“FREE BEER,” the bar staff roar as every drink from every fridge is systematically distributed and consumed. It is the last ever morning at the Tottenham nightspot The Cause, on Monday 3rd January 2022. Veteran house pioneer Derrick Carter is thrusting out Chicago house as magic seemingly fills the air, as it does when all the great clubs have their last hurrah.
There is a certain ecstatic mentality that comes with dancing in an iconic club when the bulldozer is about to flatten the whole site. It’s apocalyptic. People are jumping around like the world is about to end. The last time this writer witnessed an atmosphere like this was the last ever Cocktail D'Amore at Berlin’s Griessmuehle; a three-day party which did feel like armageddon, having taken place just before society went to shit and clubs were shuttered due to the pandemic.
It’s no wonder that anyone who walks into The Cause this morning is slapped by a sense of hedonistic celebration. There is, after all, a lot to celebrate: The story of The Cause — from a humble old car depot turned DIY 400-cap temporary pop-up turned 1,200-cap sprawling labyrinth of indoor and outdoor spaces, which would come to make up one of the best underground clubs in London – was a wild one.
To understand the story you have to go through a litany of various types of extensions: license extension. Dancing. A building extension. More dancing. It wasn’t long before The Cause became an elemental part of many people’s weekends; a giddy whirlwind of untamed nights and lost mornings in north London. Then “a last-minute surprise license extension” after the developers sold the site back to the council because of the pandemic. An extension to the outdoor space. No dancing, just table service. Another building extension. End of the lockdown. Against all odds, more dancing.