Twenty-Five Years Later, Fabric’s Focus is Still on the Dancefloor

On weekends in London in the mid-’90s, after most clubs had called their last orders, those of us still wanting to continue would find ourselves in the city’s nightlife institution, Ministry of Sound. In the early hours we would converge in the superclub’s offices, connecting with dance music industry folks, exchanging ideas, and planning for the future.

It was during one of these sessions that nightlife stalwart Nikki Smith told me she was going to be joining a team of visionaries to open the best nightclub London had ever seen, and that it was going to be called fabric.

“I remember the excitement in the buildup to fabric opening,” remembers pioneering drum and bass DJ and producer Optical who DJed the first and second weekends when the club opened its doors in 1999. Many years and DJ sets later, Optical, along with his musical partner Ed Rush, compiled and mixed the timeless FABRICLIVE.82 collection in 2015.

“At the time, in London, there was only a small handful of clubs,” Optical says. “fabric was a whole new level of venue with its super powerful sound systems and futuristic lights and a really unique underground space. It was a game changer for not only London but also as an example to other cities of how to create a truly inspiring venue.”

A quarter century later, fabric, a 300-page book that celebrates the club’s anniversary, is released. Those early scrappy days of fabric are captured in timeless images of the core individuals who built it from the ground up, Smith among them. They are huddled together in these pictures, unaware that 25 years down the line, their collective energy would be palpable off the page.

“We’ve managed to consistently pull together and keep a team who are absolutely passionate about what we do,” says fabric’s co-founder Cameron Leslie. “As a collective, whether that’s our bookings and curation team or our operations team, we have a singular focus on the dancefloor, making sure that everything we do is focused on making that experience the best possible. It sounds like a cliche, but we really are just thinking about the next weekend every single week. I guess that’s why suddenly you blink, and 25 years have gone.”

The book’s wealth of imagery carries through its many years. It chronicles the building of the club, showing a glimpse of what it took to bring the idea to life. To put these images in context are archival ones of the building and the surrounding area, which cement fabric’s place in its historic neighborhood. Photo after photo shows fabric’s proliferation of bricks, arches, air ducts, industrial beams, and its three rooms’ underground location, which uniquely position the club’s physical space. These images move through the years, capturing the vibe of the clubbers as much as the DJs, each snapshot a singular representation of its time.

Author Joe Muggs weaves together the club’s narrative in-between fabric’s visual story in defined sections. There is the history, matter (fabric’s defunct superclub counterpart), the music, (legendary) birthdays, art, the people, #savefabric (when it was under threat of closure),  and the meaning of fabric. These chunks make it easy to dip in and out of the book, savoring a few pages at a time. At the same time, Muggs conducts a deep unpacking of the club’s founders and its small but dedicated staff whose ideas and approaches shape the club’s personality.

“I’d like it if people came away from [the book] feeling, as I had, how potent and precious a collective endeavor [fabric] is and how people can build something greater than the sum of its parts,” says Muggs. “Of course fabric’s existence is down to individuals, to the crazed vision of Keith Reilly, the yin-and-yang business relationship he built up with Cameron Leslie, the musical input of Craig Richards, Terry Francis, Judy Griffith, Shaun Roberts and so many other residents and bookers, but the real magic comes of how that all interfaces with the artists, the architects, the actual bricks and mortar, and of course the literal millions of ravers passing through the doors and down the stairs. fabric is an ever-evolving artwork in its own right, and every interaction, every dance move, every new friendship sparked on the dancefloor or the smoking terrace, is all part of that artwork.”

Influential former BBC Radio 1 presenter Annie Mac pens the foreword and respected writer and musician Bill Brewster provides the introduction to fabric. Their individual viewpoints give a full spectrum perspective on the club and the culture that surrounds it. Brewster’s input is particularly touching in its personal nature.

Also weighing in are the countless DJs that have played the club—whose ethos has always been music over marquee names. In the exhaustive “People of fabric” chapter, there are testimonials from not only the resident and guest DJs but the people who have worked at fabric over the last 25 years. With passport-sized photos breaking up the text, this chapter feels a lot like the fabric yearbook, with the written contributions serving as classmates’ notes. There is not a lot of variation in their experiences of the club, which makes this section repetitive, but one thing is clear: the club’s music-first policy is agreed upon by everyone.

“Attention to detail and making sure everyone has the same attitude to delivering an amazing experience for clubbers,” says Ralph Lawson of what stands out for him about fabric. Lawson compiled fabric 33 in the club’s famed mixed series in 2007. It remains a standout among the series’ 100 releases.

Lawson continues, “fabric was the first venue I ever saw a sound engineer walking around with a remote control that could change EQ and volume settings on the sound systems and modify the sound continually through the night making sure every room was being played at the optimal level. The same goes with lighting, ambiance, and safety.”

Revered French DJ and producer Laurent Garnier has put together fabric presents Laurent Garnier, a hefty quadruple mix in different genres that represents a weekend-long experience at fabric. This special release is part of the celebration of the club’s 25th anniversary and has the bonus of an exclusive four-track EP produced by Garnier. The idea for the heavy-duty release was Garnier’s, who drew from his experiences DJing at fabric for inspiration.

“The first time I played fabric was about 20 years ago,” says Garnier. “I vividly remember thinking ‘WOW’ when I first walked into Room 1. I loved the vibe of the room. It felt very underground and exactly what I liked in clubs. Also, I remember very well the quality of the sound system. Immediately impressed. It was of a quality of what I’d hear in America or Japan. In Europe back then, there weren’t that many clubs that had amazing sound systems like this. I respected that. When I play in fabric, I feel like I’m on the dance floor. I’m a dancer so I like to feel involved, together with people. I need to feel the heat.”

Considering fabric’s dedication to music and culture, when it was in imminent danger of permanently having its doors closed by city officials, it was a shocking blow that reverberated around the globe. The #savefabric chapter illustrates why the city wanted to come down hard on the venue, but it falls short of showing the harmful impact the club’s closing would have on culture, both domestically in the U.K. and worldwide. Not to mention the damage to the livelihood of those involved in any aspect of the club’s existence.

Optical’s memories from that time are vivid. “I was part of the campaign to save the club from closure and not only did all the artists rally around to convince the council to keep the club open, but also there was a huge ground roots campaign from the people who were dedicated regulars and visitors from all over the world. Wherever we have traveled to perform, fabric is always held up as one of the most significant venues in global clubland.”

If there’s one criticism of fabric, it is the overwhelming, one-note praise of the club. Undoubtedly fabric’s singular effect is unparalleled, but the club’s challenges, financial and otherwise, aren’t delved into in fabric. What’s a success story with some conflict? But fabric remains standing, and it delivers.

“I was there just a couple of weeks ago and was amazed at the speed bar staff worked to refill glasses of water so people could stay hydrated,” says Lawson. “fabric has always pioneered and evolved the clubbing experience since 1999 so it’s no surprise that you can find yourself staying in there for so long. I hear there have been all sorts of records set at fabric for how long people stay in a nightclub, apparently 36 hours on the birthdays! Doesn’t that say it all?”

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