The Warehouse (Preston, Lancashire)

The Warehouse

The Warehouse Location in Preston city centre
Former names	Raiders
Location	Preston, Lancashire, England
Coordinates
Type	Night club
Genre(s)	Heavy Metal Music, Hard Rock, Indie Rock, Alternative, Pop
Capacity	650
Opened	1972 (1972)
Website
www.warehousenightclub.co.uk

The Warehouse has been an alternative nightclub and music venue in Preston, Lancashire, England, since 1972. It was originally named The Warehouse, then Raiders, and then back to The Warehouse in 1988 when the current owners took over.

The venue was seen as a focal point of the punk movement in the late 1970s, evolving over time and hosting a variety of the large touring bands of the day, including The Stone Roses in 1986. Joy Division recorded their live album "Preston Warehouse" there 12 weeks before Ian Curtis' death. Black Flag singer Henry Rollins was beaten up in a mosh pit during a gig at the Warehouse in an incident he referred to on Channel 4's The Word. The band China Crisis were regulars at the club and it can be found mentioned in one of their album sleeves.

Popularity of the club led to expansion; with the middle floor opening in 1990 and a third floor in 1993 bringing the capacity to its current approximate of around 650. Today The Warehouse now serves as an alternative Nightclub compromising of three different ‘Levels’ one on each storey. On the ground floor the DJs only play less mainstream music genres, such as heavy metal, Pop punk, Hard Rock and Emo. On the first floor the music played is more mainstream than the level below including popular genres such as Indie Rock, Britpop and Alternative Rock. It is these first two floors that attracts a variety of youth subcultures including Preston locals and students from the University of Central Lancashire. On the top floor, specifically chart music is played including mainstream pop acts such as Lady Gaga. It is this floor that is most similar to a conventional nightclub and therefore does not attract any particular social group, but appeals to a wide audience of people who regularly go nightclubbing.

References

• http://www.warehousenightclub.co.uk/about.php