Fabric to close due to drug issues

[sir albion]

If this gets closed for apparent drug use then they may as well shut down all the prisons as well although it's obvious the land is as good as sold to developers.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

The time has come for me to wade into this thread.

I have been to Fabric on over 50 occasions. For a period in the 2000s I was there every weekend doing a full seven hour stint of a Friday or Saturday night, depending on what night I fancied and who was on.

I loved it. I absolutely loved it. And despite the fact that in recent years my visits have become considerably less frequent, due primarily to the fact that I've gotten older and less capable of going all night, I hold Fabric in the same esteem as you might your childhood home. It was a second home for me, outlasting pretty much every home I've enjoyed since that fateful day I finally grew wings and moved out of my parents' house at the age of 22.

Am I gutted to see the demise of this internationally important London super club? More than words can say.

In all of the many visits I made to Fabric since it opened never once was I treated like some druggy wreckhead and I was regularly welcomed as the type of punter the venue thrived upon. I wasn't dealing drugs and nor was I causing trouble. I just loved the music and the soundsystem, along with the excellent atmosphere they managed to foster, catering almost exclusively to people who were genuine fans of the varied electronic music genres curated by Craig Richards and Terry Francis, true artisans of their craft.

Did I see people off their tits? Of course I did. Did I witness people openly selling drugs? Only if I went looking. Were people ploughing into one another on the beds outside Room 2 or in dark corners? I honestly never witnessed anything of the sort.

With the news of Fabric's ultimate demise I was deeply saddened but not even remotely surprised. The disappointing losses in London reflect a wider shift in acceptance and openness over all night super sized rave venues. As one by one clubs like Turnmills, The End and all of the Kings Cross goods yard venues (The Cross, Canvas and The Key) disappeared from the scene it became apparent that the once unstoppable serious nightclub scene was on its last legs. Just look at our own once proud club-friendly city and the sorry state it's in now. Gone are The Zap, Ocean Rooms, Audio, Buddha Lounge and anything resembling a true nightclub from Brighton's previously flagbearing streets. We're left with ugly identikit meatmarkets for drunken Croydon daytrippers.

Partly I believe that the aging ravers of my generation haven't been adequately replaced as today's youth shun the idea of going out to get messy accompanied by a soundtrack of underground house, DnB and electro music, but partly I feel like those in charge haven't had the foresight to protect these venues as the important cultural hubs they should have been recognised as.

The loss of Fabric from London, and the UK's, progressive counterculture is indicative of a country that is increasingly less tolerant of off-script enjoyment. It's an easy target to pick apart just like authorities in the 80s took great pleasure in using disasters like Hillsborough and Heysel to demonise football fans as thuggish meatheads intent on causing trouble in the name of their clubs. We were victims then and we are victims now.

The truth is that drug use has nothing to do with Fabric's closure. There is more than enough supporting evidence to show that the owners were striving to prevent drug dealers from operating in the club, well aware that it was perhaps the biggest threat to the venue's continued existence. In fact Fabric was more than capable of prospering without punters having inside access to class As. The hefty door fee alone should have been enough to have kept it profitable, let alone the bar takings. So the weak excuse used by the council for pulling the plug on what is widely recognised as one of the planet's most important night clubs is nothing sort of shameful.

It's just a painfully transparent Mary Whitehouse "we don't want you here" attitude that has spelled the end for the venue and I truly believe London will suffer for it.

Where now are Europe's trendy young electronic music fans going to head for the kind of legendary London night they'd be recounting in years to come? Let's face it, they're just not going to come to uptight London.

As our country turns its back on Europe and sticks two fingers up at the many liberal freedoms that have helped it prosper, the youth of the continent will quickly realise that the draws of London are no longer what they were, leaving them to instead head for Germany, the Netherlands and even the Balkan and Baltic states as destinations happy to pander to their desire to enjoy all night electronic music fuelled hedonism.

The end of Fabric isn't just the end of an era for London, it's the end of a prosperous period keeping Britain on the map. Without Fabric, and without anything even close to it, we just don't have anything to offer young party seeking folk of our own nation, let alone those of others.

It's a dark day that I truly believe the city, and our country, will regret

An excellent post. I wholeheartedly agree with everything you've said.

 

[Colossal Squid]

Thank you. I hadn't realised at the time quite how long it was.

Passion breeds words apparently

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[Billy the Fish]

Brilliant post from Colossal Squid

They've launched a donations page to help the legal battle, £30 gets you a t-shirt.

http://www.fabriclondon.com/save-culture

*edit* Looks like people are getting behind this already - It jumped from £14k to £17k in the time it took me to post this!

 

[Albion Dan]

Have just donated. They've got £14k already in less than a day!!


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[Herr Tubthumper]

I've just donated and got myself a nice t-shirt into the bargain. They're at 24k now.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

Mr FourTet has donated a grand.

 

[Geestar]

I feel a lot of money is about to be wasted.

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[Billy the Fish]

I feel a lot of money is about to be wasted.

You could say that about any campaign. This decision is important to 1000s of people, at the moment it's more important to say that we didn't let it die without a fight.

I've donated what I can afford, that will never be a waste because I know I've contributed.

 

[Albion Dan]

Blimey up to 30k. 15k in the last hour!! Reckon they're going to have a monster budget to,take this on in court. Think they've got a massive chance as the case against them is p&ss poor.

 

[Geestar]

You could say that about any campaign. This decision is important to 1000s of people, at the moment it's more important to say that we didn't let it die without a fight.

I've donated what I can afford, that will never be a waste because I know I've contributed.

But we are joining the fight in round 8.

London nightlife has been on a downward spiral for a bit now, it just has taken a high profile club like fabric to make it more public.

There are so many clubs we did not fight for, that are just as worthy.

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[Herr Tubthumper]

But we are joining the fight in round 8.

London nightlife has been on a downward spiral for a bit now, it just has taken a high profile club like fabric to make it more public.

There are so many clubs we did not fight for, that are just as worthy.

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I'm not quite sure of your point.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

75k now.

 

[Billy the Fish]

But we are joining the fight in round 8.

London nightlife has been on a downward spiral for a bit now, it just has taken a high profile club like fabric to make it more public.

There are so many clubs we did not fight for, that are just as worthy.

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I can't think of any other parallels to this situation, I think people realise this is a tipping point for music culture in London and the UK. Fabric is still thriving and has been closed on flimsy evidence by a panel that's only one step better than a kangaroo court.

You're right that other clubs have closed but none have felt quite as unjustified and needless as this.

Turnmills - the owners sold the building. Bagleys, The Cross and Cable were all taken back by network rail who owned the space under the tracks. Layo and Mr C closed The End because they wanted to work on other projects. There was no fight to have in these situations. Home lost it's license but it wasn't a massive loss at the time because it was only open for 2 years and all the other big clubs were still open. The Fridge and SE1 came to a natural end.

£75k in 2 days is an incredible response.

 

[Albion Dan]

£75k in 2 days is an incredible response.

£86k now. 10k in the last 2 hours. phenomenal response from the public to fight to keep the place going. Would imagine the council are now starting to get a little bit concerned that a very costly very high profile case is heading their way with huge amounts of public support for the club...

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

£86k now. 10k in the last 2 hours. phenomenal response from the public to fight to keep the place going. Would imagine the council are now starting to get a little bit concerned that a very costly very high profile case is heading their way with huge amounts of public support for the club...

I think I am right in saying that Fabric have taken on the police in court and won before. This is going to be one to watch.

 

[spring hall convert]

But we are joining the fight in round 8.

London nightlife has been on a downward spiral for a bit now, it just has taken a high profile club like fabric to make it more public.

There are so many clubs we did not fight for, that are just as worthy.

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It's a fair point. Perhaps with the number of people getting behind this, it could serve to highlight that broader fight for entertainment spaces. It's the same for small gig venues and not just in London.

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[Springal]

Respect to the Palace banner bellends who have a massive #SAVEFABRIC banner with the logo in the corner that is getting on tv a lot

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

Respect to the Palace banner bellends who have a massive #SAVEFABRIC banner with the logo in the corner that is getting on tv a lot

Respect. That will get a lot of attention. Fund up to 106k now.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

It's a fair point. Perhaps with the number of people getting behind this, it could serve to highlight that broader fight for entertainment spaces. It's the same for small gig venues and not just in London.

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Indeed. An if Fabric win this case it will stop agenda driven police forces using their weight and flimsy reasons to stop stuff.