The Shamen front man, electronic pioneer and former owner of iconic London club The End on the unanswered questions surrounding the closure of fabric
Richard West
THE closure of fabric this week sent shock waves through the dance music community in the UK and around the world following the tragic deaths of two teenagers who attended the club this summer.
The loss of fabric is incalculable to dance music and the implications for night life and creativity in this country are far reaching. As the fall out continues from the decision taken by Islington Council on Tuesday night and fabric prepares to appeal, we asked one of London's most influential and pioneering DJs, Mr.C for his thoughts on the closure. The Shamen front man who himself was former owner of another iconic London club The End which closed it's doors in 2009, is also donating 25% of profits from his Superfreq party at The Steelyard on September 17 to the fabric appeal fundraiser. for more information.
Here he poses some searching questions regarding the closure of fabric.
1
Move mountains...Mr.C
BY now everyone into dance music in the UK will know that Islington Council has decided not to renew fabric’s licence.
This follows the recent tragic deaths of two teenagers on the premises. It is now that questions have to be asked.
Firstly, why should fabric nightclub be held responsible for these deaths? fabric is renowned for having the toughest door policy in London. The searches were so stringent they actually stopped many people attending the club due to them being so invasive. These searches were to appease the police and Islington’s licensing board as much as keeping people safe. fabric really couldn’t have done any more than it has to stop people taking drugs on the premises. If fabric is responsible for these deaths, does that mean that prisons are responsible for inmates dying of overdoses while incarcerated? Is London’s Dorchester Hotel responsible for a Kuwaiti businessman dying of a cocaine overdose in May 2015? Are the police responsible for the overdoses that have happened to people while in police custody? Do we think the hotel, prisons and police stations should be closed down? Of course they shouldn’t, so why should it be so for fabric?
The next question is a cynical one. Why does Islington Council really want fabric closed? It’s no secret that the club sits between two Crossrail sites where the new Elizabeth Line will open in 2018 at Farringdon Station connecting Thameslink to the London Underground. Also the Museum of London is about to assemble a new £200 million home in Smithfield. Is fabric in the way of these things?
The next question is, what will the repercussions be for UK clubland and our nightlife industries? Of course fabric must take this case to the Court of Appeal. Judges and our legal system are extremely open minded, fair and will base their decisions on the evidence submitted. The same way a Judge overruled Islington licensing committee the last time fabric was temporarily closed – expressing that Fabric is the perfect model of how nightclubs should be run. This can happen again. I for one believe this would be the case as fabric has done absolutely nothing wrong to deserve to be closed down with livelihoods of many people affected. Should a judge rule against a fabric appeal, this would have dire consequences for London and UK clubland, as this would mean the police would have the power to close down clubs or anything else they so choose on a whim. This would be a travesty of justice for our nightlife industries.
The next question is: What will become of British talent? We’ve already witnessed the mass exodus of UK talent to markets like Berlin and Amsterdam where the authorities support the nightlife industries, both with licensing and financial grants. Islington has always been a hotbed of talent, it’s where I was raised going to Holloway School. Do Islington and the UK authorities want to drive our natural talent overseas for other countries to make the taxes on these artists? Do they not see that there’s huge revenue to be made from tourism to London in the same way Berlin and Amsterdam have become serious holiday destinations for people all over the world? London has always been the music capital of the world. Sadly we’re seeing this shift to our European neighbours.
The next question is a contentious one. Is the war on drugs working? In my opinion it’s not. If we were to decriminalise the use of all drugs as Portugal has done, I’m quite sure there would be way fewer deaths as we would be able to have drug production standardized. There wouldn’t be excessively strong pills on the market, drug manufacture could be regulated and even taxed. You only have to look at how much money has been made for the State of Colorado in the US and how much crime has dropped since the legalization of cannabis. Imagine if that were done here in the UK – not only with cannabis but all drugs. Having them regulated and made safe. There would be far fewer casualties from drug abuse, not just the specific drugs enjoyed in dance music culture, but also drugs enjoyed by the rich too.
My final question is: What are we, the UK clubbing community, going to do about it? I think it’s time for the UK dance music community to stand together in peaceful demonstration so that our voices can be heard.
