15 years of Dalston Superstore, East London’s queer clubbing haven
It would be remiss to discuss this venue’s 15th anniversary without acknowledging the context and clubbing landscape in which it has reached this milestone. In 2023 alone, 125 grassroots venues closed in the UK as the cost-of-living crisis continues to destabilise the nightlife industry. Since Superstore opened its doors, the surrounding area alone has lost hallowed spaces Plastic People, Passing Clouds, Alibi and Dance Tunnel, to name a few. Beaumont recognises how difficult opening a space like Superstore would be today. “It has tended to be much harder to get late licences,” he says. “The overheads, the cost of doing this, from builds to utilities and things like that, the cost of getting set up now is so much higher”.
For its regulars, Superstore’s longevity can at least partly be credited to how embedded it is within the community. “It feels like a friend,” says Sharma. “There’s just a non-corporate feel to it. I filmed a music video there once and they even gave me the space for free. They want to help queer creatives out.”
“The space goes beyond just being a club,” Spooner echoes. “It actively supports the community through initiatives like HIV testing, showcasing queer visual art, and hiring queer people in all areas – from the bar to hospitality. This deep, genuine commitment to the community’s needs has fostered a reciprocal relationship where the community, in turn, supports and cherishes the space.”
In the face of ever-increasing queerphobia in public and political discourse, when it’s becoming more and more challenging to just be yourself on the streets, spaces like Dalston Superstore provide a welcoming environment to dance and express your identity not just comfortably but euphorically, surrounded by peers, music and unbridled joy.
“Superstore is no queer utopia because we are flawed human beings doing our best,” Beaumont says. “But, I would say that places like Superstore show you that another world and another way of being queer is possible. I would hope that, at our best, we are able to embody that idea”.
