“I was so lucky to be in the right place at the right time...”

…said Lyn Stone, reflecting on her time as a student at UCL from 1991 to 1994 when the nightclub scene was taking off in London, in her interview with Sam Blaxland for Generation UCL: Two Hundred Years of Student Life in London project. 

The break of the London nightclubbing scene in the late 1980s and early 1990s shaped a new life for the city’s youth and UCL students alike.

Club Culture in London: The beginnings 
By the late 1980s, club culture had expanded throughout Europe, reaching its height during the Second Summer of Love in 1988–1989. This was the pinnacle of the, mostly illegal, rave scene that emerged from the acid-house music movement. Ecstasy, often termed ‘the dance drug’, became a defining feature of nightclub and rave culture throughout this period and into the 1990s. The rising prominence of rave and club culture led nightclubbing to increase considerably, with new nightclubs opening in London throughout the early 1990s, including the Ministry of Sound in 1991 and the Gardening Club in the early 1990s. The increasing popularity of nightclubs was further accentuated by the 1994 Criminal Justice and Public Order Act that made large gatherings of people with loud music illegal. This new legislation meant much of the illegal rave scene was forced to move to legal spaces, such as nightclubs. And so, nightclubbing continued to increase and became centres of youth culture throughout the 1990s.

DJs and Radio
The expansion of nightclubs in the 1990s also led to the rising notability of DJs. Known for its lineup of London’s best club DJs, Kiss FM gained massively in popularity, especially after it was given a broadcasting license in 1989. In UCL’s student magazine, Pi, UCL Union (UCLU) advertised playing Kiss FM DJs, such as DJ Judge Jools, at their various club nights, such as their Saturday “Tonne it up” night. 

While some genres and subgenres that emerged and gained popularity in the 1990s are more known today than others, such as house, hip-hop, R&B, and Britpop, many others also emerged, including drum and bass, jungle, grunge, garage, indie, acid jazz, and punk.

The increasing interest and popularity of varied music genres and club culture is reflected in Pi Magazine. What started with just a single double spread on new music in 1990 and 1991, turned into nearly eight pages dedicated to reporting on and reviewing new artists, albums and singles by 1993. A similar expansion can be seen in the ‘Listings’ or ‘Highlights’ section, where concerts and club nights beyond UCLU and ULU became regularly incorporated in 1995. 

Left: The ‘Listings’ section from Pi Magazine, Issue No.523, 4th February 1990 from UCL Special Collections, UCL Archives, London, UCLCA/SEC/B.
Right: The ‘Highlights’ (listings) section from Pi Magazine Issue No.568, 6th February 1995, p.35, from UCL Special Collections, UCL Archives, London, UCLCA/SEC/B.

The inclusion of events from wider London within the general ‘Listings’/’Highlights’ sections illustrates the interconnectedness of UCL, with its majority young adult population, and London which developed with the increasing popularity of club culture. By 1995, many Pi editions included separate ‘Clubs’ and ‘General Listings’ sections. 

Image: The ‘Clubs’ section from Pi Magazine, Issue No.596, 6th February 1995, pp.16-17, from UCL Special Collections, UCL Archives, London, UCLCA/SEC/B.

University of London Union (ULU) and UCLU:
Booking the up-and-coming artists, DJs, and comedy acts of the time, ULU and UCLU also contributed to the wider club and pop culture of the 1990s. 

 “...ULU got the best gigs—if you were basically any band worth your salt, not a massive stadium band, ULU would be on your radar.”

…Said Lyn Stone. Throughout the 1990s, ULU, open to University of London students and the wider public, had performances by many well-known bands, including The Cranberries in 1991, The Verve in 1993, and Stereophonics in 1997. Ricky Gervais, one of ULU’s entertainments managers during the 1990s, was known for booking high-quality bands and comedy acts. 

“It was noisy, it was smoky, it was grimy, grubby, sweaty and sticky...”

…said Lalith Wijedoru, who completed his Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBSS) at UCL from 1997–2003, describing UCLU. UCLU also booked comedy acts and hosted many regular themed club nights throughout the 1990s at their student bars on 25 Gordon Street, including G-spot, Easy J’s, Gordon’s and Phineas. These included themed indie nights, Britpop nights, and High Heel Heaven nights for playing famous DJs. 

‘Cool Britannia’
In 1997, with the newly elected Labour government, there was an increased feeling of optimism. ‘Cool Britannia’ became the phrase to encompass this period from the mid- to late-1990s of increasing pride in British pop culture and youth culture. Britpop artists, such as Blur, Oasis, and the Spice Girls, came to represent this period and Prime Minister Tony Blair increasingly pushed his association with these groups and youth culture as a whole. 

Image: The Spice Girls cover and interview from Pi Magazine, Issue No.588, 20th January 1997, cover, pp.10–11, from UCL Special Collections, UCL Archives, London, UCLCA/SEC/B.

With youth and club culture becoming more mainstream, the late 1990s saw the commercialisation of nightclubs and raves, with nightclubs such as the Ministry of Sound pushing their identities as brands. 

A Reflection: London Life and UCL  
Often known as the peak of nightclubbing, it is easy to assume that most UCL students’ London life in the 1990s primarily involved the London nightclub scene. Yet, after listening to seven interviews with student alumni from the 1990s, it became obvious that this was not the case. For some, nightclubbing was the centre of their London Life. However, for others, UCLU and ULU were. And for others, neither was. 

Whether nightclubbing at the Ministry of Sound, going to the UCLU sports night, listening to Kiss FM, reading Pi, or just going to the local pub, each individual’s London life was connected to UCL.

I now realise that at the beginning of my research I attempted to separate UCL and ‘London Life’. However, treating them as separate entities proved almost impossible: UCL is part of London, and London is part of UCL’s identity as an institution. People come to London to be at UCL and people come to UCL to be in London. Both are interconnected and impact each other in terms of culture and experience. ULU’s concerts, UCLU’s themed club nights, and Pi’s interview with the  Spice Girls illustrate that UCL shapes London life and London life shapes UCL, both individually and collectively. 

A selection of Pi front covers from this period
Montage created by Bunny Granger.

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Last updated 2 months ago Read time 6 mins