Turnmills to close in March

Created On January 30th, 2008 by i_have_ADD

Long running London nightclub Turnmills announced they’ll be presenting their last ever parties over the Easter Weekend (March 21-23), a massive 23 years after the venue first opened. The legendary East London basement club was first opened in 1985 as a wine bar by John Newman, the father of DJ Tall Paul and Gallery promoter Danny, though was radically transformed when equally infamous alternative club promoter Laurence Malice decided to host his fledgling afterhours party Trade there in the early 90s.

“When I first came across Turnmills, it wasn’t anything like the club you see today. There was a grand piano (which people danced on), a stainless steel dance floor, wine barrels above the bar and a carvery at the back of the dance floor. Times changed,” Laurence recalled in a press release issued this week. “To have been associated so closely with a building in which I achieved and accomplished so many of my dreams and clubbing aspirations (Trade, FF, Beyond, Toxic Disco 2000, Space and Pumping Curls) it makes me realise just how lucky I was to have been in the right place at the right time,” he added.

Skrufff man-in-Berlin Mark Reeder recalled breaking his former artists Paul Van Dyk and Corvin Dalek at the club and said he was sad about the impending closure. “Here in Germany, Turnmills – and Danny Newman’s night the Gallery was legendary; it was seen as being one of those special places in London that launched new artists and was the stepping stone to other UK clubs and beyond. It was almost a privilege to play there. It is one of those great clubbing institutions and similar to the way the Hacienda in Manchester is perceived today, it will remain in club-land’s consciousness for many decades to come. I am very proud to have had the opportunity to work with Danny and the Gallery crew. With its demise, it makes London one club poorer,” he said.

Turnmills director Danny Newman, meanwhile, issued an upbeat press statement about the club’s closure, declaring ‘it feels as though it’s come to a natural end, and we are finishing on a high’ “The most important reason is of course that the lease is nearly up and the landlord wants to develop the site. To be honest it’s been on the cards for a couple of years now, we’ve always wanted to leave on our terms and it just seems like the right time to go,” he explained. “Thanks to everyone that ever came down, it was YOU that made the place what it was, we were just doing what we do behind the scenes,’
he added.