An iconic Scots nightclub dubbed ‘The Rave Cave’ is to close its doors after nearly four decades.
Club 69 in Paisley announced its sudden closure after 37 years as a legendary techno haunt hosting some of the biggest names on the underground dance music scene and giving a platform to the best unsigned talent Scotland has to offer.
Underground Resistance, Slam, Luke Slater, Andrew Weatherall, Denis Sulta, the late Jackmaster and Leftfield have all played the intimate basement New Sneddon Street venue renowned for its no nonsense clubbing - a true staple of the underground scene - and forever cemented in Scotland’s club culture.
In a recent post shared on Facebook announcing the forthcoming closure, Club 69 wrote: “A Change is on the Horizon!
“From Saturday 10th October, the Rave Cave will no longer be as you know it. It’s time for a fresh chapter to begin.
“This has been a passion project for the current management team, and that project has unfortunately come to an end. It’s been an absolute pleasure to have played a small part in the legendary venue’s long journey, which dates back to the very first party in 1989 - but all good things must come to an end.
“We’ve got a number of closing parties lined up - some hosted by external promoters, and some of our own, kicking off with MDDLTN on 12th September. Keep an eye on social media for more details of closing parties coming soon.
“Before we go - we would like to say a huge thank you to everyone we’ve worked with along the way - all the staff, the people behind the scenes, the DJs, our suppliers, and most importantly, you lot - the ravers!”
There is hope that the basement club beneath a curry house will be taken over with bosses inviting enquiries from anyone interested, adding: “If continuing this project is of interest to you, please get in touch by filling in our enquiry form and someone will be back in touch.
“As it stands, the club will close on 10th October. Hopefully this isn’t final orders, and there’ll be one more tune in the old Paisley Basement yet. In the meantime, we’ve got seven weeks of events to go…”
DJ’s lauded the venue on its Instagram page, TLO posted: “Absolutely gutted, this club was the reason for so many DJ’s getting the right opportunities and being able to learn in the deep end. Thank you guys for everything, 40 new Sneddon Street forever.”
Izdr added: “From coming here as a fan seeing the likes of Nico Moreno and dreaming of playing here to then having played multiple times has been truly amazing. Absolutely gutted to see the rave cave go after it being one of my favourite venues for the last 10 years.”
Cambo wrote: “69 was THE platform for grassroots promoters and DJ’s… A true cornerstone in Scottish rave culture.”
Clubbers also shared their dismay at the news on social media.
Paddi Rooney said: “Sad news, had some of the best nights ever in there over the decades. Change of music style over last couple of years, but one of the best venues and crowds in the country, made friends for life in there.”
John Paul Stevenson posted: “This is a gutter have heard of the club for mega years and got to do my first set here about a month ago at the Dynamo events night. Class venue and place for a rave. Shame it’s going to be shut down.”