[Nicky91]

After weeks of speculation, beloved nightclub fabric is to have its license revoked after London police determined that its “searches were inadequate and in breach of the license.” The nightclub is to close with immediate effect, a decision that has been met with shock and derision in every corner of the worldwide dance music community.

The decision comes after both sides presented their arguments during seven long and emotionally fraught hours of exposition between nightclub owners, locals, members of the #Savefabric advocacy group, and the Metropolitan Police at the Islington Town Hall in central London.

The hearing was preceded by a report undertaken by London Metropolitan police that painted a damning picture, highlighting fabric’s alleged breaches of licensing and suggesting stringent conditions necessary to “ensure public safety.” The document ultimately declared the club’s closure to be the advised course of action.

Fabric, which opened in 1999, came under fire earlier this year after two 19-year-old men died after a night out at theclub. The tragedies followed a difficult 2014 for fabric, which also saw two deaths and almost resulted in the venue being forced to install sniffer dogs and ID scanners. The Islington police determined that the club was inadequately performing searches on the premises, and one representative even stated that fabric had become “an environment tolerant of drugs and crime.”

Major figures in the electronic music industry like Skream, Erol Alkan, and Daniel Avery came out in support of the club and its owners, insisting that the venue was impeccably run and this is another example of the authorities targeting electronic music as opposed to the venue itself. London Mayor Sadiq Khan even came out in support of the club, after pledging to work hard to preserve London’s nightlife culture.

With lockout laws in Sydney, militant drug enforcement at festivals in Los Angeles, and fabric’s closure all making news within the matter of weeks, it’s no exaggeration to suggest that drug policy in dance music is a major cultural issue around the world. With hardline stances being taken in every instance, fabric’s closure further sets an ominous precedent going forward and shuns global progress being made for adopting policies of harm reduction


RIP Fabric ❤️, wrote model Daisy Lowe on her twitter, who also worked there as a DJ



so sad this news, those stupid drugs ruin everything