You may know by now that London’s Plastic People club is under threat.
For those who don’t, Plastic People is an intimate basement venue in Shoreditch. Theo Parrish has his London residency there, as did Four Tet until recently (he’s also released a mix CD titled Much Love to the Plastic People in tribute to the club).
FWD>>, the clubnight that cultivated dubstep to the point it’s at now, takes place in Plastic People, as do the equally important Warm, Bash, CD-R, Nonsense and many more. Erol Alkan’s Trash started at Plastic People before it moved to Shoreditch, and in its time it’s hosted performances from acts as diverse as 2 Many DJs, James Holden, J Dilla, The Bug, Flying Lotus, Wiley, Mark Ernestus, Antony ‘Shake’ Shakir, Gilles Peterson and Andrew Weatherall, as well as pretty much everyone important in dubstep and its various off-shoots.
The initial story can be read here; the official statement from the club’s management here.
An online petition has now been sent up by the Friends of Plastic People committee. It reads thus:
“Many thanks for supporting Plastic People.
We know that you are all keen to assist in the mission to keep Plastic People open.
The Friends of Plastic People has been formed, and met with Plastic People management to encourage them to work closely with the police and the council prior both prior to the 11th March deadline for representations, and subsequent to this date before the actual hearing; everyone recognizes that working with the police and the council moving forward will yield the best result in the long run.
The police have made an application Hackney council for a review of Plastic People’s license under the following grounds:
* Prevention of public nuisance
* Prevention of crime and disorder
By signing this petition you are stating the following:
1/ You have been to Plastic People and have never had any issues with staff or other people within the club.
2/ You have never been offered drugs within the club.
3/ You enjoy the intimacy of the venue.
4/ The darkness of the dance floor enables you to dance freely without people watching, allowing you to express yourself with focus purely on the music .
5/ That Plastic People is the best club in the area.
6/ That Plastic People is renowned for showcasing the best in all genres of music .
7/ Plastic People has one of the most regular diverse crowds in London.
Please also send your representations (a letter) via us (Friends of Plastic People), these can then be submitted in a bundle alongside Plastic People’s representations on the 11th March. Please DO NOT send representations straight to Hackney Council Licensing UNLESS you live in the vicinity of the club.â€
You can sign the petition here. The KEEP PLASTIC PEOPLE ALIVE Facebook group, which has over 10, 000 members, can be found here. Countless artists have already publicly declared their desire for the club to stay alive, amongst them Kode9, Erol Alkan and Ewan Pearson.
Lead photo taken from Harry Hewat’s homepage.
signed!!
1/ I first went to Plastic People some time around 2002, when Attica Blues were doing Friday nights, just before Coop moved there, and I must have attended by now hundreds of times, visiting Gilles Peterson's night, CDR, Ade's Balance nights, the Theo Parrish night, the aforementioned Coop which defined my social life in the last decade, and I have honestly never ever had any issues with staff or other people within the club. Actually, once it took me a long time to get a drink and all I wanted was water and I was grumpy about it.
2/ I can truly say I have never been offered drugs within the club, which when you think about it, that is almost unheard of in this town.
3/ I love the intimacy of the venue. This is a handbuilt space. The sound system and the room is so well tuned, its warm and womblike.
4/ The darkness of the dance floor is a welcome and refreshing change. I personally don't go out to be seen, I go out to dance and hear music. Plastic People is a perfect manifestation of an idea about how to experience electronic and electro-acoustic dance music.
5/ Plastic People is not only the best club in the area, its far and away one of the best clubs in the world. You can count such clubs on both hands.
6/ Plastic People is renowned for showcasing the best in all genres of music . Unquestionably. Not only that, its been a breeding ground, a fertile home for emergent genres from this city that have been massively successful cultural exports around the world. And played host to some of the most influential music makers of our time coming from across the globe, enabling cross-cultural happenings and collaborations that without Plastic People just wouldnt have taken place. Arguably it's a sonic arts heritage institution….
“The darkness of the dance floor is a welcome and refreshing change. I personally don't go out to be seen, I go out to dance and hear music. Plastic People is a perfect manifestation of an idea about how to experience electronic and electro-acoustic dance music.” — spot on.
Some great quotes from the petition comments already:
“I've spent some of the best nights of my life there, but that isn't the main thing. A small basement in Hackney has reached all the way around the world.”
“Don't let the redlight go out.”
best sound system in town – what's the problem ?
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