Club NME at KOKO

21/12/2020

times: Dec 21, 9.30pm-4am

prices: 4 b4 12midnight

The Whip, Mike Strutter And The Motherf*ckers, Look See Proof

21/12/2020

times: Dec 21, 9.30pm

prices: 4 b4 12.30am

Guilty Pleasures at KOKO

22/12/2020

times: Dec 22, 9.30pm-3am

prices: 16.50

Club NME at KOKO

28/12/2020

times: Dec 28, 9.30pm-4am

prices: 4 b4 12midnight

Kid Harpoon And The Powers That Be, The More Assured

28/12/2020

times: Dec 28, 9.30pm

prices: 4 b4 12midnight

Push NYE at KOKO

31/12/2020

times: Dec 31, 9pm-6am

prices: 40

Club NME at KOKO

04/01/2021

times: Jan 4, 9.30pm-4am

prices: 4 b4 12midnight

Club NME at KOKO

11/01/2021

times: Jan 11, 9.30pm-4am

prices: 4 b4 12midnight

Jeff

04th November

"I agree with the last comment.

I was at the same Idlewild gig near the front and I thought it was a really good atmosphere, Loads of true Idlewild fans singing their hearts out to every song. I never saw any unnecessary pushing or anything.

If you’re at the front of a live gig with a band that rock you absorb all of the pressure of the crowd though. It's just the way it is.

To give the venue a harsh review for that is ridiculous.

Koko's is one of my favourite."

claire sullivan

01st November

"When you are at the barrier of a gig except to be crushed, at the end of the day its the price you pay for having the best stop in the venue. If you wanted a comfy time you should of sat at home and watched it on TV."

Sarah

31st October

"Went to see Idlewild at Koko's last night. The band were great but my friend and I were seriously crushed against the barrier at the front by a loud, drunken crowd and the security at the front just stood watched and did nothing, even though they must have seen how bad it was getting. I dont think I looked like I was enjoying myself!. I was actually in pain and was afraid I was going to end up with fractured ribs, they were elbowing and pushing so badly. We had to get out in the end, it was so awful. Yobs were trying to prise us away from the barrier and we were both so battered and bruised when eventually we got out, it was really scary and upsetting. I have been to a lot of gigs and this was the worst experience I have ever had."

maileightan

27th September

"Already being familiar with the brilliant Crazy p and the gorgeous boys of The Tivoli I was expecting this gig to be a good night out... but then there was Kora. There are many definitions of genius, normally I'm in agreement with Foucault as to it's origins, but on this night I was as blown away as the rest of the bouncing crowd.
Loved the venue, adored all the bands and i'm not even related to any of them. It's even worth watching on youtube - have a look at Kora at blackmooncinema

You might even agree with me."

Cat McGovern, MyVillage

24th September

"UK gig review: Kosheen, September 18 2007

After a 4 year break following their last album ‘Kokopelli’, Kosheen are back tonight to premiere their new album ‘Damage’. Koko (The Old Camden Palace) is surprisingly packed with revellers eager to hear their new material. Lead singer Sian Evans comes on stage, welcomed with encouraging cheers from the crowd. Wearing a black balloon dress reminiscent of Madonna’s attire in the ‘Frozen’ video, choppy goth hair and killer boots, she begins their set.

The element that draws people into Kosheen’s music is Evans’ distinctive and haunting vocals. They pierce through the venue and you can tell that she is incredibly passionate when she sings. They begin with a sprinkling of new tracks which are very different from their first break-through album, ‘Resist’. The tunes are slower and definitely more indie-pop, rather than their trip-hop/dance/drum and bass roots. Some of the distinctive Kosheen sounds are still there but something seems to be lacking.

“What a lovely, lovely welcome! Thank you very much. Thank you for coming up!. Evans humbly says.

To keep the crowd interested they launch into successful, famous singles from ‘Resist’. When these tracks are played the mood of the venue changes. Everyone is more animated and starts dancing and moshing to the addictive drum and bass beats. It is clearly the best reception the band gets all night. Evans seems more comfortable and confident with these it’s reflected in the audience’s reaction of riotous applause and cheering. She sings classics such as ‘(Slip and Slide) Suicide’, ‘Hide you’, ‘Catch’ and ‘Hungry’ but the set declined in quality as soon as the new material was played. They used to be known as a dance/drum and bass group but now they have, unfortunately, transformed into a mediocre indie group with derivative, boring tunes.

It seems the fans were forewarned about Kosheen’s drastic change of musical direction with their second album. This album has paved the way for the future demise of the band and it is an unfortunate spectacle to observe.

“You’re amazing, thank-you. It’s been such a wonderful journey for the lot of us. We’ve had a beautiful journey. Thank you for accompanying us, now, onwards.”

It’s a shame that her audience don't agree with the sentiment...

"

Gregory Cristal

22nd May

"Featured Columnist
Camden Palace was ever the best club I ever did go to. Feet-First used to have a wonderful tuesday evening here for a mere £3 entry. You'd line up outside go in past the box office desk and past the cloakroom down a shaft into a huge theatre with amazing lightshows and a maze of overpasses, bars and dance areas. It has now been reduced to club NME- featuring live acts which do not follow the hardcore rock culture that was Feet first. Anyway, you pop out into this theatre, there are flights of stairs leading downward and behind you on either side and the sides of the galley trail off around the venue on the first floor taking you above and behind the stage, off into complex staircases running in the clubs walls and down to the dancefloor or up- to the seven or 8 storeys of seating and bars that flow into the main stage like a storm. The top floor is another bar completely- so far away from the main music that it is almost its own club. The drinks are well priced even now at about a pound for a bottle of beer. The queuing times are quite long but if you hunt you can find seating. Occasionally floors are shut off due to private parties and the music is awful. Tjose times are now. The bar is an amazing venue but the club nights are appauling.

I give it a 7/10. It is truely fantastic if you like exploring with pint in hand. Truely appauling if you wanna pull and dance the night away!

Hello, I'm on a mission to visit and rate every pub, club and bar in the UK. I know what your thinking but don't worry- i've got an artificial liver on standby. read about Gregory Cristal's progress on his blog http://barblog.lastminuteliving.com/

Priya, MyVillage

01st March

"If there is one night I have to recommend, it has got to be KOKO's club NME night. Although the queue is ‘tad’ bit exaggerated there is nothing like stomping out to Indie, Rock, Punk or even The Cure.

Like all clubs it can get heated, but KOKO has a way of making you sweat it out like no other-be prepared, as daft as it may sound , portable fans are probably ideal for a night out.

With loadsa room to hang out and explore , you’ve got no excuse not to mosh it out."

Sarah

25th February

"Been to most of the funkin you nights held at Koko, and have always had an amazing night. I miss Camden the way it was back in the day though, especially behind the stage and you were allowed to run around everywhere.
I think the prices of drinks are just a joke.
"

pete p

24th February

"could not believe what they have done bring back the old camden palace im gutted i will never go again!!!!! Gutted"

Martin

11th January

"Oh the day that I entered this club for the first time must've been about a year ago now. I was 17 and visiting a london friend of mine (i'm from belgium) and he decided to show me his city. It was a great night with good music and a good atmosphere. Not that it matters that much but I also met a great girl there (Anna), i still remember her..

ah well, the main reason to write this review is because i just saw the sugarbabes playing there (on tv), and koko club was broadcasted on some national music channel here in Belgium. i decided to look up some stuff and i'm planning to go to London again soon.

Great place to go"

Daniella/East Sussex

07th December

"I am dissapointed to read these reviews as I was planning a trip up. Camden Palace used to be one of the best venues I had ever been to and I am really upset to read these things.

Why try and fix something if it isn't broken. Ok so the place had seen better dayz but it rocked and the crowd were wild - whats happened???"

Peter

25th November

"Few night outs in London have been as bad as Koko which stands out as definitively the worse night out of my life. From the point of entry past the racist staff to the chavistic decor, excruciatingly bad music, prohibitively priced drinks - its a journey from bad to worse to a hellhole.

Sadly when you're in Koko's all bad things never come to an end and the nightmare continues till wee hours in the night. "

claire

16th October

"i must agree with the first comment. We visited the CLUB NME night at KOKO in June this year... again, it was full of clear underage children; it was more like a school disco - and i'm only 21! I felt terribly old!

the drinks horrifically overpriced.... and yep, the 'children' were actually RUNNING AROUND. i heard nothing but good things about KOKO before my visit, i was bitterly disappointed. But on a brighter note, the place is beautiful... you cant fault the decor!"

Tessa Batacharia MyVillage

24th March

""Hideous. Saturday night, and I thought that the newly refurbished Camden Palace, now KOKO would be worth a visit. How wrong I was.

It's difficult to know where to begin with what was wrong with this one. As I walked up to the entrance security stopped us, not to check our bags, but instead to tell my friend to take his jumper off from around his waste and put it on, as "It's a VIP ticket only night, and we want people to look like VIP." Fair enough we thought, until we walked in and the place was filled with under aged people wearing baseball caps, trainers and walking around with bad boy attitudes.

Considering that the night was part of a week long free music festival, for people to come and see what improvements had been made to the club, I would have thought that staff would be helpful, encouraging people to come back. However I then wanted to put my coat and my jumper in the cloakroom, and at ?1.50 a ticket, I thought that maybe it would be better to put both items on one hanger. The woman in the cloakroom didn't agree, and instead of politely telling me that wouldn't be possible, she very rudely barked back at me "If you don't have the money, you can't put your coat in." I paid the ?3, and put both items in. Considering that the night was supposedly full of VIPs, it's just lucky that I wasn't one of them, and I was just one of the journalists invited to review the night.

Next stage of the evening, buying drinks, and wow they were expensive, three JD and Cokes cost ?18, which must have been the VIP prices for the VIPS that can afford to drink there.

Club KOKO, the title of the night itself was a diabolical. There was a large stage on the ground floor, where lots of dancers, that looked like they belonged to a boy-band, did some high-kicks, swung their arms around and mimed to Usher.

Escaping the dance floor tragedies that surrounded me, I went upstairs and tried to get into the VIP area. The security guy, at first said no, then asked me if I had a boyfriend, when I said no, he asked me for my phone number and then said I could go upstairs. The VIP area must have been the biggest facade of the entire evening. The lounge was full of girls wearing tiny little skirts, and more of the baseball cap crew, there wasn't a VIP in sight. I went straight back downstairs to join my friends, only to be almost knocked down by several firemen that were rushing up the stairs to deal with an emergency. Thankfully it wasn't anything serious.

The venue is beautiful and MINT have obviously spent money to turn it into the complete opposite of what Camden Palace was. However being generous, all that needs changing to make Club KOKO work is the security, the staff, the crowd, the music, the dancers, and the attitude, and then maybe this place might get another visit, until then I'd rather walk around with a rusty nail stuck in my foot on a Saturday night.""

Anon

24th March

"" I used to live in Camden Town, about 2 mins walk from what used to be Camden Palace - Kentish Town. I haven't been there in over 15 years. I am 43 now. I was disappointed to read this review on what is now called KOKO, as I had planned a return visit to London, especially my old Camden.

I remember it as very welcoming, warm, lively and a great laugh. I never put anything in the cloakroom - even then I knew I'd be charged. It seems the drink prices have not changed much - it was just as expensive when I was there. I used to sit on the yellow carpeted floor and smoke dope! No baseball caps in sight. Strobe lighting... a lot of girls not particularly in short skirts... No VIP area upstairs - let alone VIPs - I could go where I wanted without being stopped. Again, I am disillusioned.""

Toma

24th March

""It's the best night club I have ever been in London! This saturday I had the most emazing party! Me and my friends we had a lot of fun! I liked interior of the club very very much. I'll go back there after 3 months to have the same kind of party again. THANK U KOKO! :)""