For London clubbers, the turn of the new year was bittersweet. For the first time in over two years, it was legal to go out and get rat-assed in pubs, clubs and bars across the capital on December 31. And despite spiralling Omicron cases, thousands decanted to sticky dancefloors in all four corners of the city. Many of whom would’ve trekked up to Tottenham for The Cause, one of London’s beloved nightclubs, which that weekend hosted its final parties.
Just a stone’s throw from Tottenham Hale tube station, The Cause opened in 2018 as a makeshift nightclub in an old car garage on Ashley Road. Strapped for cash, co-founders Stuart Glen and Eugene Wild transformed the disused space into a makeshift nightclub, buying scraps of metal and floorboards from Facebook marketplace to create bars, toilets and caged DJ booths. Officially opening its doors in the April of that year, The Cause soon gave birth to north London’s buzziest parties. The most infamous being queer, monthly club night Adonis, which has attracted clubbers from across the globe to its hedonistic all-nighters.
The club soon expanded in size, growing into neighbouring, intimate warehouse spaces, as well as a giant outdoor space dubbed Costa Del Tottenham, opened in the thick of the pandemic when socially distanced, outdoor events could begin to take place in July 2021. Glen and Wild, throughout the three years, also set up a series of nights in support of various charities, including Mind in Haringey and CALM, as well as in support of the California wildfires of 2020. Stacked with big name headliners, including Four Tet, Jamie xx and Bicep, the club managed to over £150,000 for various organisations.
But as the club transformed, so did its surrounding sites. The Tottenham Hale today is unrecognisable to that of four years ago. Dotted with high-rise, luxury apartments and a swanky refurbished railway station, The Cause’s site was soon up for redevelopment plans, and like hundreds of venues before it, the club was forced to close its doors in the face of gentrification.
Luckily, that wasn’t The Cause’s final chapter. After throwing a series of different parties in warehouse spaces through the city, Glen and Wild are just about to embark on their biggest venture yet: a three-day festival at Camber Sands. Heading to the South East Coast from May 20-23, The Cause Seaside Beano is taking over Pontins Holiday Park with a stonking line-up including Helena Hauff, Goldie, Objekt, Overmono and Or:La. If 3 quid pints weren’t intriguing enough, The Cause has invited its most adored parties to take-over different stages at the festival. Expect DnB rollers from Keep Hush, quality underground sounds of Lobster records, and of course, an Adonis bender to tell the grandkids about. Oh we do like to be beside the seaside, especially with The Cause in tow.
Images: Adonis, all photography by Roxy Lee. Buy your tickets to The Cause Seaside Beano here.
