Gatecrasher fire: club to be demolished

Gatecrasher fire: club to be demolished

19 June, 2007 | 9.41AM

• Section: Music News
• Written by: Terry Church

The owners of Gatecrasher, Britain’s most famous trance club, have said they are determined to rebuild the Sheffield superclub after a massive fire caused the building to collapse on Monday evening.

Emergency crews were called to Gatecrasher One - formerly The Republic - in Eyre Street, Sheffield at around 5pm on Monday but the fire was too strong and by 7pm the Arundel Street end of the two-storey building collapsed, narrowly missing firefighters.

It is not known how the blaze started and fire investigators are still examining the site for clues.

Two persons were believed to be inside the building when the fire broke out but both escaped unharmed.

Trance Revolution

Gatecrasher is most famous for having kick started the trance revolution at the end of 1997 and the club helped forge the careers of DJs Tiësto, Armand van Buuren, Judge Jules and Paul Oakenfold.

It was also the first club that was attended by Gatecrasher kids - later shortened to crasher kids.

The fashion for wearing day-glo, furry leg warmers, bright colours and the costumes of children’s TV characters began at Gatecrasher, and it wasn’t long before it soon swept across clubland as the uniform of choice for trance fans - in America crasher kids became known as candy ravers.

The collapse of Gatecrasher One is by all accounts the end of an era - trance’s popularity has been dwindling in the UK since 2002, and despite a £1m redesign in 2003 the club has failed to capture the imagination of clubbers in quite the same way.

The club is now known for its cheesy student nights and Hed Kandi house sessions rather than for cutting-edge techno and trance.

Gatecrasher to be rebuilt

Nevertheless Gatecrasher’s owner Simon Raine said they are determined to rebuild the club to its former glory: “We will be looking at how we rebuild the Gatecrasher One club, one of the cornerstones of the UK nightclub scene and our spiritual home, as quickly as possible,” he said.

“We want everyone to remember those memorable nights at Gatecrasher One from down the years, safe in the knowledge it will be back - bigger, brighter, louder and more brash.”

Gatecrasher began as a club night in 1992 but after huge commercial and financial success, its owners bought the old Republic club in 1997 for £875,000.

Raine added: “We will be looking to continue all Crasher and Hed Kandi nights planned in Sheffield during Summer 2007 at a venue to be confirmed.”

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