Fabric Launches Fundraising Campaign to Pay Legal Fees for Its Appeal Against Closure

Its doors may be closed, but the fight's not over for fabric London. After promising to appeal the Islington Council's vote to revoke its license, the UK clubbing institution has formally launched a fundraising campaign in order to pay its legal fees. At press time, it has raised £33,979 (approximately $44,949.80 USD).

"The police have revoked our licence to present music, art and culture; something we have been doing with great pride for nearly two decades," the campaign page reads. "They abused archaic licensing laws in order to close us down and they will continue to do so if we do not come together and take action now. This is about more than fabric – an entire way of life is under threat."

The club has been closed since August 12 pending an investigation into a pair of drug-related deaths that occurred earlier in the summer. A formal hearing about the club's future was held on September 6. Despite an outpouring of support for the club from the global electronic music community, the Islington council voted to remove fabric's license, citing the club's failure to control the "culture of drugs." The decision was widely lambasted by public figures including London mayor Sadiq Khan and Islington MP Emily Thornberry.

"We do not ignore the tragic fact that two people have died after visiting our club and all of us at fabric are devastated about this loss of life," fabric write. "We have been and always will be committed to caring for our customers and operating within the law. We want to learn, we will try harder. We always have. We started this to create a safe place, a home—not a 'superclub'. It's about the fabric that unites us all, that stitches together race, gender, age and sexual preference into a brilliant tapestry. We invest in the best music, technology, interior and visual design and our staff and safety are industry leading. But, our case shows that whatever measures you take to prevent crime and regardless of how well you run your venue, you too could still be closed. Someone has to take a stand."

Read the full statement and donate to fabric's legal fund here.