History is made at night

Something for World AIDS Day tomorrow, 1 December: Simon Reynolds has efficiently scraped off his shoe the 'vigorously polished turd ...

Shocking Pink was a feminist zine put out by a collective of young women in London, including my friend Katy Watson who died in the summer....

For the umpteenth time, the future of Notting Hill Carnival is under threat, with complaints from the police and the Conservative Council of...

Last week - 18th November - people gathered outside the Royal Exchange in the City of London (financial district) for a mobile clubbing even...

An excellent event in Berlin last month (October 31st) to mark the launch of the 10th issue of Datacide magazine (see programme). The venu...

In the ongoing documentation of the history of London nightlife, I have mentioned before the cellar coffee bars of the West End in the 1950...

South African singer Miriam Makeba died yesterday. An outspoken opponent of apartheid, she had her passport confiscated by the South Africa...

The Soho jazz clubs of the 1950s (discussed in previous post) act as the setting for the film Beat Girl (1960), in which art student Gillian...

A great piece from 1958, I believe from the Daily Mirror - journalist Anne Allen goes on a tour of London jazz clubs to try and understand...

'A cleric's call to ban partying and dancing in the Shiite holy city of Karbala has triggered a heated debate among residents, just ...

In April 1974, decades of fascist rule in Portugal were brought to an end in a coup staged by left wing military officers. In the weeks and ...

Australia: Riot Police called to Sydney Rave ( In the Mix, September 1 2008 ) 'A secret warehouse party in Sydney’s Inner West was shut...

Thanks to John Hutnyk at Trinketization for reminding me that today is the 51st anniversary of the launch of Spuntnik 2, with its passenger...

From the mid-1970s there was an explosion of independent music labels that coincided with the birth of punk. Some of these labels were one o...

I'm going to be in Berlin on Friday taking part in this... If you're within several hundred miles you should try and make it down! D...

One of my favourite quotes is from Walter Benjamin: “A chronicler who recites events without distinguishing between major and minor ones act...

This weekend there has been a 'festival of New Orleans' in London, with Dr John playing for free at the O2 arena in Greenwich. Unfor...

... or at least the 'sounds' of pulsating stars detected by the Corot space telescope in France . Have a listen, some interesting no...

Anita Berber (1899-1928) was a dancer in pre-Nazi Germany, famous/notorious for a life of bisexuality, drugs and semi-naked performance. Wit...

A research study at the University of Illinois suggests that people were more effective at Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) if they wer...