Last night, as June’s lingering evening sun turned the Shard a deep orange in the sky above, we slipped nonchalantly into Bermondsey Street Tunnel. The mission? To respectfully honour a sadly missed London Bridge cultural institution, a place swept aside by economic forces.
It’s sad to think that only eight weeks ago, Cable was a thriving nightclub. Today, the arches occupied by the music venue for four years rumble only to the sound of the trains above. Landlords Network Rail, you may remember, apparently reneged on their long-term deal with the club and forcibly repossessed it, in favour of installing a new emergency staircase through the main dancefloor.
So, having already got some form in celebrating other dearly departed dancefloors with our Kentishtowner guerrilla blue plaques, designed by artist Alban Low, it was high time to pay Cable a visit.
After a brief recce, we slapped our latest plaque up in pride of place, next to a fearsome clutch of repossession orders and threatening ‘no unauthorised entry’ signage.
It was the natural spot for it, and looked particularly good from across the road, bathed in the tunnel’s unearthly artificial light. But we wanted more. We hoped to get the plaque up on the shutters, once the gateway to countless nights lost in innovative electronic music. But the fiddling around elicited a deep shout of “who is dat?!” from the other side of the steel divide, before the shutters started to slowly open. So we legged it.
Clearly Network Rail and their developers fear bug-eyed ravers may descend at any given moment to commandeer the space for one last dance. But in this case, we were only celebrating what has been lost.
Cable’s Ryan Ashmore and team remain as stunned by the decision as ever. “We understand that Network Rail had other options as to where to locate these new stairs, but chose the cheapest one, with complete disregard for the cost of the business below the tracks,” he says.
“Theatres and tourist attractions were given all the help they needed to re-locate – is this because they are seen as more culturally important than a nightclub? We were called trespassers and told to get out.”
The arches in and around London Bridge station have been important nightlife destinations for decades. Today’s urban noise issues mean railway arches are among the last suitable spaces for music to be played late at night in the heart of the city. The loss of Cable, SEOne, Shunt Vaults and many other such venues in this area alone inflicts huge damage on one of the UK’s most successful cultural exports. Hopefully though, there is some light at the end of Bermondsey tunnel.
As we reported today, local improvement champions Team London Bridge are running a public consultation on the future of the district. We know there is a drive for creative businesses to thrive under the viaduct, so why not have your say if you feel nightlife needs support in these beautiful and historically important arches? You’ve only got until 6th July, so do it now.
Words & Pics: Tom Kihl
