Home (nightclub)

Infobox music venue
name = Home


caption =
location = Leicester Square, London
type = Nightclub
genres = Electronic music
years_active = 1999 — 2001
capacity = 2,400
owner = Big Beat International

Home was a music venue and nightclub located at 1 Leicester Square in central London. It was closed by Westminster Council in late March 2001 due to evidence of open drug-dealing occurring within the club [cite web | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/music/1251385.stm | title=Home nightclub shut by police | date=2001-03-30 | accessdate=2007-10-30 | work=news.bbc.co.uk ] . The club went into receivership shortly after it was closed [cite web | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/music/1273766.stm | title=Home club owners in receivership| date=2001-04-12 | accessdate=2007-10-30 | work=news.bbc.co.uk ] .

The club opened in September 1999 and during its existence it was one of the most popular clubs in the United Kingdom. It was considered to be amongst the UK's superclubs whilst it was open. Paul Oakenfold was a resident DJ at the club, and was one of many top DJs who played at the club. The premises had a capacity of 2400 and was spread over 7 floors. However on most weekend nights the capacity was reduced to 1775 and only floors 2-4 were open to the public [cite web | url=http://www3.westminster.gov.uk/csu/Licensing_Sub-Committee/Minutes_2001/29%20March%202001.doc | title=Westminster Council Licensing Subcommittee - Meeting Minutes March 2001| date=2001-03-29 | accessdate=2007-10-30 | work=westminster.gov.uk ] .

Since the closure, the venue has been used for a number of purposes including another nightclub known as The Marquee Club, which also closed within 18 months of its opening in 2004. Currently the premises are used by MTV and was the location of the television show 1 Leicester Square. It is currently used as the studio for the UK version of Total Request Live.

References

It is very possible that the club would not have been shut down had they not attracted media attention by hosting the MOBO (Music of Black Origin) awards on their very first night. The queues outside the club became very unruly and The Police exasperated matters by bringing in the riot squad to control people, this was then featured on the front page of next mornings copy of The Sun, and billed as the battle of Leicester Square. It is also understood that prior to the club closing a number of dirty tricks were played upon the club including faeces being dumped in the stairwell. Speculation was rife at the time as to who was responsible for this and owing to lack of evidence it was unable to pinpoint the culprits, yet it is still believed to be the work of a South London club based around Elephant & Castle.

The actual drug dealing in the club was small when compared to how many people the club held. In the end it was a drug bust of 16 Ecstasy tablets which led to the eventual closure of this venue. Other clubs have had much more drug dealing on the premises IE Turnmills, but a blind eye has been turned owing to the ownership of the club. All in all this was a fantastic venue and the owners were held over a barrel and left to take the blame for something they were not responsible for.