It doesn’t take a Londoner or even someone who’s been to London to appreciate what’s going on with fabric’s utterly fucking tragic shuttering this week at the hands of the Islington City Council. Certainly the two drug-related deaths at the club over the summer is something to be taken seriously, but when you read the PDF version of the council’s decision, it genuinely sounds like a cartoon version of what somebody who has never done drugs crazily imagines a supposed drug haven to be. Undercover police officers reportedly noticed a majority of the club’s patrons one night “manifesting symptoms” such as “sweating, glazed red eyes, and staring into space and people asking for help.” No drug use was actually observed during that consequential night of trying to reach a pre-established conclusion, so maybe it’s no wonder that these professional dunces have seen their funding cut year over year as of late.
Actual, if terribly misguided, drug concerns… NIMBYs having enough of coolness existing in their neighborhood… The Islington City Council catering to foreign investors. It goes without saying that the outrage would be amplified if either of the latter two reasons were discovered to factually be the case, but as far as the officially given one goes, fabric co-founder and director Cameron Leslie passionately debunked that rationale at the council meeting immediately prior to the club’s closure. fabric has received repeated commendations over its 17-year history for best practices and establishing a general culture of safety. The club’s closure will do nothing whatsoever to stymie drug use, in any case.
A spokesperson for fabric has confirmed its plans to appeal the Islington council’s decision, and the council will continue to stand opposite mayors, MPs, DJs, more than 100,000 petitioners, and arguably millions of electronic music listeners.
To show your support, fabric is asking fans to sign and share its petition. They even created a campaign pack that you can download (zip) with resources on how to “make some noise.” Read more at the site here, and check some relevant music and social media below.