£1m facelift to make the Fridge cool once again

Brixton nightclub the Fridge is to be relaunched as a state-of-the-art music venue in a £1 million facelift.

The club, which was at the heart of the New Romantic movement and British dance culture, will be renamed the Electric Brixton. It will host
live acts for an audience of 1,500.

New owner Dominic Madden hopes it will plug the void left by the Astoria in Tottenham Court Road, which was demolished in 2009 to make way for Crossrail. He said: "There isn't a premier venue of this size in central London at the moment and the music industry is crying out for one.

"We're hoping this will move into the gap left by the Astoria." He aims to attract "world famous" acts and is working on three big names for September.

A cinema when it opened in 1913, it was bought by Susan Carrington and Andrew Czezowski in 1985, who named it the Fridge and booked acts including the Pet Shop Boys, Eurythmics and Soul II Soul. But the operation went into receivership last year and the site was bought by businessman Mr Madden.

He has overseen a painstaking restoration. The 35-year-old from Sydenham Hill said: "Andrew, the previous operator, created an iconic space. We hope to continue this. It's got heritage and soul. There's been an explosion in live music recently. It will be the best live venue of its size in London."

The club is due to open on August 28. The stage will be big enough for artists to use the same set-up they would for festivals or arenas. It will also be able to host club nights and TV events.

Clubbers who partied at the Fridge can submit stories at yourmemoriesareelectric@electricbrixton.com