The Cross (nightclub)

Renaissance at The Cross in 1998, looking into the main arch from the terrace

The Cross was known for long-running promoter residencies, such as Glitterati, the Italian-themed Vertigo and progressive house superclub Renaissance. DJs such as Danny Rampling, Dave Seaman, Ian Ossia, Nigel Dawson and Judge Jules became established residents and names such as Paul van Dyk and BT (musician) appeared before they became major stars in their own right.

The club's bar-counters were made of steel and frosted glass and the outside terrace area had cobble-stones, couches and day-beds covered in velvet. Club-goers were equally well-dressed, representing a significant break from the cheesier clubs common in London in the early 1990s.

An imitation Blue Plaque commemorating The Cross, as it was being redeveloped.

The Cross was revered as a step-change in the London nightclub scene, which had previously been dominated by unglamorous and at times dangerous venues.

Looking back over the club's history in 2008, Billy Reilly commented:

In the early days in particular we had the most beautiful people coming to the Cross,’ he says, recalling nights like Glitterati and Cheeky People, L’Amour and Milk ’n’ 2 Sugars. ‘I'd be surrounded by gorgeous girls who’d laugh at my bad jokes and tell me how wonderful I was and I'd look at them and think I'd died and gone to heaven. You've got to remember, one Saturday I had a garage and no one wanted to talk to me, the following week I had a club and everybody wanted to be my friend. You could make a film about it: from oily fingers and overalls, suddenly it was Patrick Cox and furry trousers.[7]

The Cross, post closure and site re-development in 2017

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