The Den and Centro

For many, the real damage of this bleeding recession came when iconic club The End and its upstairs bar AKA closed its doors to business. Ironically, the subsequent slump in the property market saw plans for a swanky block of flats in the once-highly-sought-after central location go up in smoke, with developers preferring to rebrand and reopen the venue instead of throw away top dollar on flats nobody could afford to buy. So, just three months elapsed before the unveiling of The Den & Centro: "a fantasy nightclub and party venue for indulgence in hedonistic pleasure," in schmalzy PR-speak. In truth (and this is no bad thing) the only real difference between The End and The Den - except the odd laser and new LED colour Pallets - is the position of the letter 'd'. Still, Centro has undergone a serious enough facelift, including the addition of a new stage for live acts, to warrant the clever painting of 'Re' above the first three letters of Holborn tube sign on the flyer graphics. The result being "a rare mixture of impressive 90s extravagance and minimalism" according, again, to the PR pen-pushers (who clearly never heard of Oasis). It remains to be seen how the place takes to the changes and whether or not The Den & Centro can attract the big names and parties back into its walls. But given the fact that Jonathan Tana of Space flew in from Ibiza for the opening, it shouldn't be too long before The (D)en(d) is back up to speed and the key residencies return.