Printworks: Final show at famous dance music venue

One of the UK’s biggest and most famous nightclubs is closing its doors after playing its final show on Monday.

Originally opened in 2017, Printworks has hosted Chemical Brothers, Deadmau5 and Aphex Twin.

This unique South London venue once housed the largest printing press in Western Europe, just for impromptu club nights.

Events company Broadwick Live took over and established the space as a go-to venue for all dance music genres.

DJ and radio host Melvo Baptiste was one of the last to play at Printworks and was part of the lineup for disco record label Glitterbox’s final show at the venue.

Backstage before the show, he told the BBC: “It’s weird because when you walk into this empty room here, it’s almost like it’s not supposed to work.

“There was a magic and an energy in that room — I played my first closing game here four years ago and I looked up at 6,000 people and it was terrifying.”

He said the loss of space was “heartbreaking” and worried about what it meant for young clubbers new to dance music.

“The club environment is where you really find your tribe and make friends, you don’t do that in bars or restaurants because there’s not one common thing that connects everyone other than alcohol,” he said.

We spotted two partygoers in the crowd, Libby Minney and Andrew Bartha, both 25, who told the BBC they became friends after meeting at Printworks.

“I’ve made a lot of friends here,” Ms Minney said.

“It’s especially sad to think that this won’t happen in the future,” she added.

Bartha calls the venue a “cultural institution” and says “it has produced many wonderful friendships and fond memories”.

“Printworks is one of the last big formal places, and when you come in, it feels like a proper carnival,” Minney added.

What makes it special, Mr Bartha says, is the “great production – lighting and graphics”, which he says is missing from smaller clubs.

The duo may be too young to remember the illegal warehouse scene in London in the 1980s, when permitting laws closed at 3am. But that’s not true for all Printworks attendees – it’s known for attracting clubbers of all ages who want to remember the carnival feeling.

This was echoed by some club performers, who said that what makes Printworks so special is its inclusiveness.

The venue hosts dance genres ranging from drum and bass to house and electronic dance music, and it also supports LGBT-friendly events such as Sink The Pink and disco label Glitterbox.

“When you’re on that stage, looking down on thousands of people — that’s the closest you’ll get to being a pop star,” says transgender dancer Lucy Fitz.

“For all of us gay people, those who are marginalized, to have this experience and to be on a platform that is known for being who we are — it’s just amazing,” she added.

Dancer and performer Te Te Bang called the venue “the Olympics of nightclubs”.

She added: “It’s like an adult playground, it’s really a utopia where you’re in this little bubble of music where everyone is really free to be themselves – there’s no better place in the UK than that. gone.”

Simeon Aldred, co-founder of Broadwick Live, says Printworks is very special to his team.

“This is our child, we created it from scratch – it would be very difficult to replicate it or find anywhere else in the world,” he told the BBC.

“The pandemic has been dire and a two-year shutdown has been critical for us. Now the cost of living across the 26 venues we own and operate has hit us, and then the power across the portfolio has increased by millions of pounds ,”He said.

“There are also some huge challenges and inconsistencies around permitting and planning,” Mr Aldred added.

“Some committees do support culture, some don’t”.

The BBC has contacted the Ministry of Media, Culture and Sport, which declined to comment.

Mr Aldred said Printworks had not only established itself as a London nightclub staple, but had national and international appeal, as evidenced by the relationships the venue owner had built with local hotels.

He said “a hotel next door [to Printworks] There are an average of 100 rooms per show”, while they revitalize the daytime nightclub scene so that people can also venture out to the capital for a day.

“When we finish at 11pm, it’s also great value for other venues in the vicinity,” he added.

“So people can go and party at venues that might be seen as competitors, but they’re all actually friends because we’re all part of the same ecosystem.”