History
The Laundry - A Short History
The Laundry is a collective of friends, DJ’s and party people who have been putting on underground events since the early 90’s. The crew first got together with the Free Absolution Boat Parties.
The parties were held on an old Iron Tug Boat on the Thames next to Battersea Power Station [London] circa 97-98. The parties soon became legendary with over 1500 people turning up to hear some of the biggest names in dance play for free, it was going off on the boat, up the masts, on the embankment and even in the car park.
On March 3rd 1999 The Laundry was born, originally intended as a small intimate party for close friends but almost never happened when the intended venue [a railway arch in the back streets of Brixton] was busted just three weeks before the event. This was a blessing in disguise as they found another Arch, only 4 times bigger and with 4 rooms. The crew weren’t sure that they’d fill it but went ahead anyway, the party was at capacity [1000 people] by midnight with over 500 people outside clambering to get in. The atmosphere inside was something very special, a real throw back to the original warehouse parties; it was far beyond anyone’s expectations, the crowd kept rocking till the middle of the next day and The Laundry was the hottest party in town.
The Laundry has never looked back with similar parties every few months and some quality club appearances in between. Highlights are many but one that comes to mind is the Mellinium Eve Boat Party which rocked hard a stones throw from Big Ben, the House of Parliament and one of the biggest fireworks displays Londons ever seen.
In the past few years the Laundry has appeared alongside many of the biggest names in the business with regular apperances at the likes of Fabric, Renaissance, The End, Pacha and many more too numerous to mention. The Laundry went European in 2001 with a Free 2 day party in a beautiful remote valley in Portugal and returned in 2002 with plans to return again in 2003 along with some other more global aspirations. The resident dj’s have spread even further a field with apperances in every continent spreading the sound of Brixtons dirty underground right across the globe.
The Laundry has never been about coining it in, thats not to say The Laundry doesn’t have well know guests spinning but the dj’s [and bands] are invited to play because of there musical worth rather than their PR value. Musical variation is a key element in The Laundry wash program. You can expect to hear music ranging from techno, house, breaks, funk, disco, hip-hop, latin and whatever else sneaks in all at the same party along with a legendary party crowd that love it all.
The Laundry’s remit is simple “to put on parties we want to go to”. A simple concept, but one that few promoters truly deliver on. The future for The Laundry is bright we can’t say when or where you’ll find them next, just keep an eye out for the distinctive “Iron” logo and brown pipe trimmed Y-fronts.
