The history of Paradise nightclubs, from sophisticated gay clubs to controversial ‘mainstream’ venues

Through the AIDS epidemic, the financial crash and even part of the Covid, the gates of Heaven remain open. Then, last week, one of the nightclub security guards was accused of raping a woman who was kicked out of the club.

The gates of Heaven were immediately closed, as was the request of the Metropolitan Police to Westminster Council. The security guard is currently being held in prison and the licensing committee has decided that Heaven’s alcohol license should be suspended for 28 days until a full hearing can take place.

Nestled between the arches of Charing Cross train station, Heaven has been a key figure in the city’s quirky nightlife scene since it opened in December 1979.

From its exciting beginnings in the early 80s to its 90s revamp and 2000s pop ubiquity, Swarga has become one of Europe’s longest-running gay nightclubs.

Now, the reputation can be damaged by the behavior of the security staff, which leads to the temporary suspension of the license. It is not known when the club will reopen.

In the light of the current problem of the club, we look back at the Paradise of the past, from the fledgling gay club, to the leader of the London nightlife, to the “mainstream” pop scene.

The story of Paradise began in 1979, when the place was bought by British businessman Jeremy Norman. Norman is best known for running The Embassy club on Old Bond Street in 1978, which is widely regarded as the London equivalent of New York’s Studio 54.

Heaven positioned itself as a central figure in London’s gay nightclub scene which, until recently, was mostly made up of (physical and figurative) underground club nights or disco nights in pubs.

This paper reviewed the club when it opened, and stated: “The biggest singra in heaven is probably annoying non-gay discophiles in London who might be trying to get past the gays in order to get past the elegant bouncers at the same disco as the Pearly Gates.”

And we were right. Paradise quickly became the gay heart of the city and made a name for itself with its music with its resident DJ crew. Original manager, David Inches, and independent promotions manager, Kevin Millins, are looking for a DJ who will be exclusive to the club. and has a new, interesting style of club music.

Original DJ Langit includes Tony De Vit, Colin Holsgrove, Marc Andrews, Marc Monroe, George Mitchell, Ian D, Tallulah, Jon Dennis, Rich B, Wayne G, and Steve Whyte. Live performers from the early days of Heaven include Orde Baru and Bronski Beat.

By 1982, Heaven had attracted the attention of another British entrepreneur. Richard Branson, looking to invest in the “pink pound” (that is the LGBTQ + economy), saw Heaven as an important addition to the Virgin Group portfolio and bought it from Norman for £500,000.

Branson has been a fan of Heaven for longer than he has – in 1997, he sponsored Pride in London and at Christmas he went to Heaven for the celebrations. Back in the day, when people called Heaven “Virgin’s Achilles heel”, Branson would say: “It will be the last place I sell.”

A series of reliable nights emerged, including Asylum Thursdays in 1983, with resident DJs Colin Faver and Mark Moore (S’Express) and Pyramid Wednesdays in 1985.

During this time, Heaven also became one of the first clubs in the country to play a new type of music coming out of the Black and queer community in Chicago: house. At one point, Heaven hosted the American DJ Frankie Knuckles, who would become known as the “godfather of house music”.

The AIDS epidemic hit Britain in late 1981 when John Eaddie, a 49-year-old guest house owner from Harrogate, died of AIDS in December, making him the first AIDS-related death in England.

It wasn’t until 1985, when Paradise was expanding under the ownership of Richard Branson, that AIDS hysteria really hit the UK. At that time, there had been 58 recorded deaths and one arrest of an AIDS patient under the Public Health (Infectious Diseases) Regulations 1985. This was the first and only use of the regulations, but it made the public consensus on AIDS clear.

In the book Queer Footprints: A Guide to Uncovering London’s Fierce History by Dan Glass, former Heaven regular Ian Johns recounts his experiences in Heaven during the AIDS crisis. “I was standing in Heaven, talking to some people who were talking about herpes and I was going, ‘Well, I don’t want to get that, it’s not going away.’ And someone said to me, ‘Oh no, now there’s something new. There’s a new VD, a venereal disease that affects gay men in America, where you keep getting the flu and then you die.

“I was going ‘Ah! You can’t die from VD.’ Then we slowly started to hear stories. Then suddenly, you hear about friends from friends, then friends, and then escalate from there really… “

Meanwhile, a new drug is sweeping the club scene. It’s called MDMA, and it makes everyone very happy. Everyone except The Sun, which ran headlines like “Fever For A Drug Trip To Heaven In Branson Club” in 1988.

This is made funny by the fact that The Sun doesn’t know the difference between acid house (a genre of music that soundtracks high MDMA) and acid (a drug). “Junkies flaunt their cravings by wearing t-shirts sold in clubs bearing messages like ‘Acid is not a bomb’,” read the report, seemingly unaware that everyone does drugs very differently.

The reliable Paradise house nights of the late 80s gave way to more house in the 90s, including the “seminal” Land of the Oz nights with DJs Jimmy Cauty and Alex Paterson, better known as The Orb.

There is also another drag night, with the Wednesday night slot filled with fruit Machine, a drag night hosted by DJ Miss Kimberly. Meanwhile, Friday was garage focused and Saturday had ever-changing themes from various parties.

In 1998, Heaven was accused of being “a bit tatty”, according to the 909Originals retrospective, which led Richard Branson, the owner then closed the doors and renovated the interior of the club in time for the new millennium. In honor of the closing, Heaven hosted a ‘Demolition Party’, with the legendary DJ Ian Levine providing the tunes.

When Swarga reopened it had a new focus on sober socializing, selling coffee and reserving certain spaces to be away from the thumping music of the superclub. Angela Reed, head of marketing and promotions for Heaven, told The Independent at the time: “It’s not just a nightclub. A lot of people come here before they go out and as a result they see Heaven as their home. We don’t want to just be a dance and drink club. We want the whole experience, where people can mix and meet and socialize.

Branson may have claimed Heaven would be his last sale in the 80s, but by 2003 he had bigger fish to fry – like the sky (Virgin Atlantic), the internet (Virgin Mobile), and finally space (Virgin Galactic).

Heaven was bought by a consortium known as the Pure Group, which was made up of Heaven’s long-time leader, David Inches, along with Jeremy Millins and Paul Savory.

Heaven changed hands again just five years later when it was bought by the Mama Group, in partnership with current owner Jeremy Joseph, founder of the original GAY night in Astoria. Joseph bought Heaven and moved GAY to the venue. He is also the owner of the GAY Late venue until it closes in November 2023.

In the 2000s, Heaven began to host more and more famous faces, including Madonna in 2009. Star power remains to this day, with Adele recently has seen a surprise in the club, and new acts ranging from Rita Ora to Charli xcx.

By the 2010s, Swarga’s position as anything but original had been lost, with smaller, more London-specific nights. Today, in 2024, it is still loved, but is considered by many to be a “mainstream” favorite.

Last week, Swarga was shut down immediately after one of the club’s security team was accused of rape.

The closure, which was agreed on public safety grounds, came after the Metropolitan Police applied to Westminster Council to suspend Heaven’s license ahead of a full hearing.

At a Westminster Council hearing on Friday, the council was told that a woman was allegedly raped near the premises by a member of security staff on November 1. , and kept in prison.

The hearing was also told that when the victim tried to report the assault, other Heaven security staff allegedly ignored her.

A council spokesman said: “Following a request from the Metropolitan Police, and considering evidence from the police and operators, the council’s licensing committee has decided to suspend Heaven’s license for 28 days.

“We understand the cultural importance of this place, but the committee agrees that this step is necessary to prevent serious crime and protect the public.

“A full licensing hearing will be held in December where the police and venue management will have the opportunity to present new evidence.

“This case is currently a police investigation, and we are unable to comment further at this stage.”

Paradise owner Jeremy Joseph has publicly protested the closure. On Instagram, Joseph wrote: “Following allegations that security guards assaulted women who refused to enter Heaven Nightclub, Westminster council has suspended Heaven’s venue license which means we have to close until further notice.

“We are considering our position on the appeal. We are pained by this accusation, but we cannot comment on the criminal investigation. We can only send our thoughts to the alleged victim. Our priority is to implement new procedures to ensure that nothing like this happens again & get Board’s confidence as we move forward We are unable to comment further at this time but will update as soon as possible.

At this Tuesday’s council meeting, councilors were told that Paradise had been “recorded by the Met as the highest crime generator in the area.”

“There are concerns that vulnerable people are at risk. Turning away 150 to 200 people from a place due to intoxication requires more staff or management policies to ensure their safety.

Police have recorded 109 incidents since May – including sexual assault, grievous bodily harm, public disorder, phone theft and pickpocketing – among the 7,000 revelers a week.