Is the end near for Ministry of Sound?

That makes me sad because despite it being 'just a nightclub'...and a pretty rubbish one 75% of the time - it's still iconic and stands strong while all the fads appear and disappear around it.

I know it's a corporate brand now etc etc but it represents a lot of what London is about for me and if it suddenly disappeared I'm not sure I'd recognise the city any more. :confused:

It's normal for me to romanticise this venue so ignore me - as most of you will probably be thinking, 'NEXT!' :lol:
 
a) Night clubs do come and go. I've not been Ministry's biggest fan in recent years, and it's demise would see the increased polarisation between the underground and ritzy nightclubs, which in my current state of mind can only be a good thing.

b) I'll be first name down for ALL the closing parties, at a time when I'm still in my peak

c) Knowing those in charge, I wouldn't be at all surprised if this was an opening salvo about nasty property developers forcing them to take a windfall offer that's already been put on the table
 
Dan x said:
c) Knowing those in charge, I wouldn't be at all surprised if this was an opening salvo about nasty property developers forcing them to take a windfall offer that's already been put on the table
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Interesting - you could be right there.

Half of me goes all starry eyed and thinks of a sound system designed by Richard Long & Larry Levan, a setup based on the Paradise Garaaaaaaaaage and early residencies from the Hump etc...it really was the venue that was used as a UK testing ground for American DJs wanting to bring their sound over the pond. (Not that we needed them because of what was happening already with Acid and Balearic stuff at the time.)

...and then the other half thinks of a corporate millets fleece wearing, clueless tw@t named Palumbo with a rich daddy and big ideas.

The second image kinda deflates my idealistic bubble a bit. :lol:
 
Robder said:
Interesting - you could be right there.

Half of me goes all starry eyed and thinks of a sound system designed by Richard Long & Larry Levan, a setup based on the Paradise Garaaaaaaaaage and early residencies from the Hump etc...it really was the venue that was used as a UK testing ground for American DJs wanting to bring their sound over the pond. (Not that we needed them because of what was happening already with Acid and Balearic stuff at the time.)

...and then the other half thinks of a corporate millets fleece wearing, clueless tw@t named Palumbo with a rich daddy and big ideas.

The second image kinda deflates my idealistic bubble a bit. :lol:
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You see, I worship the old NY Disco scene as much as anyone, and it will always be my idealogic nightclub nirvana...And Ministry in so many ways, as I grew older, became the antithesis of that. Any large nightclub will suffer in that respect, but ministry actively encouraged it beyond acceptable levels.

I love the ceiling tweeter arrays as much as the next man, though when I look round and see men fighting and, yes, the snob in me seeing guys wearing clothes that aren't worn solely for ease of getting down (with such commonplace), then I'll never look upon it with the same favour that I do others.

It became just that, a ritzy boys passageway, or toe dipping, into nightclub culture, and number one on any tourists nocturnal 'must see' list.

For the record, I've never resented the Palumbo chap like most - I'll always view him as the guy who 'did it', not the guy who 'did it for the money'. For all the toff's of that era born into money, no-one else (that I'm aware of) went to New york and bought New York over here and made it happen.

That said, I've had enough moments in there and enough ace nights out with my pals to shed a tear when/if it does come to fall.
 
Dan x said:
You see, I worship the old NY Disco scene as much as anyone, and it will always be my idealogic nightclub nirvana...And Ministry in so many ways, as I grew older, became the antithesis of that. Any large nightclub will suffer in that respect, but ministry actively encouraged it beyond acceptable levels.

I love the ceiling tweeter arrays as much as the next man, though when I look round and see men fighting and, yes, the snob in me seeing guys wearing clothes that aren't worn solely for ease of getting down (with such commonplace), then I'll never look upon it with the same favour that I do others.

It became just that, a ritzy boys passageway, or toe dipping, into nightclub culture, and number one on any tourists nocturnal 'must see' list.

For the record, I've never resented the Palumbo chap like most - I'll always view him as the guy who 'did it', not the guy who 'did it for the money'. For all the toff's of that era born into money, no-one else (that I'm aware of) went to New york and bought New York over here and made it happen.

That said, I've had enough moments in there and enough ace nights out with my pals to shed a tear when/if it does come to fall.
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Yup - but you're talking to someone who does Ministry once a year - for the Soul Heaven birthday. Whilst most promotions are money making pedestrian tripe, the crowd at this is spot on.

It's a shell with a dance floor and can't be generalised by a few $hit nights...but that said, I have to agree with the above. :lol:

The fact is it's still another blow to a city with a corporate club scene in disarray.

This will result in more basement parties and a bigger underground but on the flip side, less money pumped into UK dance music production by record labels while they look for bigger artists and fish to fry.
 
It does annoy me that clubs seem to make way for pointy apartments with no character sold by Foxtons estate agents. It seems to follow the trend as we bulldoze anywhere slightly rundown and replace with said apartments. Londons character seems to be depleting by the year and I think places where ppl can let off some steam are part of it
 
Robder said:
This will result in more basement parties and a bigger underground but on the flip side, less money pumped into UK dance music production by record labels while they look for bigger artists and fish to fry.
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this is the way it should be.

And a less over-ground scene will mean less dross being produced to flood the market with.
 
Yep.

Definitely more scope for genuine creatives and better quality music.

It probably won't be that drastic as dance music these days is really cheap to produce.

All you need is a sampler and a few keyboards as opposed to an entire salsoul orchestra. :lol:

...but still, I'll miss the era when dance music ruled and (sponsors and big bucks aside) every enormous club in Ibiza was packed to the rafters every day of the week.
 
speaking for London - dance music, house music - it's all over, it's stale, it's just ageing people like me, stuck in the past, it's not the way forward

we're just clinging on to the wreckage

somebody urgently needs to come up with something new

new sounds, new drugs, new ways of going out, new spaces

the MoS was a dinosaur - the last relic of 90s opulence, a testament to big rooms, big pay packets, big egos, big coke trays

there are still venues putting on excellent parties - lowlife @ corsica - 15 years strong and still the nicest crowd around, great music (eg pepe bradock 'life' - facemelting last saturday night - or perhaps it was that "blue facebook"?!) but it's the exception not the rule

in any case, it isn't really about the big venues anymore - they aren't the motor of dance culture and haven't been for some time

it's at the grassroots that the revolution needs to take place - somebody needs to reinvent dance culture fast because the future certainly doesn't lie in uk funky, (rehashed garage) dubstep or any myriad of micro-blog scenes that only 25 hairy men on Curtain Road know/care about

London's slipped badly and looks pretty stagnant compared to Berlin - and judging from his latest budget cuts, it looks like Boris is set to turn us into newyorkfunfreezone V2.0
 
we have a really nice bar in the centre of St ****burns... probably the only decent bar here.

anyway, have had loads of legal hassle with some old bat who lives next door who is a member of the 'sleep society' and has pretty much helped to veto any proposed business who she feels will disturb the peace...

**** me, what does she expect living in a town centre?:rolleyes:
 
i'm by no means a london expert, but its essentially my job to have an idea about what's going on in various club scenes worldwide.

sure berlin is super cool and top of the tree, but it doesn't have anywhere near the breadth nor depth that london has, even though the quality or originality may be lacking sometimes in the latter.

away from the superstar DJs and big clubs, i don't think anywhere in world can touch london.

here's a guide i did and compared to the other cities i did, i only felt like i scratched the surface, i'm sure there is plenty i missed. (i actually quote you in there olly, describing the aquarium as "evil")

http://www.ibiza-voice.com/story/news/2087
 
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Olly said:
we're just clinging on to the wreckage
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The post you're about to read is proof that I am indeed a hasbeen. :lol:

Guilty as charged. My entire music collection generally runs from 1970-1999...the only thing I got genuinely excited about after the milennium was the rebirth of silly NagNagNag electro and the new house sound that emerged from that.

Olly said:
London's slipped badly and looks pretty stagnant compared to Berlin
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Techno is tired. How exactly does it differ from what was around 15 years ago? The scene was better then too - far less trendy and more raw (Final Frontier for instance).

Berlin may be ruling the roost at the mo (and granted, Panorama is bloody amazing)...but I've been to Berghain loads of times and on occasion felt like I was hanging out washing from the mundanity of the music there.

Ostgut and the excitement of the Love Parade (and DIY spin offs) would've been MUCH betterer in its day. :eek:

What is Berlin saying that's new exactly? ...(nothing)... Although the scene does feel kinda fresh I guess.

Olly said:
and judging from his latest budget cuts, it looks like Boris is set to turn us into newyorkfunfreezone V2.0
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This is where I need educating as I don't know much about his plans. :confused:

But if this is the case, then the future looks pretty bleak. The arrogance that gives London so much notoriety is due to the rich history as well as it's position as one of the financial centres of the world.

When (not if) the economy goes t!ts (which it will despite ongoing debate and feel free to shoot me down in flames if it doesn't) - then if no one is nurturing creativity then we have nothing left.

So this could go two ways really.

To daydream - if the eyes of the world are on the UK for the olympics, then that should be enough to keep everyone interested...then hopefully people will find their rage and become a bit punk rock again.

One can hope. :confused:
 
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:lol::lol::lol: did you drown in a black hole of negativity there Olly and delete your last post?

Or did the interweb fancy a purge and use it as toilet paper?
 
grego said:
i'm by no means a london expert, but its essentially my job to have an idea about what's going on in various club scenes worldwide.

sure berlin is super cool and top of the tree, but it doesn't have anywhere near the breadth nor depth that london has, even though the quality or originality may be lacking sometimes in the latter.

away from the superstar DJs and big clubs, i don't think anywhere in world can touch london.

here's a guide i did and compared to the other cities i did, i only felt like i scratched the surface, i'm sure there is plenty i missed. (i actually quote you in there olly, describing the aquarium as "evil")

http://www.ibiza-voice.com/story/news/2087
Click to expand...

btw - you write very well Grego - quite jealous of your creative outlet there.
 
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