fantastic article how about expanding the idea to the rest of the country. The place declined to the point that, by the 1980s, it was a strip club but was bought out and re-styled as a members only A-list speakeasy in 2012, now attracting Noel Gallagher, Mark Ronson, Harry Styles et al. 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?) My favourite break-time activity was to go up to the rafters and watch everybody raving. Plus I think Friction was there for a bit to. I remember Bagleys that was a long time ago. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. 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. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. Nice read Scary thought that Ive actually worked at all of them!!! lol, The tranny on stilts Because of the sleazy, druggy, mischievous late night vibe (exactly what makes such haunts so exciting), we tend to reduce their cultural significance. George Michael often arrived at the nightclub accompanied by a woman before he came out as gay. club uk was awesome, so was the complex, leisure lounge, the cross, turnmills, home in leciester square, camden palace, ku club in leicester square.. All gone I was there though so the memories stay ! Top 5 Lost London Nightclubs of the 90s - The pace of progress eh? 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. Do you remember these South East London nightclubs? 59 old bars and nightclubs we wish we could bring back for one last With alternate Saturdays at Happiness Stan's/Fourplay at Smith's and the Jazz Bistro in Farringdon. 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. Home. I was the promoter of Double Dipped at Bagleys on Friday nights around 91 93 Oasis performed their debut London show at The . The sound shaft and heaven where legendary , as was the London Astoria, Fascinating to read about the origins and teams behind such monumental moments in Londons clubbing history. 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. Wednesday 10 June 2015. London Nights - Wikipedia If anyone sees them please can you let me know? Peter Gatien is mentioned in the lyrics of three songs: 17. Astoria in Charing Cross Road was London's largest live music club for years. Ruby Violet: NW5s pioneering ice cream parlour to close, Let It Roll Records closes. Great article. 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. Ironically, the development never happened and the club was eventually reopened as the Den and Centro. The regulars often spent hours preparing for the night, and the morning the night morphed into. When Limelight fell out of favour as a celebrated nightspot it was sold and in 2003 became a Walkabout bar. In the 1950s and 1960s, especially with the growing popularity of the Gateways nightclub in Chelsea, . Nowadays the capital's former red light district is swanky. Glad you like it Phil. But sadly it never recovered from the initial closure and was put up for sale in 2010. 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. 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. Im rambling anyway. 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. Despite a big campaign to save it, the club fell victim to a compulsory purchase order from Hackney council to build a new cinema. Trying to find your mates Now the industrial area, which was once a high-density party hotspot, is the site of one of the capitals biggest modern developments. No 6 - Bagleys - London Bagleys was one of London's largest venues throughout the Nineties. 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. I love this article! I found some of the pictures a couple of weeks ago including some rather x-rated ones. Turning around and seeing floor fountains and Mail on Sunday readers sipping lattes and eating Danish pastries made my heart sink. 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. It was around 2000 and I remember those times as probably the best of my life. Located in the west lodge outside Euston Station, it ran from 1995 to 2008. Electric benefits from the amazing history of the Fridge. Love it, smiling from ear to ear thinking about some of them. The immovable object of the London clubbing scene. After searching for ages Ive just stumbled across an archaic website that still has photos and even videos of all three Kings Cross clubs Canvas, The Cross and The Key. Every club claims that its all about the music but in Plastic Peoples case, the ideology really did manifest. OMG London clubbing in the 90s, was there ever a time in history that was better? It has St Martin's Art College in Granary Square and Thomas Heatherwick's upmarket shopping centre Coal Drops Yard. I used to go to Whoop it Up every Friday during 1998-2002; it was a fantastic place to go. Before and during the Second World War, most lesbian bars and clubs were found in central London. 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). The brand name is constantly evolving and the club continues to survive despite numerous threats of closure. Killjoy councils, student debt and stolen phones: the slow death of British clubs, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning. As always you can unsubscribe at any time. The Moonstone, St John's Precinct, 1974, from The Lost Pubs and Clubs of Liverpool City Centre DVD by John Harrison Barry Fairfield said: "Great memories, my favourite club was The Beachcomber." 53.