Plastic People vs the Ministry

Tuesday, 23 February 2010 00:24 Written by Joe Muggs

The diverse and switched-on crowd on Plastic People's dancefloor Santi Rieser

Two London clubs currently appear to be under threat. The Ministry of Sound, one of the most successful brands in club music's history, is kicking up a fuss because new housing block planned opposite it may make it vulnerable to noise complaints. Meanwhile, rumours have flown around over the last 48 hours that police are lobbying Hackney Council against Plastic People in Shoreditch whose licence is currently under review for reasons of “prevention of crime and disorder and public nuisance basis”.

It's funny that these two have become news at the same time, as you could not find two more opposite poles within clubland. Plastic People – recently immortalised in a track and stunning DJ mix by Four Tet – is a haven, a place for people who don't so much “go out” as feel at home within clubs. It is a small, unpretentious dark basement with a stupendous, beautifully tuned soundsystem, and a DJ booth which is practically part of the dancefloor. It is the hub for the collisions of black, white and other music that have defined the underground sound of London over the past decade, and its contribution to the vibrancy of this country's music cannot be overestimated. Electronic musicians and connoisseur DJs around the world sing its praises, and the passion for the place in the Facebook and Twitter traffic that has been bubbling around its potential closure is palpable.

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The labyrinthine Ministry also prides itself on its soundsystem, but the similarity ends there. The place is, not to put too fine a point on it, a hellhole. Founded by mate-of-Mandelson James Palumbo, it was the sine qua non of mid-1990s shackling of the acid house explosion within the exploitative confines of the “superclub”, all pretence of democracy subjugated to superstar DJs and VIP rooms within VIP rooms. It's played host to great DJs in its time, but it has never had one iota of innovation about its booking policies, and is ultimately all about milking maximum profit from lowest-common-denominator dance music and crowds.

Palumbo may self-righteously trumpet his single-handed defeat of South London's gangsters and drug dealers, but the metal detectors on the doors and a recent fatal shooting in the club's queue speak volumes about the “vibe” of the place, and it's as likely as any other club in town to be packed with bovine casualties with papier maché for brains.

Plastic People, on the other hand, while it may suffer occasionally from the cliqueishness of any small venue, is the constituency of a switched-on, diverse crowd, and as such is fundamentally unthreatening – indeed its renowned FWD>> night was a pioneer in showing that grime MCs from London's most notorious estates could perform without crowd trouble. Without even getting into the question of the gentrification of Shoreditch, it seems bizarre to say the least if it is being persecuted as is being suggested.

It is grimly ironic, then, that Plastic People appears to be threatened by the police, while the Ministry finds its source of peril to be affordable housing being built on its doorstep. And how ironic, too, that the iconic Ministry may be national news (thanks, one suspects, to the Ministry's press people) but rouses little real passion, while the tiny, underground Plastic People has already provoked spontaneous waves of disbelief and defiance amongst the people who have sampled its unique showcasing of the greatest music London and the world have to offer.

UPDATE: here is an excellent blog on Plastic People's place in the Shoreditch ecosystem by a DJ and regular of Plastic People

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32 comments

Comment Link Sunday, 28 February 2010 17:30 posted by Joe Muggs There is a petition re Plastic People here: http://www.petitiononline.com/PP2010/petition.html

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Comment Link Saturday, 27 February 2010 19:33 posted by Joe Muggs I'll take that bet, Jane.

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Comment Link Friday, 26 February 2010 19:50 posted by jane the sound at PP is awful though, tantamount to ear rape. so i really don't think you could have been down there recently. i'm guessing you probably spent a few teen night outs down the ministry (and then some dreadful grown-up ones for work) and had a bit of an early/mid-20s clubbing epiphany at PP, hence the fawning. i think MOS has the best room, and the best sound, in London. it might be a big, scary, business-first brand, but seeing as the club amounts to about one per cent of the company's income, i don't think the accountants would be worried if it stayed or went. so the fact that it is making a song and dance about closing would suggest that the company still considers the club important and worth fighting for. like jimmy said, at least it opens its doors on time. PP has awful lighting in the bar, scummy loos, a dreadfully neglected sound system and an owner who opens when he wants. i wouldn't put my money on him putting up much of a fight to stay open. if you're going to write about the clubs, take off your rose-tinted specs before you look at your keyboard, yeah?

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Comment Link Friday, 26 February 2010 01:05 posted by Joe Muggs Now that's a bit melodramatic don't you think, Mike? Do you honestly believe a writer on a website giving vent to their feelings about the Ministry will have a detrimental effect on the Plastic People 'cause'? And as for "divisive" - honestly, the Ministry of Sound is big enough and ugly enough to take care of itself, I'm sure it can handle a bit of criticism without the fabric of clubland falling apart. As I said before, this is purely an opinion piece, it's my feelings about these two clubs and the difference beteen them. I'm not making half the claims some people seem to think: I certainly never said Plastic People "invented" anything. It's a venue, it can't invent things.

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Comment Link Thursday, 25 February 2010 22:58 posted by Rich Joe - point of clarification. "Ministry finds its source of peril to be .... doorstep" You sound well sussed. Is that like dubstep?

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Comment Link Thursday, 25 February 2010 14:49 posted by Mike Richardson Joe - As one of the people who are putting their weight behind the fight to save PP, I dont think you've done our 'cause' any favours with this article. Yes, it's interesting that two different types of clubs are under threat in the same week, but it's a co-incidence and I fail to see the 'irony' in it. Just bad luck I guess. Your comments have probably driven more traffic to theartsdesk.com that usual because they are divisive and a bit controversial. In that respect, you might consider your job done However, to slag off MOS is narrowminded and kinda disrespectful to the punters and DJs that have attended BOTH venues And re: genres - PP provides an excellent environment for new sounds, but you can't claim it invents them. You appear to have forgotten that FWD started in the Velvet Rooms, ie: not PP Pls dont back track any further - I think you've said enough

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Comment Link Thursday, 25 February 2010 14:14 posted by Jonny Pipecock, don't you live in Pittsburgh? What London clubs have you been to in the last 12 months?

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Comment Link Thursday, 25 February 2010 09:32 posted by Pipecock @ Jimmy PP is a venue, as is MoS and Fabric. HMD, Trade and QN are all club nights, how can you make comparisons between the two. The only reason you mentioned them was to give yourself some sort clubbing credentials medal. Well done and what did you think of trade?

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Comment Link Thursday, 25 February 2010 01:17 posted by Moderator Elliot's comment has been removed for bad language and lack of contribution to the argument.

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Comment Link Wednesday, 24 February 2010 22:34 posted by Leroy Why won't you answer my comments about Trance, are you a music snob??

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