Could Trash be coming back? Legendary London club night teases return with Erol Alkan at the helm
Time to party like it's 1997
A sad amount of old school rocker London has gone to the graveyard of good times, being priced out of staying open thanks to the new cost of living crisis and the anti-raving probiotic Gen Z. One victim of this was club night Trash, which closed nearly 20 years ago, but thanks to Erol Alkan, it could be getting a new lease of life…
“January 2027 will mark 20 years since we closed our doors forever," Alkan – who founded the club back in 1997 – teased on Instagram. "But there is a light that never goes out. Got somethings to share with you, let's stay in touch." The North London DJ also posted a link to sign up in his bio for the first announcements, encouraging readers to sign up to a new Trash mailing list.
For those not in the know, Trash was a weekly club night in London, known for its indie kid credentials, and celebrated for its genre-defying blend of indie, electro, rock and bootleg mash-ups, hosting early performances from acts including LCD Soundsystem, Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Bloc Party. It was basically the kind of alternative sub-culture night out which would get casually referenced by cool people in Camden, and now gets talked about (well, lamented) by the same Camden cool kids who you’ll overhear in a natural wine bar talking about gentrification. Trash was the kind of night that shaped the identity of the city’s nightlife, influencing the electroclash and nu rave movements that followed.
It first appeared at the original Plastic People in Soho, then at neighbouring venue The Annexe on Dean St, before finally heading to a new home at The End off New Oxford Street. When the club moved and expanded to The End they were joined by Rory Phillips and in the years that followed, Mavs and The Lovely Jonjo.
For the latter 5 years of the club, the last two tracks played were always the same. "There Is a Light That Never Goes Out" by The Smiths (which is referenced in the revamped Trash’s Instagram bio) and then "Rock 'n' Roll Suicide" by David Bowie. Erol Alkan believed "they are the two songs that best reflect club culture, its people and places, highs and lows and bring people together".
Trash joined the likes of The Blitz Club, Plastic People, Turnmills, and Bagley's, all legendary nightclubs which have since closed and become various developments, including forming part of King's Cross' Coal Drops Yard. It's a similar arc to the indie goth kid in your year at school who lost the black eyeliner and is now an accountant with two kids. But maybe, as Trash might be about to prove, there's life in the old dog battered leather jacket yet.
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