Electric Ballroom

The Electric Ballroom has existed in Camden Town, London, England for over seventy years. The establishment has served as a venue for many rock bands through the years. On weekends the building has an indoor market with about fifty stalls selling a variety of fashion, lifestyle and music related goods.

The Friday club night is Sin City, playing rock, and alternative genres with cage dancers and occasional stage performances. The Friday club was formerly goth night Full Tilt.

However, the two events were run by different companies. On Saturday, “Shake” plays mostly pop and dance from the 70’s onwards, as well as modern hip hop and RnB.The Electric Ballroom was a roller disco for a brief period in the late seventies / early eighties.

The building is based on three storeys and the highest room overlooks Camden Town high street. There are four bars altogether and an area on the first floor with games machines, arcade games and pool tables.

The Transport for London proposed to demolish the Electric Ballroom in order to allow the redevelopment of the Camden Town tube station, but the planning application for the redevelopment was rejected by the Camden Borough Council in 2004. A revised proposal from the Transport for London in 2005 to demolish the whole block including the Ballroom, Buck Street Market and the Dr Martens flagship store was rejected by Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott which has allowed the Electric Ballroom to continue to thrive.

The Electric Ballroom was the first ballroom in London to have electric, rather than gas lighting – that was how it acquired its name. It is also a listed building.