Music entertainment in England
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A
Egg
Egg has the most superb layout with three exposed concrete rooms (across three floors), a garden and two gorgeous tropical roof terraces (relieving the edgy, exiled smokers). Some say it would fit perfectly in New York’s meat-packing district thanks to its design, but it’s ours and we’re keeping it because it rocks. Located off York Way, the club hosts ‘omnisexual’ nights, with a mix of electro, minimal and house. At weekends, a free shuttle bus runs here, every 30 minutes between 10pm and 2am, from outside American Carwash on York Way.
reviewed
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B
Notting Hill Arts Club
London simply wouldn’t be what it is without places like NHAC. There’s a night for everyone in this small basement club, from knitting societies to country folk, house nights and Eastern European punk. The famous monthly Thursday Yo-Yo night, where singer Lily Allen and producer Mark Ronson met, is one of the best nights for R&B, ‘80s boogies, hip hop, ragga and diverse live sets, while the bimonthly Sunday Radio Gagarin features ‘experiments in Sunday Socialism’.
reviewed
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C
Bar Music Hall
This venue's most recent (and most promising incarnation is Bar Music Hall. It's large and therefore rarely too crowded, and hosts some of the hottest nights in Shoreditch. Wednesday's Slipped Disco is all underground acid and clipped electro, and Saturday night's Foreign is all the rage with drag queen DJ Jodie Harsh and fabulous Molaroid, art projections, techno, electro, rave, pop, ragga and anything in between. Oh, and it's free to get in.
reviewed
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D
Moose Bar
We bet you never thought you'd find a sky lodge in the Canadian Rockies in the middle of the West End? This wood-lined space on two floors has a simple ground-floor bar and a downstairs lounge/DJ'n'dance space with antlers for lampshades and cowhide on the seating. The cocktails are reasonable (around £7 to around £9), you can have a bite (of pies and nibbles) to eat and there's dancing until late on weekend nights.
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E
Medicine Bar
Still one of the coolest bars along Upper St, the Medicine Bar attracts 30-something clubbers and drinkers, as well as a younger crowd. One reason you'd come to this converted dark-red pub, with low sofas and dim lighting, is its music, ranging from jazzy funk to hip-hop; another attraction is minor celebrity spotting - you might catch sight of your fave DJ, model or TV star (if you can see through the crowds, that is).
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F
Baby Cream
This supertrendy bar, run by the same crowd that created Liverpool's now-defunct-but-still-legendary Cream nightclub, is gorgeous and pretentious in almost equal measure. One pretty cool feature, though, is Creamselector - a set of touch screens where you can make your own compilation CD from a databank of more than 4000 tracks (for a price) - it's like taking a piece of the famous nightclub home with you.
reviewed
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G
T Bar
A recent closure was a slap-on-the-wrist for wild and loose T Bar, which tends to host all-day club events on Sundays and raucous weekend nights. Now, with some bouncers brooding at the front door, it's still the same fun, with excellent DJs on Fridays and Saturdays. It's housed on the ground floor of the Tea Building, a creative hub for various hip companies cashing in on Shoreditch's aching coolness.
reviewed
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H
Sun And 13 Cantons
Certainly Soho's oddest-named pub, the Sun is a music-industry mainstay and a great place for young hopefuls to network. Everyone from the Chemical Brothers (first London gig) to Underworld (global smash hit written here) has links to this place, and there are still regular DJ nights downstairs. A far better reason to visit is the historic décor and relaxed drinking vibe upstairs.
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I
Herbal
You’ll recognise Herbal by all the plastic grass stapled to its front wall. Inside is a two-level bar-club. The laid-back, grown-up loft upstairs has a small dance floor, seating and a window overlooking Shoreditch. Downstairs is more minimalist and can get very sweaty. There’s a mix of drum and bass, house, funk-house and hip hop, interspersed with live shows.
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J
Plan B
It doesn't have to be plan B - it could be an evening's plan A if you're looking for a friendly, low-key DJ bar any night from Thursday to Sunday. Even on Tuesday and Wednesday nights the decent cocktails are enough to woo you to this large room, decorated in an urban minimalist style - all concrete, exposed brick and benches with frosted-glass side panels.
reviewed
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K
Magnet
Red leather booths, plenty of velvet and a suitably seedy New York-dive atmosphere where Iggy Pop or Tom Waits would feel right at home. The upstairs bar is very cool but totally chilled out, while downstairs the dancefloor shakes to the best music in town, spun by up-and-comers and supported with guest slots by some of England's most established DJ names.
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L
Bar Rumba
A small club just off Piccadilly with a loyal following and fab DJs, specialising in hip hop, Latin, and drum and bass. It was relaunched in 2008, and has once again reasserted its appeal with drum and bass and hip-hop lovers. Movement is all about jungle, every other Thursday, while salsa and Latin urban dance parties are on at Barrio Latino on Tuesday.
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M
333
Hoxton’s true old-timer, 333’s stripped-down manner doesn’t bow to Shoreditch’s silly cool and just keeps going, despite not being what it once was in terms of pulling power. The club still hosts great nights that are simultaneously scruffy and innovative and is a key player on the electro-glam and indie rave scene.
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N
Cross
This is one of London's best venues, comprising several low brick rooms built under railway arches hidden in the wasteland off York Way. Sunday is run by Vertigo, a Continental-style clubbing operation, who bring over lots of Italian guest DJs. There's a great outdoor terrace for the summer months, too.
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O
Rhythm Factory
Perennially hip and popular, the Rhythm Factory is a relaxed and friendly coffee shop with a Thai lunch and dinner menu during the day, but come the evening it opens up the large back room, and tonnes of bands and DJs of all genres keep the up-for-it crowd happy until late.
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P
Po Na Na Souk Bar
Sipping your cocktail in the intimate atmosphere of a Moroccan kasbah and nodding along to an eclectic mix of Latin, house and hip hop music, it's easy to understand why this late-night bar has remained a local favourite for a decade. Monday is hip-twisting salsa night.
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Q
Raoul's
Packed to the gills on weekends and serving some of the best cocktails in town, this trendy retro-look bar is one of Jericho's finest. Guest DJs play chilled funky jazz as effortlessly cool punters try hard not to look impressed by the pestle-wielding bar staff.
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R
Music Box
Deep in Jilly's Rockworld complex you'll find our favourite club in town and - judging by the queues - almost everyone else's, too. The punters come for the superb monthly club nights, such as Mr Scruff's Keep it Unreal, as well a host of terrific one-offs.
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Dusk
This rather remote stretch of Battersea Park Rd seems a truly unusual location for this glamorous, recently refurbished (and award-winning) bar but it's worth the trek. Staff make killer cocktails and there's a DJ (and sometimes live music) at the weekend.
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T
Dr Wu's
Small and chock-full of black leather seats, this grungy bar would slot comfortably into New York's East Village, and don't the punters just know it. The vibe is studied cool and the DJs play a suitable blend of eclectic (but always alternative) sounds.
reviewed
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U
Club V
White leather sofas and club nights with names like Angel Deelite and Venus don't always augur well if you're looking for some really good music, but this little basement club defies all expectations with its devotion to garage and funky house.
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V
Kro Bar
The ice-cool hand of Scandinavian design is all over this terrific bar in the middle of student-land. An excellent bar menu (mains around £7 to around £9) packs the punters in at lunch, while DJs keep it going at night until closing.
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W
Medicine Bar
The crew working this joint are too cool for school. But they know only too well they are mixing it in the hippest, most happening nightspot in town with a truly eclectic range of nights, from Asian dub to hip-hop to electro pop. A blast.
reviewed
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X
Molokos Vodka Bar
One of the city's slicker contemporary venues, Molokos lures in the youth of Winchester with just about every flavour of vodka under the sun, touts an R & B soundtrack and buzzing ambience. It graduates into a club on weekend nights.
reviewed
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Y
Drift
This hip London-style bar languishes behind whirlpool frosted glass and pebble-dashed front, has a slick chrome and wood interior, and lounge showcasing DJs on the weekends. Be sure to visit the quirky ultracool bathrooms.
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