If you find yourself in London, head to Slimelight at the Electrowerkz.
It's (supposedly) the longest-running dark/alternative night in the world, starting in 1987. The venue was built as a two-level horse stables in the 19th century, so there's a strange, sloping ramp to the first floor. It was an electroplating works for much of the 20th century, before being squatted in the 1980s by the punks and goths. The back of the building is now a specialist scrap metal merchant, which is a source of some of the decoration -- there's an old tank outside, bits of ex-military aircraft, the seats in the "quiet" area are rocket launcher ammo cases, the industrial signs saying "Sellafield Nuclear Authority — Restricted Zone" and the like are real.
Bits of the building have been used to raise money at times; e.g. a restaurant, film shoots, weddings, other club nights, but the main goth/industrial party is on Saturdays, 23h-07:30h. They at least used to sell cake and jerk chicken. When I first went, you had to be signed in by an existing member, but you could also bring your own drinks if you didn't want to use the cheap bar. That's no longer the case, and the bar is OK-for-London prices.
I'm rarely in London on Saturday night nowadays, so I haven't been for a while, and I don't know how many people go to the club. (In the past, there have been periods where it's been a bit quiet.)
It looks like they just received a £78,000 grant from the UK Arts Council, which is excellent news [1].
Slimelight is truly special. There was a period of a few months where I'd go almost every Saturday night. That dancefloor is really something special at 5 or 6am, like being on another planet.
Sadly it's still mostly quiet these days (well now it's completely quiet, but pre-Covid it was also quiet). But I went to one of their birthdays two or three years back and it was packed. London's whole goth scene descended on it.
It's (supposedly) the longest-running dark/alternative night in the world, starting in 1987. The venue was built as a two-level horse stables in the 19th century, so there's a strange, sloping ramp to the first floor. It was an electroplating works for much of the 20th century, before being squatted in the 1980s by the punks and goths. The back of the building is now a specialist scrap metal merchant, which is a source of some of the decoration -- there's an old tank outside, bits of ex-military aircraft, the seats in the "quiet" area are rocket launcher ammo cases, the industrial signs saying "Sellafield Nuclear Authority — Restricted Zone" and the like are real.
Bits of the building have been used to raise money at times; e.g. a restaurant, film shoots, weddings, other club nights, but the main goth/industrial party is on Saturdays, 23h-07:30h. They at least used to sell cake and jerk chicken. When I first went, you had to be signed in by an existing member, but you could also bring your own drinks if you didn't want to use the cheap bar. That's no longer the case, and the bar is OK-for-London prices.
I'm rarely in London on Saturday night nowadays, so I haven't been for a while, and I don't know how many people go to the club. (In the past, there have been periods where it's been a bit quiet.)
It looks like they just received a £78,000 grant from the UK Arts Council, which is excellent news [1].
[1] http://islingtonnow.co.uk/electrowerkz-grant/
https://www.facebook.com/SlimelightOfficial