Happy Birthday! 25 Years Of Fabric
Some thoughts and experiences on one of my favourite clubs
Yes! My newsletter is back, inspired by a superb weekend of partying and (re)connecting, with music, raving, people and myself. I started this newsletter in 2020 and, though it’s very intermittent, having a space where I can express myself freely is such a blessing. This edition is dedicated to fabric, London’s premier electronic music club. A true institution that has weathered a few storms, set the bench incredibly high and remains a firm favourite of myself and many others around the world.
If you want to support my newsletter, the best way is to either share my posts OR, what I really love, message me. Please share your favourite fabric memories, I’d love to read about the antics, adventures and standout moments!
NB: I very rarely take photos or videos in fabric, but I’ve had a rummage around and found a few bits and pieces that were lurking on hard drives/on social media.
25 years have absolutely flown by. I can remember hearing about this new club called fabric way back pre-millennium, almost certainly via Fabio or Grooverider on their radio show. It was one of my main sources of information at that point in my life. Although I was 18, I hadn’t really been raving at all. I was quite reserved, my life was more focused on graffiti and I didn’t have any mates who were out and out ravers, so going out and hitting the club circuit wasn’t a thing… yet. It quickly became apparent, though, that fabric was an important venue and hearing about the events that were going on there, and the residents, confirmed that it was indeed a special place.
It was four years into fabric’s lifetime before I visited for the first time. By that point I’d gone to uni and finally allowed my inner raver to come out and flourish. Now, I won’t pretend to have any clear memories of my first time at fabric, but I know for a fact that it was a Friday night. I was a staunch(ish) drum’n’bass head back then, with a taste for RnB, hip hop and garage. I respected house and techno, but didn’t listen to very much of it. So Saturdays weren’t on my radar.
Though I can’t recall any details of the night I popped my fabric cherry, I definitely remember walking down those stairs to Room 1 and hearing the system pumping. It still gives me chills to this day, but that first time… wow. I’m a fiend for loud music, music that you can feel when it hits you. I’m big on anticipation, I love the rumble of bass and kick drums from behind a closed door. So, walking down the stairs into the belly of the beast was exciting and intimidating all at once. I’m sure there was a sign at the main doors saying “No shirts, ties or suits” or something like that, as a way of keeping out drunken bankers. That was a big green flag for me.
Back then fabric felt edgy. You could smoke, it was dark and daunting but also very professional. The stairs down to Room 1 would be full of people having a breather, locked in conversations, strangers bonding with strangers, friends chatting shit with one another, cracking jokes, putting the world to rights… I think Room 3 was a chill out room. I was 22 and I’d never been anywhere that felt like that. Hearing the music I loved so loud and clear was something else. The people, the energy… unmatched.
Over the rest of 2003 I went there several more times. Each time was as messy as the last, always a Friday, always in there until the lights came on. So many stories to share of the fun and antics that went on in there. One of my favourite times was June 2011, I went on my own, as a friend let me down. Seth Troxler ended up playing for three hours in Room 1, after Craig couldn’t make it. I was his No.1 fan at the time so this was a total dream for me. I was on the dance floor minding my own business, when I ended up making friends with a group of lads from east London. Absolutely hilarious bunch, who I ended up seeing at Hideout a month later and then a load of other raves over the following year or two. (Shout to Ricky Knight, Bill Mole, Heather, Nicky Driver, Lee Ellis, Greg Morgan, Alice Evans and all the gang!). Someone recorded a large portion of the set and posted it to YouTube and it’s still there, so I dip back in and have a listen now and again.
Over the years since I’ve caught a long long list of pioneers, icons and trailblazers in the club. From Jamie Jones and Lee Foss to David Rodigan and Shy FX, Skream, Oneman, Ben Klock, Seth Troxler, Nina Kraviz and so so many more. So many of their mix CDs are firm favourites, as well as the mixes they’d release on their blog. I still play a lot of them - I’ve had Fabio’s installment and Guy Gerber’s on my home system over the past week, for instance. I’ve also seen friends of mine get gigs there, and gone to proudly support them. Artists like Ceri and Anna Wall. I even had an artist I managed land a gig there, playing Room 2, which was a huge moment. Big shout to Kareful! He did a mix for their blog, too, which you can listen to below.
Getting involved in the electronic music community meant I started to have behind-the-scenes access at the club and I got to meet a lot of the fabric family. 22-year-old me had no ambition to work in music, despite being so passionate about it, so I never could have imagined being in the booth, or green room, hanging out with the DJs I love. And now it’s always part of my experience to be in those more exclusive spaces. I still prefer the dance floor though, and that’s where you’ll usually find me. Earlier this year I had the chance to play a set in Room 1 myself, at a private event. That was absolutely out of this world. Because DJing isn’t my main thing, I’d never even had the ambition to play at fabric. It just wasn’t something I’d thought about, despite being in the booth so many times, so I can’t even say it was a dream come true. Though it was mindblowing to play on that system. I’m very lucky and grateful. Walking down the stairs into Room 1 feels like coming home now, it’s so familiar and comforting.
In 2016 the club had its most difficult time when the threat of closure felt very real. We all know the story, so I won’t repeat it here. A lot of us were involved in the Save Fabric campaign. My involvement was pretty intimate at one point, utilising my investigative skills and my journalist network to try and assist with the campaign. I remember sitting in Cameron Leslie’s office and having a deep chat with him about everything, promising to do my best to help - which I did. It was a very challenging time for everyone and I’m so so pleased fabric made it through to the other side of that.
The Covid period was also a tough one. Perhaps my strangest experience of fabric was filming a campaign for Fila in there in December 2020. The club had been closed for nine months, so being in there was eerie. The walls hadn’t been soaking up any of that wanton energy, or the vibrations of the music, so it felt a little lifeless. We soon sorted that out though…
The campaign was called Find Your Freedom and it involved Leeroy from The Prodigy, Oneman, Ratpack, Yazzus and LCY. I interviewed them all about their background, how sportswear connects with them and rave culture and how they were finding freedom during lockdown. It was a really special time for all of us, being in fabric, having an opportunity to come together and share our experiences of that strange strange time and they also got to play a short set each. I found this very emotional. For the best part of a year I hadn’t been in a club and there I was in fabric listening to loud music for the first time in ages, yet it was in a club that was still closed and a world still in the midst of a shutdown. As I nodded my head and tapped my foot to the music and watched everyone else moving to the music, I had a lump in my throat. At that stage we had no idea when we’d be able to dance again. The resulting video clip is one of my proudest pieces of work. Big ups to Rich at Rich London for getting me involved with that.
I’ve been to a few of the birthday weekends and they’re always such a hoot. Things get very silly in there, fancy dress, mischief, crazy DJ sets, loads of us squished into the green room and other rooms... a big celebration of the club, rave culture and life itself. 10 years ago Jamie Jones was running around the club in a full Mr. Blobby suit complete with voice changer installed, Mathew Jonson played live dressed in a bunny costume… madness of the best kind.
Here’s a clip of Rodigan in Room 1. The next morning I flew to ADE for the first time.
This past weekend it was more of the same. I arrived around 8am on Sunday. It was an emotional weekend for a lot of us, with news of Jackmaster’s passing reaching most of us less than 24 hours before. Midland was rocking Room 1 when I got there. I found a space at the back, in front of the stage, and settled into his set. Heard a lot of favourites - The African Dream - ‘All One Family’, Mathew Jonson - ‘Typerope’… Harry brought the vibes as usual. His last tune, though, was a special one (more special than I realised when I heard it): The Other People Place - ‘Let Me Be Me’. I love this tune. Had it on repeat on YouTube and Spotify more times than I can count and bought the Lifestyles Of The Laptop Café LP last year just so I could have it on vinyl. LOVE LOVE LOVE it! So I made a beeline for the booth when it was finished, so I could tell Midland. When I did, he told me it was one of Jack’s favourites, and now the tune has even more meaning than it already did. Special. After that it was Bicep, with Matt McBriar playing his first gig since recovering from a brain tumour. Again, a poignant moment.
I stayed at the club until 1.30pm, when I headed over to Fuse in Brick Lane for a few hours, before rolling back to fabric for 7pm. By then it was PACKED, with an influx of fresh ravers. Every room was popping off; Klock and Dettmaan owning Room 2, Josh Caffé smashing Room 3 and Quest blessing Room 1. I saw so many faces I haven’t seen in years. Post-pandemic, I haven’t been going out as much as I used to, for various reasons, so this past weekend felt like a homecoming. I’m sober but I was absolutely buzzing from all the positive energy, it was so invigorating and uplifting. Some people marvel at my ability to do these marathon sober sessions, but the music, people and energy (and bananas) carry me through.
There was a hint of sorrow, it couldn’t be avoided, but I think it was very very helpful that we were all together. A lot of hugs, cuddles, laughs, smiles and vibrant energy. I thought about Jack a lot while I was there, and reminisced about the times I’d seen him play, hung out with him or been around him. I also thought about Shaun Roberts, after catching up with some of his close friends and his brother, Marc. Music and socialising bring me such joy and comfort, even when faced with difficult memories or emotions. We do a lot of processing when we’re partying. Simply being with one another, expressing ourselves through movement, allowing our minds to be free… it can be healing.
This one of the key reasons why fabric is so vital. Like many other club spaces of its type, it fosters connection and community, it’s a safe space for us to be ourselves, to dance, sing and express, to be embodied and to experience the power of music through a soundsystem that is still out of this world. I love hearing music I’ve never heard before, and there was loads of that this weekend. Techno, electro, house… lots of “WTF” moments. Over the past 21 years there have been loads of those, from Ed Rush & Optical mangling my head with their DnB to all the house and techno selectors. I remember coming home with this one in my head one night. One of countless nights that have left me with ringing ears, a thoroughly nourished soul and a whole load of new tunes to hunt down.
This is what it’s all about for me; the excitement of discovery, the mystery of anonymous tunes, losing yourself in the music, dancing and bonding with friends (new and old), honouring the ones who are no longer here and celebrating life to the fullest.
Happy Birthday fabric, thanks for all the many many memories - even the ones I forgot! Big love to all the fabric crew, thanks for welcoming me in and allowing me to be part of the extended family.
Fabric: The Book is available now, celebrating 25 years of the club across 300 pages of history and insight. Put together by the bossman Joe Muggs. Buy it here.
The amazing football top I’m wearing below (made in association with Meyba) is available here.
