Another year and yet another nightclub closes, no doubt to be replaced by another office building making the streets of clubbing a little more lonely.
The Official Press Release:
The End & AKA would like to announce that the club will be closing those legendary metal doors for good in January 2009. After thirteen years of innovation and inspiration, we invite everyone to celebrate the end of The End.
The End & AKA will of course be closing in style, giving the venues the send off they deserve, and the chance for the different DJs and nights to say goodbye. We will be open as normal through autumn, with September, October and November’s parties rocking as usual. The farewell begins with The End’s 13th birthday on December 6th, with long-time favourite Sven Vath headlining. There will follow a series of closing parties featuring The End’s closest DJs and promoters, and then a grand closing weekend on January 23rd and 24th. Regarding the final parties, Layo says “You know us, and you know what we do. We’re speaking to all the key people and we’re not going to go out on anything other than the most massive bang.”
Naturally, it being clubland, everyone will want to know why we’re closing. Are there problems? Is everyone leaving fantastically rich? What’s happening? The reality is simple. We began in a kitchen with a conversation and a dream. The club has been our life for thirteen fantastic years, but key people in the team were ready to move on, this coincided with being made an offer on the building, and we felt it time to pursue different roads. To be able to walk away now after such a journey means that the timing is right. It’s been a dificult decision, and of course we’re sad, but The End is, and has been, the most amazing experience, and we want to thank all those who made it possible and all those who have shared in our dream.
There are too many fond memories, legendary nights, key players and tall tales to go into detail in one short press release. Plus there’s three whole months of cracking line-ups before we can get excited about the closing parties. So the final words, for now, come from Time Out London: “The whole End / AKA formula has been so widely copied that it is impossible to imagine what London would be like without it.” Well, sadly, from January 24th, you’ll have to.
