Famed London club Fabric shut due to drug fears

The club’s licence was suspended last month at the request of the police following the deaths of two teenagers from suspected drug overdoses at the nightspot in the borough of Islington.

“The police win out. Fabric is shut,” the Time Out entertainment magazine said following a late-night meeting of Islington council’s licensing committee on Tuesday which confirmed the club would not reopen.

Fabric, renowned for its drum and bass, techno and house nights, built up a reputation to rival fellow British clubbing institution Ministry of Sound over the last decade and a half.

Host to many of the world’s top DJs and behind regular branded music releases, Fabric claims six million people have stepped through its doors since its opening in a old meat-processing area of north London in 1999.

The local council concluded that the club had a “culture of drug use” which staff were “incapable of controlling”.

London mayor Sadiq Khan, who said he went to Fabric when he was younger, expressed disappointment, while leading DJs Carl Cox and Fatboy Slim, as well as the Chemical Brothers and Groove Armada joined a bid to overturn the decision.

“London’s iconic clubs are an essential part of our cultural landscape,” he said in a statement.

“Clubbing needs to be safe but I’m disappointed that Fabric, Islington Council and the Metropolitan Police were unable to reach agreement on how to address concerns about public safety,” he said.

“As a result of this decision, thousands of people who enjoyed going to Fabric as an essential part of London’s nightlife will lose out,” he added.

London’s Metropolitan Police said in a statement: “Police felt the need to act due to concerns about the safety of those attending the club due to the supply of class A drugs in the venue and the recent deaths of two young men linked to the club.”

Fabric DJ Jacob Husley, who started an online petition on Change.org to stop the closure which had garnered 150,000 signatures, said: “We are in shock. I am feeling a mixture of disbelief and anger and sadness.”