Fabric, said the naysayers, didn’t stand a chance. One year on and the club, London’s coolest nightspot, is rammed with clubbers who’ve lost their hearts to its broad-minded stance. Jockey Slut pays a birthday tribute to the ex-meat market and recounts the tale of its unstoppable ascent…

Even the most optimistic of underground music enthusiasts couldn’t have expected things to go as well as this. Rumour and counter-rumour, ‘lazy workmen’ and all manner of unforeseen difficulties resulted in a delayed opening and frayed tempers within the club’s brick walls. A year later those problems are a distant memory, with the dream more than realised and the finest subterranean sounds regularly flowing every weekend. Fabric has done it and the people are rejoicing.

Fabric is a triumph of style and substance. Like forerunners The End, Bugged Out! and Slam, Keith Reilly and his support crew have stuck to their musical guns and backed up their beliefs on a huge scale. Fabric has proved to the doubters that supposedly obscure, ‘deep’ or fringe music doesn’t have to be in a back room or a small capacity club. It doesn’t have to be on the outskirts of London, and it doesn’t have to flaunt enormous breakdowns in order to get the crowds in. Deep house, breakbeat and drum’n’bass have all been allowed to flourish, and it’s a tribute to this policy that certain big name DJs are now itching to play at the place in order to heighten their credibility.

The proof of the policy is in the residents Terry Francis and Craig Richards, and the knowledgeable, non-noodly and completely up-for-it crowd queuing week in, week out to listen to deck technicians from Sasha to Kid Batchelor, John Digweed to Jon Marsh, Grooverider to Gemini, David Alvarado to Ali B. The former meat market has proved itself to be anything but.

Jockey Slut salutes Fabric for this year and hopefully many more.

Tayo Popoola

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The Line-Up

Keith Reilly: MD and club owner

Nikki Smith and Steve Blonde: Head of promotions

Craig Richards: Saturday resident and creative consultant

Terry Francis: Saturday resident

James Lavelle: Friday resident

Cameron Leslie: Licensee

Tubbs West: Special projects

And a load of their regulars…

Keith Reilly: “I sold my CD and tape manufacturing business in 1989, then I went on a full-time property hunt. I knew what I wanted to do but it was an exhausting process. The third site I found in ‘96; I thought everything was in place then they changed their mind at the last minute and took it off the market. I felt like someone had plunged their fist into my chest and ripped my heart out. I had to go to Amsterdam for five days and take a walk on the wild side. I’d virtually run out of money and was out of breath by this point. Then eventually in ‘97 I hooked up with this place. The whole thing from start to finish took ten years.”

Nikki Smith: “I was running my own company called Mooncat Productions and Keith used to do some flyering for me which is how we got talking. Then we got onto the subject of music and found we were into the same kind of sound. One day he said: ‘I’ve been looking for a space and as soon as I get somewhere you’re coming with me’.”

Craig Richards: “At the time there wasn’t a venue, but Keith had an idea of whereabouts he wanted to do it. I wanted to take my DJing more seriously so whenever it came about it was going to be the right move for me.”

Steve Blonde: “I worked, as Keith did, in the flyering business and he asked me to work for him. He wanted a great club, musically across the board, which is why he asked me in because he is such a house head. I hate house music (laughs). Nah, I’m just really into breaks and drum’n’bass.”

Keith: “There were 15 arches and each arch had three or four floors beneath and we didn’t really know what was underneath them until it all got stripped out. It was a bit of a gamble. But when you walk into a space you can always feel it.”

Tubbs West: “I came and had a look at the club and instantly fell in love with the space. I could see what Keith’s vision was. I was like: ‘If you can get a club in here it’ll be special’.”

Nikki: “When Keith took me to see the place I’d had a year off from the club business and was convinced I wouldn’t get involved again. Then I got a call from Keith who said he’d found the spot and I was like: ‘No way, I’m not doing it.’  He persuaded me to have a look and the minute I walked in I knew it was perfect.”

Nikki: “Danny Tenaglia was playing at the Velvet Underground one night and we couldn’t get to him. Afterwards we grabbed him and it was like: ‘Meet me at my hotel in approximately one hour.’ So, we brought him down here at 4am and found Craig and his friend Austin, who had been drinking, rolling around with hard hats on. I don’t think Tenaglia was that impressed.”

Tubbs: “You could see it forming, but some people couldn’t see it. They’d say: ‘You’re never going to open this.’”

Steve: “Bar culture really dominated in London at the time. Everyone was going to bars and there was a real lack of interest in nightclubbing.”

Keith: “No one had tried to break the formula for some time or do anything fresh. The club scene was dire. The venues wouldn’t support anything. At the Ministry, the Cross, Hanover Grand… it was all a diluted and boring version of house. There was so much going on on the underground that wasn’t being given a chance. That’s why things went into bars – there was nowhere else for it to go.”

James Lavelle: “It was the end of celebritism (sic) when Fabric started. DJs and artists had lived in that ridiculous world of bars, drinking, drugs and not really getting on with the music. London had died a death.”

Nikki: “A couple of weeks before [it opened] it looked like we weren’t going to get the power on and decision time came and Keith got everyone who had been involved into the pub next door and said: ‘There’s nothing we can do.’ The thought of not opening on time made me feel sick. The amount of money we’d lose; DJs’ flights had been paid for. Bit scary, but we had no choice.”

Keith: “We opened three weeks late. The electricity wasn’t there, unless we were going to open by candlelight with a few boomboxes. I look back on it now and wonder what kept me going.”

Keith: “The opening night was like coming out of a long, dark tunnel. I just felt numb with disbelief. It was very emotional. I almost don’t remember a thing about it. It was like an out-of-body experience.”

Jon Marsh: “Because of the delayed opening me and Bill Brewster ended up starting up room two on opening night. He played first, cool as ever, but in a state of Vestax-induced paranoia. After playing he disappeared to join the party. By the time I joined him two hours later, in search of a sad DJ technical discussion, he was found snogging on the balcony with a total stranger. The lovely Liz, for it was she, will become Mrs Brewster next year.”

Craig: “The ‘body-sonic’ dancefloor was a talked-about feature. It adds to the sound, affects the way the music comes at you and the way you absorb it. If it’s not on people ask for it so it does add something.”

Terry Francis: “At first I thought: ‘That sounds a bit tacky’. But it fucking works. You can really feel the music.”

Nikki: “Is it popular with the ladies? Yeah! I’ve seen girls do the splits on it, seen girls sitting on chairs on it…”

Keith: “I didn’t know what the fuss was about with the unisex toilets. We had full pages in various publications about it. In nightclubs everyone uses each other’s toilets anyway.”

Nikki: “It’s a meeting place for people. It’s always a bit of a giggle!”

Terry: “The music policy was the main reason I took the residency. Fabric are moving forward and not sticking to the same formula. The club and the music suit each other and there’s a good atmosphere. It looks warehousey and New Yorky. It’s raw but clean. Nikki and Keith are into music, which makes a change with people who own the club; they’re really behind us.”

James: “I think it’s the best club I’ve ever played, to be honest. The design I really like; it’s big but also very personal. It’s geared towards clubbers because it’s run by clubbers. It’s not a snobby club, it’s not an aggressive club; the bouncers aren’t aggressive. It captures the old-school London spirit of what clubbing is about.”

Craig: “It’s quite acid house in the sense that it’s very basic. One of the things I like about it is its lack of decoration. It’s pretty much just brickwork and functional space. There’s nothing to get bored of, no distractions – it’s just bricks. So, there is more emphasis put on the music. It’s cavernous and rabbit warren-like. When all three rooms are going they can be very different and have their own vibe.”

Keith: “A lot of agents couldn’t see it happening. When we told them our residents were Craig Richards and Terry Francis they were laughing us off the park. Now people can judge us by our attendances up against our line-ups. We have a lot of artists on that a lot of people won’t have heard of, like Fred Everything, Tyler ‘T-Bone’ Stadius, Boo Williams. They’ve all been around a long time, but who else is bringing these guys over?  People come to the club because they know we’re bringing DJs because they’re hot. Everyone really turns it on.”

Bill Brewster: “There have been hardly any changes to the basic roster of DJs in the year since it started, which shows the thought that went into the planning. What I think Fabric has been most successful in achieving is helping to break down the superstar DJ culture that has gone some way to ruining club culture in the UK. Look at the average Fabric Saturday, and there are very few ‘star’ DJs on the bill. What there are, instead, are really good DJs who are committed to the music they love. Because they’ve opted for such an adventurous booking policy, they’ve been rewarded with an appreciative and open-minded crowd.”

Nikki: “Bill Brewster is a bit of a short-arse and can’t see over the DJ booth so we made him a platform, five foot by two foot, and wrapped it up and presented it to him on his birthday.”

Doc Martin: “The first time I played at Fabric, after playing my first record I knew I was home. Fabric is successful because there are great residents; they go for good music regardless of style and stay away from the sound of ‘now’ DJs. People come to the club ready to hear good music, so it doesn’t matter if it’s a big name or not. After my first set Nikki said I was perfect for the club and would I be interested in being a resident! After a night where I can play Maurice Fulton tracks, Talking Heads and everything in between and have the club go mad for it, ‘Hell, yeah!’ was the answer. This is more than a club, it’s the acid house party ethic at its best.”

Deep Dish: “We loved Fabric, and the design of the room. The sound system is incredible, the crowd is enthusiastic, and we love the brickwork – it feels like you’re DJing in someone’s basement.”

Keith: “It’s never really been part of the plan to book certain styles of music. I didn’t like it when Pete Tong said we were prejudiced in Mixmag recently. We’re exercising freedom of choice. We have all styles from Slum Village to DJs like Fred Everything right through to Sasha. But there are certain styles of music we don’t book because, quite frankly, you can hear them everywhere else.”

Steve: “Fabric Live started off monthly Fridays. It was trying to put everything together away from four-four – drum’n’bass, hip hop, breaks. We were initially concerned about the size of the club for this music, but after the first couple we were turning away 1,000 people. Lavelle played a one-off gig, really liked it and became a resident. He’s really made that last slot, 3–5am, his own.”

Ali B: “I’ve been playing a few long sets at Fabric recently, from ten through ‘til five up in room three. Because we are playing all night, we never get to check out the rest of the club.  So, a few weeks ago, it got to about 4am and Tico and myself put on this mad 12-minute record and then dared each other to leg it round the club before it ran out. We got on to the dancefloor in room three, then checked the drum’n’bass in room two before bustling our way into room one to check James’ set.  If you know how busy Fabric is at 4am on a Friday then you’ll know how much of a mission that is, but we made it back in time and no one suspected a thing.”

Keith: “One of the nicest stories from Fabric Live was with Talvin Singh and his watch.  He lost a five grand Rolex in the club and someone handed it in. He couldn’t believe it.”

Nikki: “The latest we’ve been open until on a Saturday is 11.45am.”

Craig: “It was a Tyrant night!  When you get excited DJing it’s hard to stop; you just keep going on into Sunday. Every DJ is given a good opportunity here because they get to play a long set and they can go off on one – you can afford to be self-indulgent. One night I got caught changing the time on my watch by the manager so I could play for 20 minutes longer. I think I gave it away when I said: ‘It’s 20 minutes ago now’.”

Keith: “We won best club at the London club awards and sent Anna (the toilet cleaner) to collect it.  We wanted to make the point that everyone here contributes to what we do and she’s an incredible character. Everyone knows her. Everyone who works here loves music from top to bottom. When the bar staff get a break they’re out on the dancefloor.”

Jon: “Being part of the realisation of that has been brilliant. The club is run by, and employs, people who are into its ethos. I think all the DJs share that and that’s why it works. It lives and breathes music.”

Terry: “It’s nice to see people with smiling faces in London again.”