'London will always have places to dance, but Fabric was more than that'
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Version 0 of 1. Fabric has shut its doors after 17 years: its licence was revoked by Islington council after two drug-related deaths in June. The decision has met resistance in the political sphere and also among campaigners, who had hoped to save it. Many people will have either been to the club or heard of it. We asked for your stories and experiences of the venue. ‘I cut my teeth in Fabric as a DJ’ Simon Mills, 42, musician from Northern Ireland Fabric has been the most important venue in the UK for many years. It consistently brings in quality artists [and] puts out fresh and groundbreaking compilations. It also has a lot of respect for the underground scene and artists breaking through. It has helped shape artists and audiences alike. As one of Bent, an electronica act, we did many live shows and DJ sets there, especially around the launch of our FabricLive. 11 compilation. Our first show at Fabric was live and we’d only just started touring – there were a few technical glitches but the crowd were behind us all the way. It was always exhilarating playing there – my best performance was in Room three, where I’d finally cracked beat-matching my mixes, and built up the nerve to play more leftfield music, as well as club music. The crowd was always incredible and inspiring to play to, Fabric has the perfect atmosphere. I practically cut my teeth there as a DJ. As a punter and a performer, I’ll really miss that place. ‘I’d hide some malt loaf in a bush nearby to give me energy to cycle home’ Matt, 43, from London In recent years I visited whenever Marcel Dettmann was in town. As an older raver I didn’t want to spend the whole night there so would set my alarm and cycle down to the club to arrive about 2am, perfectly timed to get in, go to the cloakroom and get a good spot before he started his set around 3am. I’d hide some malt loaf in a bush near to where I’d parked my bike to give me some energy for the slow ride home afterwards. Clubs are having a very rough time at the moment. It’s going to make it more difficult for anyone thinking of opening a venue. Why invest all that time, effort and money into something that may get closed down at any time by a draconian council? ‘I got into the club at 10pm and didn’t leave until 12pm the next day’ Ross Greaves, 32, from Guildford I use to go to Fabric most Saturday nights and had the most amazing times with great music. I have been to Space and Amnesia but this is the best club in the world with the best soundsystem. It is very sad not just for London but for all fans of dance music everywhere. My best memory was of Fabric’s birthday party. I got into the club at 10pm and didn’t leave until 12pm the following day. London nightlife will never be the same again. ‘My first time at Fabric was an amazing experience’ Irene, 37, works in communication in London The first time I went to Fabric I was put off by the long queue outside and felt nervous, thinking about what might happen inside. I also thought it was quite expensive (£15 entry, which was a lot to me at the time). I was relatively new to clubbing at the time. What I remember most about that night was how amazing the music was. I also loved the fact that different music played in different rooms, with a very different energy depending on where you went. I had such a good time and felt so totally free. I also met various people and had different conversations. It was an amazing, unforgettable experience. Where in London can people go now to let off steam, listen to top DJs and feel alive? London is meant to be a 24-hour world-class city, but it is increasingly becoming a sterile metropolis for the ultra-rich. At this point in my life I don’t find the idea of clubbing that appealing, but I would hate for younger generations to not have a place to go and have fun. ‘It made me realise the sense of community a good nightclub could provide’ Tim Burton, 35, from London I first went when I was 19. I grew up in Woking, Surrey, where the entire nightlife consists of every single chain pub brand in the UK aligned on one violent, vomit-strewn street. Going to Fabric, as a kid who had only recently stopped wearing oversized lumberjack shirts and cream-coloured jeans, seemed an incredibly sophisticated thing to do. Everything, from the train journey to the queue, was thrilling. Everyone inside was laid-back. I spent a large part of the night listening to DJ Hype, or whichever drum’n’bass hero we had come for. Clubs and nightlife to me had been about looking hard, fights, inebriation, pulling birds and kebabs until I went to Fabric. I hadn’t realised what a caring community good dance music and a good nightclub could provide. Smiling at women just because the song was good and we were both dancing to it – that was a radical idea for 19-year-old me, but it was a good lesson to learn. I hope my son gets to live similar experiences. A city’s night-time culture says a lot about its priorities – the decimation of London’s tells me the people who run this place care more about money than fun. And that sucks. ‘It’s hard to explain to someone not into electronic music how important Fabric is’ Simon, 29, LondonIt’s hard to explain to someone not into electronic music how important clubs, and Fabric in particular, are in terms of shaping an individual’s music taste and their outlook on life. It can seem a bit cringeworthy to describe clubs in these terms, but Fabric introduced me to music, to culture, to diversity, to adulthood, in a way that I have only ever seen as overwhelmingly positive. The first time I heard dubstep was on their Room one soundsystem. I was with school friends, and it was one of our first outings in London. Everyone around you was totally confused and shocked by this new sound. No one knew how to dance to it. I remember feeling part of something. Clubs like Fabric don’t come around often: it’s a forward-thinking place, where the staff and crowd care about the music. I also feel it’s a venue that encourages artists to push boundaries. London will always have places to dance, but Fabric was more than that. ‘The first time I went clubbing I went to Fabric’ Mandy, 28, from BrightonMy first time clubbing was at Fabric when I was 18. As someone who had been mostly into rock and metal until that point, I remember dancing to Cut Chemist and DJ Format and realising how amazing this culture was. While I haven’t been to Fabric for about 10 years (my preferred genre is psytrance, which tends to be played at smaller venues) I still credit it with what got me into electronic and dance music, a culture I still enjoy many years on. ‘It’s unthinkable to imagine another club in the UK getting that lineup’ Hank, 31, from London, works in television I first visited in 2007, during the “Bloghaus” era. Having grown up in a home counties town with a godawful Liquid nightclub I had really never seen anything like it before. Finally, a place that played tunes I wanted to hear and in such a welcoming environment. It felt so impressive and hi-tech; I think it was the first place I saw a Dyson Airblade. The lineup and the night itself was amazing: Chemical Brothers, LCD Soundsystem, Justice, Busy P, The Teenagers, Santogold and future cult stars Late of the Pier and Crystal Castles (playing their first UK gig). It’s unthinkable to imagine another club in the UK getting that lineup. There are a number of great venues still knocking around in London, such as XOYO and Oval Space, but nothing really compares to Fabric. It’s the only place in the UK that really can match up to the likes of Berghain, Amnesia and Space. The places that can book big acts will either get logjammed, or there simply won’t be the space to accommodate them. |