Fictional clubs. A great article , and so sad that many of these truly iconic places may be but a memory in the minds of millions . Happy days. Glad to have been part of that London dance scene. Wonderful write up of some of the clubs that paved the way for the scene today. I used to go to Whoop it Up every Friday during 1998-2002; it was a fantastic place to go. 3. Cue acid house, bucket hats, baggy T-shirts and lots of sweat. The club was renamed Canvas in 2003, when Billy Reilly took over the club, also opening the Key and the Cross next door, creating a golden triangle of clubbing in N1. In 2010 a group which was known for squatting in large homes and embassies moved into the the building. 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! 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. Bagleys/Canvas, Kings Cross1991-2007Like a legal rave, Bagleys was a huge multi-room warehouse club that held some of Londons biggest Saturday night parties. 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 triple-bowed frontage of the Ace Cinema viewed from the south-west. New venues although arguably more suitable in some considerations like Matter just dont possess the necessary special ingredient like the late great Turnmills anymore. Want the best food, film, music, arts and culture news in London sent straight to your inbox? The Astoria, Soho1976-2009Not even Londons largest live music club could stand in the way of the Crossrail development. Ok, its technically a pub and Im not sure if we were going there in 90s. 4. magazine. I found some of the pictures a couple of weeks ago including some rather x-rated ones. 1. I dont think so. Heads of whistling into the sunset. Love it, smiling from ear to ear thinking about some of them. Saw Joey Negro play there a few times. Hope youre healthy and happy The club was also hugely important for the capitals LGBT scene, hosting sellout weekly bonanza G-A-Y, known for getting stars as bright as Kylie and Britney on stage, as well as for dropping balloons on everyone at regular intervals. Hes right. We then went our seperate ways. Would love to have a peek! I stood at one and there was one in between us, unmanned. 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. 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:). 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. 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. 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. We went to the opening night of Fabric. Luckily they are putting up a great fight, so Ministry wont find itself demolished just yet. 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. Isnt that, now, the Apple shop? I half remember a night at Bagleys sitting in an ice cream fridge next to the dancefloor. No sensible drinking cautions, no smoking bans, and generally less moderation of everything. Electric benefits from the amazing history of the Fridge. Astoria in Charing Cross Road was London's largest live music club for years. 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. Peter Gatien produced the 1993 film A Bronx Tale after having produced it as a one-man play. Joe Blogs, Great article Tom and indeed sad loss for Londons once outstanding clubland. Will come back around and write more. The venue stopped running the events to save its licence, but as a result lost a lot of money through cancelled bookings and by March 2010 was broke. Many thanks I discovered house music whilst on holiday in Ibiza in 1990 and after that London was the only place on my to move to list. When Limelight fell out of favour as a celebrated nightspot it was sold and in 2003 became a Walkabout bar. This means that we may include adverts from us and third parties based on our knowledge of you. 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. Anyone have a time machine so I can attend the all night Cox party or a Laurent Garnier night. In the 1950s and 1960s, especially with the growing popularity of the Gateways nightclub in Chelsea, . Jon Cook. Losing those places feels like losing a family member never to return. A most excellent post Tom.. Must be sat looking pretty on a fair few coffee tables to this day, The cross & turnmills, nothing did or has come close. Bagleys started to go downhill for me after the drugs raid. 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. Salmon and Compass in Angel. 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. 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. Great article. Getting lost So blessed to have lived through that experience and a special mention to my ex Alan and DJ Chris McKoy. I have one precious copy, sadly. Turnmills chutney still so much messy fun. 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. 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. 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. I remember Bagleys that was a long time ago. It was around 2000 and I remember those times as probably the best of my life. The MyLondon team tells London stories for Londoners. "Harlem Desire '89". The duo ran the popular basement club in Holborn for years. Memorable days and nights. Fantastic to look through it every so often and remember what wasa very much loved and much missed club . But its about the memories though, for me. I will never stop thinking it was incredible. 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. The massive venue had a 24 hour drinking licence and a 4,0000 people capacity. 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. I worked at AKA for many years. I lost my marbles in all of these places in the 90s. Boy George was a regular at this New Romantics haunt which hosted some of the capital's biggest gay nights. 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. So move I did, all the way from Helsinki. The licence was subsequently restored, but the business was unable to avoid going into administration. Standouts would have to be Logical Progression and Gallery at Turnmills, Buzzin Fly, Ram and Underwater @ The End and Type and the mighty Peace Division @ The Cross happy, happy times. Its industrial settings and position in the centre of London made it a unique offering. 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. Was often at Bagley's but it was never my first choice. The West End establishment started out as a burlesque club but later became a staple for Central London's "fringe-culture" community. Doesnt seem that long now. Had some amazing times in those clubs, never to repeated in TBA East London warehouses. 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. It was around the corner from Angel station. It set the tone for mixed gay clubbing and for techno music especially to become more mainstream. We use your sign-up to provide content in the ways you've consented to and improve our understanding of you. The music, the mixing, the vibe. All this created the friendliest and most fun crowd on the clubbing scene. The massive warehouse club in King's Cross was a close as you could get to a legal rave. I frequented all of these bar Velvet and had many a great night in all. Ah. The best til last- no one did it like The End. We also ran revesceen magazeen Top 5 Lost London Nightclubs of the 90s - The pace of progress eh? 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. I used to do the guest list at Freedom! 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. We list 18 things you might not know about the Limelight club, the building it was in and its links to the US. 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. And good to see you the other night (I was in the ridiculous blue jacket). You had, in all probability, just left Turnmills, the first club in the UK to receive a 24 hour license. Real friendships were made, some that lasted a few hours and some, decades. George Michael often arrived at the nightclub accompanied by a woman before he came out as gay. Reliving my 20s again still with a younger GF (cliche alert) and the new wave of EDM. Big small club! Bob Geldof had his stag do at Limelight before he married Paula Yates, George Michael (pictured here in 1992) was often seen at Limelight with a woman on his arm, Inside the former Welsh chapel which was once home to the Limelight nightclub. 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. It became louder and louder. It was 2 for a beer which was great value at the time. The historic venue, which hosted game-changing concerts from the likes of Oasis, Manic Street Preachers and Nirvana, was bulldozed in 2009 to make room for a bigger ticket hall at Tottenham Court Road tube station. Great memories of perhaps the greatest clubbing/club music period history has known! Surely he must be out by now. Our journalists cover all the news you need - from City Hall to your local streets, so you'll never miss a moment. 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. 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. It was in King's Cross's golden triangle of night clubs which all shut down in the face of the area's redevelopment. Ill email you! Oh, the most impressive handlebar tash I have ever seen on a Man. The End on a Friday and Turnmill on a Saturday were more my thing. 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. hope youre well? All rights reserved. 10. Its loyal following of drum and bass fans would flock there every Wednesday for Swerve, the legendary midweek session. And there are also some intriguing facts about the nightclub's sister venues across the pond. 8. We WERE there, we DID live it, and now were sentimental old bastards. 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. Then Dane Bowers went and ruined it all. Keep us up to date with how your inspiration is getting on. I had some of the best days of my life there!