After Horrific Fight, Legendary London Club Madame JoJo's Shutters

Around since the 1950s, London nightclub Madame JoJo's closed its doors last month following a violent altercation.

After a patron got into a fight with bouncers — which escalated into bottle throwing and a baseball bat attack — the local city council revoked the club's operating license, forcing the closure. But many of JoJo's regulars say the council's decision was based less on public safety and more on a desire to gentrify the SoHo neighborhood.

“In my opinion, it seems that the council just used the incident as a good excuse to take away the licence,” party promoter Marcus Harris told The Guardian. “It’s one of the few places left round there which has a 3 a.m. licence, seven nights a week. If you look at the way the area is changing, they clearly don’t want a late night drinking presence anywhere in Soho anymore. They want to make Soho about families — shopping, going out to eat, going to the theatre. The bars shut at 11 and you’re home by midnight.”

JoJo's did hire a new manager and security team after the incident, but it wasn't enough to sway the council, which approved a demolition of the property. A protest march against the council's actions took place recently.

Many are lamenting the diverse crowd that Madame JoJo's attracted, with nights devoted to cabaret, drag shows, hip-hop, pop, and burlesque.