A guide to london's Night Life

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London'ss Top Clubs

Night life

Occupying former theatres, railway arches, factories and warehouses, many of London's major clubs started out as illegal party venues, and Londoners are used to descending into the ancient heart of their city for a big night out. There's indie, rock, pop and world music in the mix, but it's all-night dance music raves on Fridays and Saturdays that are the lifeblood of these huge spaces.

333

333 Old Street, EC1V 9LE

The 333/Mother bar complex was at the heart of the original Hoxton revolution. Its promoters and DJs helped launch the mullet movement and fanzine the 'Shoreditch Twat', which was later adapted for Channel Four. It's lost its cutting edge in recent years, but 333 is still a great venue, with basement scuzziness downstairs, and an ideal lounging and drinking space at the top. The music is entertainingly unexpected: the main dancefloor might play host to dark drum'n'bass, while banging Italo-disco happens below and there are cheesy reggae classics above. No East End venue has inspired more silly fashions, general japery and musical mayhem than this Shoreditch stalwart.

Address: 333 Old Street, EC1V 9LE
Phone: 020 7739 5949
Nearest Station: Old Street Tube/Rail

333 - Information

Corsica Studios

Elephant Road, SE171LB

A superbly designed two-room club and arts venue that captures the feeling of an illegal party in a squatted industrial space - while still being clean, well-organised and close to central London. There's absolutely no passing trade here (it's pretty hard to find, in fact), so if you want to be sure of a night where everyone is there for the music, this is the place to go. Corsica Studios is home to many of London's oddest and most daring clubbing experiences, with a consistent focus on the cutting edge of electronic and indie experimentation, all played out on two Funktion 1 sound-systems. The opposite of the bland superclub experience available across the road at Ministry of Sound.

Address: Elephant Road, SE171LB
Phone: 0207 703 4760
Nearest Station: Elephant & Castle Tube/Rail

Corsica Studios - Information

EGG

200 York Way, N7 9AP

The fabulous EGG nightclub was well prepared for the smoking ban, with a fantastic garden and terrace which make it London's finest summer clubbing spot. There are three floors inside, and well-programmed nights of house, electro and dirty beats attract a wild polysexual crowd. It's at its most hedonistic for the Sunday morning after-party Breakfast at Egg, when North London's wildest clubbers converge to watch the sun rise and keep the rave alive.

Address: 200 York Way, N7 9AP
Phone: 020 7609 8364
Nearest Station: Kings Cross Tube/Rail or Caledonian Road Tube

EGG - Information

The Den and Centro

18a West Central Street, WC1A 1JJ

For many, the real damage of this bleeding recession came when iconic club The End and its upstairs bar AKA closed its doors to business. Ironically, the subsequent slump in the property market saw plans for a swanky block of flats in the once-highly-sought-after central location go up in smoke, with developers preferring to rebrand and reopen the venue instead of throw away top dollar on flats nobody could afford to buy. So, just three months elapsed before the unveiling of The Den and Centro: "a fantasy nightclub and party venue for indulgence in hedonistic pleasure," in schmalzy PR-speak. In truth (and this is no bad thing) the only real difference between The End and The Den - except the odd laser and new LED colour Pallets - is the position of the letter 'd'. Still, Centro has undergone a serious enough facelift, including the addition of a new stage for live acts, to warrant the clever painting of 'Re' above the first three letters of Holborn tube sign on the flyer graphics. The result being "a rare mixture of impressive 90s extravagance and minimalism" according, again, to the PR pen-pushers (who clearly never heard of Oasis). It remains to be seen how the place takes to the changes and whether or not The Den and Centro can attract the big names and parties back into its walls. But given the fact that Jonathan Tana of Space flew in from Ibiza for the opening, it shouldn't be too long before The (D)en(d) is back up to speed and the key residencies return.

Address: 18a West Central Street, WC1A 1JJ
Phone: 020 7240 6010
Timing: 10pm-6am
Pricing: £10 entry fee

The Den and Centro - Information

Fabric

77A Charterhouse Street, EC1M 6DR

Built on the site of a Victorian meat cellar, London's original super club continues to boast the most sensational and eclectic line-ups in the capital. Its global reputation is founded on its diversity and willingness to showcase new talent alongside established residents such as Ali B, Andrew Weatherall and Tru Playaz. Feel the bass bleed through the speakers buried in the floor and recline in style on the famous bed seats at one of their top regular nights. Fabriclive on Fridays is regularly rammed and draws some of the biggest names in hip hop, drum'n' bass and electro. Saturdays are a more glamorous, house-orientated affair with the cream of the world's DJ talent. The bars usually stay open till 3am, thinning out the crowd to the hardcore as the sun rises over the sleeping city - and the serious party-people warm up for glamorous Sunday night gay/mixed party DTPM.

Address: 77A Charterhouse Street, EC1M 6DR
Phone: 020 7336 8898
Nearest Station: Farringdon Tube / Rail

Fabric - Information

Heaven

Under the Arches, Craven Street, WC2N 6NG

Apart from occasional touring nights like Bedrock and Gatecrasher, Heaven is gay, but thoroughly welcoming to all. It was once the home of Megatripolis and holds a fond place in the memory of anybody lucky enough to experience the rave explosion of the 90s. The venue is brilliantly laid out through a series of interconnecting rooms and there's plenty of space to chill out along with two sizeable dancefloors. The atmosphere in this deservedly famous venue is second to none - very weird, and equally friendly.

Address: Under the Arches, Craven Street, WC2N 6NG
Phone: 020 7930 4480
Nearest Station: Embankment Tube

Heaven - Information

The Island

180/182 Hungerford Lane, WC2N 5NG

One of the West End's finest dance music venues, The Island manages to keep the drunken Soho crowds away by being exceedingly well concealed in an alleyway behind Charing Cross Station. Inside, there are three very smart rooms, all of them with Funktion 1 sound-systems producing a crisp acoustic that's perfect for the Friday and Saturday parties. It occasionally combines with Heaven nightclub to host really huge parties, but more often this is a good spot for a glammed-up house music night.

Address: 180/182 Hungerford Lane, WC2N 5NG
Phone: 020 7389 6622
Nearest Station: Charing Cross Tube/Rail

The Island - Information

KOKO

1a Camden High Street, NW1 7JH

Following an epic programme of refurbishment, the former Camden Palace reopened as KOKO, a music venue with big ambitions. An eclectic set of regular club nights has turned this revamped North London landmark into a slice of cutting-edge cool. It always was a magnificent venue, and the refurbishment has more than done it justice: it's like going to a rave in an opera house, with swathes of opulent velvet and a huge arch rising three floors above the giant dancefloor. Fridays are indie nights, with bands followed by DJs playing whatever the skinny-jeans crowd are listening to this week, while Saturdays offer a varied selection of big parties, and the week is mostly given over to gigs. Low prices (by London standards) help ensure its popularity with students.

Address: 1a Camden High Street, NW1 7JH
Phone: 0870 432 5527
Nearest Station: Camden Town Tube

KOKO - Information

SeOne

41-43 St Thomas Street, SE1 3QX

With 30,000 square feet to dance in and a capacity of 3000, SeOne is the largest true nightclub in London. It's a classic rave location, under a series of railway arches, and the music policy is definitely on the harder side, with massive techno, drum 'n' bass and old skool nights packing it out most weekends. There are a couple of fairly smart areas, but most of the club has been left deliberately bare, with the focus on lights and speakers rather than decor. A great place for very messy all-nighters.

Address: 41-43 St Thomas Street, SE1 3QX
Phone: 020 7407 1617
Nearest Station: London Bridge Tube/Rail

SeOne - Information