Mar 01, 2010
PLASTIC PEOPLE FOR LIFE!
It’s a rainy October Saturday night in 2002, I’m 18 years old and I’ve just come to the end of my first week at Art College. I’m standing on Curtain Road, in a queue with a group of friends from my course, waiting impatiently to get into a club I’ve never been to before. The club is called Plastic People; I’m told it attracts a youthful, arty crowd who are serious about their music.
A little apprehensive coming from South London, I was a self-confessed newbie to the area. I recall ringing one of my friends prior to us meeting up and asking if the club had a dress code. He laughed and his reply both simple and honest was: “dude it's Shoreditch - wear whatever the fuck you wanna wear.”
I make my way past the bouncers, pay my entry fee and proceed down the steep, narrow stairwell immersed in the echoing thunder from the music beneath me. As I enter I turn around to scope out the venue. And the thought that rushed through my mind (which probably enters most people’s heads when they visit Plastic People for the first time) was: ‘I thought it would be a lot bigger?!?’.
However, with the incredible selection of music and DJs that were always on hand here, the fantastic array of passionate music lovers you would always encounter, PLUS one of London’s elite sound systems, you could never go wrong with a night out at Plastic People. In fact I always felt it was the venue’s intimate nature which enhanced its overall charisma – a bonafide diamond in the rough, which will always have a special place in my heart.
You can imagine how devastated I was when I came across the above statement plastered onto the side of the club and news broke over the weekend that Plastic People was under threat from closure, sending social networking sites into an absolute frenzy. Police have petitioned that Hackney Council review the premises’ licence on the basis that the club has breached existing terms outlined in the licence, failing to prevent crime and disorder as well as public nuisance.
I’m still mourning the loss of Herbal and Pool Bar, two landmarks on the Shoreditch night-life scene. If you now take away Plastic People you’re just killing the soul of an already crippled area. Thousands of fans, leading DJs and artists have expressed their love for Plastic People through the Facebook group started by DJ Benny Blanco, who runs the regular Nonsense party at the club.
Plastic People has until 11th March to appeal. Until then, show your love and stay up to date with the latest news by supporting the Facebook group Keep Plastic People Alive.
