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NEW YEAR IN LONDON 2007
3. Bars and Live Music
 
There's more going on in London's bars and music venues than we could possibly list. Take That and Girl's Aloud playing at the O2 is clearly the event that the cameras are going to be trained on this year, but some of the best New Year's in London will be happening in the little music pubs and DJ bars that make the capital's nightlife so varied, vibrant and friendly.
 
LondonTown.com | Article imageCarry on Throbbing

The Telegraph, SW2 1HE

New Year's Eve, 31st December 2007

Brixton regulars Throb always promise 'It's a party, not a club-night', and their laidback attitude and chat-to-anyone regulars have earned them serious loyalty in the nine years they've been running parties in the capital. They started out in Liverpool, and there's an easygoing attitude to these nights which (along with the dodgy music and hen night fashions) is the closest you'll get in London to a proper Northern house club. This is, so we're told, the very last of their south London bashes, and the theme is 'Nine Years of Throb', so if you've been to one of their previous parties, you're asked to turn up in whatever outfit you wore to that. If you've not been before, check the website for costume ideas (www.throbbing.info/), or just bring the silliest clothes you own. The Telegraph has lost a little charm since the refurbishment, but it's still a great place for this sort of night, with cheap drinks, a big dancefloor, and plenty of comfortable places to chill out and shoot the breeze with randoms. Take yourself seriously, and you'll have an awful New Year, but roll in with an open mind and a healthy enthusiasm for getting wrecked, and you'll make some of the best friends you've ever had.

Venue: The Telegraph
Address: 228 Brixton Hill, SW2 1HE
Phone: 020 8678 0777
Date: New Year's Eve, 31st December 2007
Time: 21:00 - 06:00
Pricing: Non members £20, members £10
Nearest Station: Brixton Tube


Carry on Throbbing - Information
LondonTown.com | Article imageViennese New Year's Eve Gala

Barbican Centre, EC2Y 8DS

New Year's Eve, 31st December 2007

All the beauty and romance of the music of 19th-century Vienna is captured in this sparkling new programme of favourites from the Strauss family and their contemporaries. The London Philharmonic Orchestra will be directed in the traditional Viennese manner from the violin by John Georgiadis. It's all slightly let-down by the fact that the show ends before midnight, but we assume there'll be something going on at the Barbican that you can join in with if you want to stay up for the bells.

Including:
Waldmeister Overture
Old England Forever! Polka
New Years Gallop
Where the Lemon Trees Bloom
Cuckoo Polka
Ohne Sorgen Polka
Radetzky March
The Blue Danube Waltz
Champagne Polka
Zivio! March

Royal Philharmonic Orchestra
Lorina Gore - Soprano

Venue: Barbican Centre
Address: Silk Street, EC2Y 8DS
Phone: 0207 7638 8891
Date: New Year's Eve, 31st December 2007
Time: 19:30
Pricing: £19.50-£37.50
Nearest Station: Barbican Tube


Viennese New Year's Eve Gala - Information
LondonTown.com | Article imageHat Club New Year

The Tabernacle, EC2A 4LE

New Year's Eve, 31st December 2007

Hat-Club rules. These goodtime kids went from throwing smallish parties for a crowd of mates to regularly selling out the colossal Canvas in 2005. They've deliberately kept things a bit quieter in the last couple of years (the first rule of Hat Club is now 'don't talk about Hat Club') and it's allowed them to keep throwing brilliant, silly parties, as well as the occasional enormous rave. The main thing, of course, is to sort your headgear out: ticket or no ticket, if you forget your hat, you won't get in. This is a great venue and an event organised by some party people who simply want to spread their love of hats and house, but have found an army of followers.

Line-up to be confirmed.

Venue: The Tabernacle
Address: 55-61 Tabernacle Street, EC2A 4LE
Phone: 020 7253 5555
Date: New Year's Eve, 31st December 2007
Time: 20:00 - late
Pricing: To be confirmed (last year £25)
Nearest Station: Old Street Tube


Hat Club New Year - Information
LondonTown.com | Article imageCountdown to Midnight: With Take That and Guests Live at the O2

The O2 Arena, SE10 0AX

New Year's Eve, 31st December 2007

The biggest boy band of the eighties take to the stage of the O2 in what will certainly be Britain's most-watched New Year's Eve celebration in 2007. Gary, Mark, Jason and the other one are your hosts and main attraction in a concert that will also feature The Sugababes, and other special guests yet to be announced. Take That have ten No 1 hits under their belts, which makes them an appropriate act to be counting down to the bells (though we suspect that they may drop a couple of the more embarrassing early efforts), finishing with a triumphant performance of comeback single 'Shine'. It's a great spot for celebrating at midnight, as the O2 Dome sits almost on top of the Greenwich Meridian, the line from which countries all over the world measure the time.

Venue: The O2 Arena
Address: Greenwich, SE10 0AX
Phone: 0871 984 0002
Date: New Year's Eve, 31st December 2007
Time: 20:30
Pricing: £99
Nearest Station: North Greenwich Tube


Countdown to Midnight: With Take That and Guests Live at the O2 - Information
LondonTown.com | Article imageXfm NYE

The Brixton Academy, SW9 9SL

New Year's Eve, 31st December 2007

London's oh-so-credible indie station staged a surprisingly jolly New Year's Eve party last year, with their DJs playing a selection of 2006's best party tunes, and the 'Xfm All-stars' playing covers of recent rock hits and the odd classic. They've scaled things up this year, and are taking over the whole of the Carling Academy Brixton. They're also staying pretty cagey about the line-up, though it remains to be seen whether this means that they have actually got some real stars in, or just that Nick Luscombe is going to be playing challenging electro-mash-ups all night long, and they're hoping to sell a few tickets before telling anyone. Assuming they manage to repeat last year's success, the fifteen quid price tag and reasonably cheap bar (by London New Year standards) make this is quite a bargain. And it's certainly the only place in the world where you'll hear a tribute band playing a Pigeon Detectives song.

Venue: The Brixton Academy
Address: 211 Stockwell Road, SW9 9SL
Phone: 0870 771 2000
Date: New Year's Eve, 31st December 2007
Time: 21:00
Pricing: £15
Nearest Station: Brixton Tube


Xfm NYE - Information
LondonTown.com | Article imageNYE Heavy Hitters Old Skool vs New Skool Party

Bar Rumba, W1D 7EP

New Year's Eve, 31st December 2007

The Eclectic Breaks crew have been running parties at this intimate bar for three years now, keeping the spirit of hip-hop alive in the West End, and ensuring that the otherwise unremarkable Bar Rumba continues to be a major destination for fans of urban music. It's all about party tunes, and the fast-paced mix of hip-hop, reggae, soul, bashment and old skool is accompanied by witty, energetic MCs. DJs on the night include Kiss FMs Manny Norte and 1Xtra's Mista Jam, as well as the usual Getdown crew, and there'll be live PAs from some of the sharpest stars of the UK underground, including Ear Dis, Steelo, and Donaeo. There's no dress code, but it gets seriously hot in there, so you might as well leave your hats and hoodies behind unless you want your NYE threads drenched in sweat before they've even rung the bells.

Venue: Bar Rumba
Address: 36 Shaftesbury Avenue, W1D 7EP
Phone: 0208 340 1887
Date: New Year's Eve, 31st December 2007
Time: 21:00-05:00
Pricing: £30
Nearest Station: Piccadilly Circus Tube


NYE Heavy Hitters Old Skool vs New Skool Party - Information
LondonTown.com | Article imageSchool Disco

Kentish Town Forum, NW5 1JY

New Year's Eve, 31st December 2007

If you can muster a posse of like-minded party animals, why not ring in the New Year at this massive disco party? The dress code may be demeaning but the music is spot on - classic tunes every one, and perfect for drunken dancing. The combination of silly clothes and the special time of year also mean that you are virtually certain to pull, so if you've been feeling a lack of snogs under the mistletoe over the festive season, then this might be the opportunity you've been waiting for. So bad it's good, with lashings of booze and cheery 80s and 90s tunes, this as an unforgettable, albeit embarrassing, way to roll into 2008.

Venue: Kentish Town Forum
Address: 9-17 Highgate Road, Kentish Town, NW5 1JY
Phone: 0871 872 1234
Date: New Year's Eve, 31st December 2007
Time: 21:00 - 4:00
Pricing: £40
Nearest Station: Kentish Town Tube


School Disco - Information
LondonTown.com | Article imageNYE at the Westbury

The Westbury, NW6 5UA

New Year's Eve, 31st December 2007

A lot of London pubs cheekily ask their regulars for ten or fifteen quid for the privilege of hanging around in their local with their mates on New Year's Eve, but there's nowhere else in London providing value for money quite like The Westbury. Along with the comfort, friendly faces and low prices that make a pub the perfect spot for welcoming in 2008, they've provided some of the finest hip-hop/breakbeat DJs in the country, in the form of Ninja Tunes pioneer The Herbaliser, former Scratch Pervert Mr Thing and Fabric regular DJ Vadim. It's the kind of line-up you'd happily spend a fortune to watch at a superclub, so to have them spinning out their inimitable party mix in a fun pub is will make for a fantastic occasion.

Venue: The Westbury
Address: 34 Kilburn High Road, NW6 5UA
Phone: 020 7625 7500
Date: New Year's Eve, 31st December 2007
Time: 9:00-5:00
Pricing: £15
Nearest Station: Kilburn Tube


NYE at the Westbury - Information
LondonTown.com | Article imageUnabombers

Big Chill House, N1 9NL

New Year's Eve, 31st December 2007

The Big Chill is at its best in summer, when the fantastic terrace comes into its own, but being owned by one of the best festivals in the UK ensures that on special occasions like this, they tend to get everything just right. They've certainly picked the ideal DJs to take you into 2008. The Unabombers' Electric Chair nights in Manchester were everything that their reputations suggested, mixing all that was best about the spirit of the Northern Soul and Hacienda eras into a mad mix of house, disco, hip-hop, broken beat, Latin, soul, RnB and techno. A decade later, they've spawned many imitators, but if the music is less full of surprises, they still make an absolutely pounding big club sound from the most unlikely material. Upstairs, Deepsoul 3 keep it a bit more conventional, with some cheery Balearic pop.

Venue: Big Chill House
Address: 257-259 Pentonville Road, N1 9NL
Phone: 020 7427 2540
Date: New Year's Eve, 31st December 2007
Time: 21:00-4:00
Pricing: £20
Nearest Station: King's Cross Tube / Rail


Unabombers - Information

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