This was a joyful, fitting farewell to the latest casualty of the struggling club scene
It’s a bittersweet booking to kick off the closing weekend for Printworks London, the riverside nightclub beloved by the music scene and now set for demolition. South African DJ Black Coffee made his Printworks debut to a sold-out crowd, filling the cavernous former printing site with his often wistful afro-house beats.
The anticipation for this headliner is palpable as the crowd warms up with Ceri, Syreeta, Danny Howard and Anémé on a marathon night of dance. Ravers chat about where they have travelled from to see the 47-year-old megastar, some coming from all around Europe and beyond especially to witness his set, and to bid farewell to the latest casualty of the struggling club scene.
Black Coffee has in recent years leaned so far towards the pop world that he runs the risk of alienating some house purists. His sixth studio album Subconsciously, released in 2021, features upbeat, melodic collaborations with Usher, Cassie, Celeste and Pharrell Williams. Yet he opens his set here with a return to his roots, incorporating African voices and drum beats as videos of mournful models gaze down from the giant projector screen.
The set soon evolves from traditional to techno, harnessed by Black Coffee’s signature heavy, soulful beat. The energy is high but this is serious business rather than a euphoric party. The industrial feel suits the venue – while it may have only opened in 2017, its previous incarnation was as a working newspaper printing plant, producing the Evening Standard and Daily Mail, and it still retains the original loading dock and metal stairs. In 2022, plans were approved to redevelop the site into office buildings as part of a wider Surrey Quays transformation, despite a 10,000-strong petition to save what was regularly dubbed London’s best nightclub.
While he clearly knows he’s here for the hardcore rave fans rather than a singalong crowd-pleaser, it would be remiss of Black Coffee not to incorporate some of his biggest hits into the night. His sweet 2018 release “Drive”, produced with David Guetta and featuring Delilah Montagu, offers some respite from the moodiness, with bright golden light filling the print halls and smiles breaking out on faces in the crowd.
Minutes later, the mood shifts back to melancholy with a sample from Gotye’s wailing break-up lament “Somebody That I Used to Know”, and then “A Keeper” from another heartbreak specialist and Black Coffee collaborator, Drake. “Why would I keep you around” reverberates around the club, echoing the feeling of an ending by heartbroken fans. It’s followed 15 minutes later with a departure – a flick of the 90s KWS anthem “Please Don’t Go”, followed by REM’s “Losing My Religion”.
This may be a wake, ravers mourning the loss of another London institution, but it’s a joyful affair, too. The team behind Printworks have already pivoted to open The Beams, a 55,000 sq ft venue in East London, which opened last autumn. And with a bank holiday weekend of house heavyweights keeping fans on their feet until late on Monday, it’s clear that Printworks was determined to go out with bangers, rather than a whimper.
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