Thought that The End's closing party was the last opportunity that you'd get to rave in the space? You might want to think again.
After it closed its doors for good back in January, it was revealed that plans were afoot to redevelop the club into something new altogether, although it seems that plans have changed. Allegedly, the original plan was for the new owners to convert the venue into office space, but due to difficulties securing a loan, they've decided to re-open the club under a new name: Centro being what used to be The End, and The Den taking over from AKA. The promoters behind the opening party at Centro are the previously unheard of Ny-Lon, who have roped in Tiger Stripes, Djuma Soundsystem, The Fix and Cassette Jam to play at the bash. Krankenhaus and Ebm will be hosting the revelry upstairs at The Den on the same night, with a headlining performance from American techno stalwart Dan Curtin.
Information about the club is scant, but from what we have gathered, Centro will still house the same soundsystem that helped to make The End such a popular nightspot. A source that has been approached to promote at the club has informed us that gay and lesbian alternative night Popstarz will host the Friday nights, whilst a company called A-List has been brought in to sell the Saturday slots to other external promoters. We e-mailed Centro to try and get a statement to no response, and their listed phone number was switched off when we tried to give them a call today. However, we spoke to The End co-founder Richard West (AKA Mr C) to ask a few questions about the Centro launch and his future plans.
What are your thoughts about Centro and Den taking over from The End and AKA?
I'm so busy with Superfreq right now, I've had no time to have any thoughts on this matter whatsoever until you've now asked. For me, The End closing was very liberating. It's very easy to get caught in the comfort zone - stuck. But with closing The End, Layo & I have both grown a new set of wings to fly to even greater heights. We at The End knew for some time that club formally know as The End, would open as a space for others to exploit. The credit crunch left the landlords with no choice. The space is now a venue more than it is a nightclub, and whoever goes into that space can only get good vibes from the place as that's what we left the building full of! I know nothing at all about A-List and any new promoters going into that space, I'm sure they will have fun there. Good luck to them. My own personal history with that space, ended with The End's closing, so I for one will never set foot in the place again (unless they pay me £50,000!), and I feel the memories that I have of The End are more than enough for me for that venue. I heard it was going to be called Culture? Anyway, good luck to anyone who goes in there to do business.
Do you think the reopening of the space sullies the memory of The End somehow?
No, I don't. The End was a collective of people that had a vibe that can never be reproduced or duplicated. None of the nights that were at The End have gone back into that space, many have moved over to Fabric or Matter, again fantastic for everyone concerned. My memory of The End will always be pure and absolute.
Do you have a favourite memory from the monumental closing party of The End?
The whole closing of The End was incredible. In nigh on 30 years of clubbing, I've never experienced anything quite like it, but everyone dancing on every available surface including the bar in AKA at 10pm Sunday night after 25 hours of partying will live with me forever, as will the crowd singing and dancing to the Silent Disco outside in the line. Wow. That was 28 hours of my life that I'll never forget!
We'll keep you posted as and when we find out any more information about the new space, but for the moment, you can check out the currently announced dates below.