Dalston Superstore

About Dalston Superstore

Dalston Superstore is a queer club, bar and performance venue in London with room for up to 230 people. Its concrete distinction is the two-floor format: daylight and conversation upstairs, then a basement club room built for loud DJs, strobes and smoke after dark. The programme brings music, drag, cabaret, community events and daytime café life into the same Kingsland High Street address, giving a show here the feel of a compact social hub as well as a dancefloor.

Built from an empty high-street site

Dan Beaumont and Matt Tucker opened Dalston Superstore in May 2009 after taking on premises that had sat derelict for two years; local reporting described a stripped-back interior and rat-infested basement, while accounts of the conversion identify a former Turkish restaurant and cab-rank use. Their aim grew from the club nights Disco Bloodbath and Trailer Trash, with a visible, welcoming queer venue and control of the music programming at its core.

The place announced its approach before the refurbishment had even finished. In 2009, The Lovely Jonjo’s Hot Boy Dancing Spot held an “Under Construction” party in the unfinished space, with hard hats and bovver boots among the dress code. Fifteen years later, the venue marked its anniversary through a month of events, including a birthday party and a free Gillett Square day party, evidence of an operation still connecting its room to a wider local circuit.

The room after dark

Expect queer-led dance music first: house, bass, breaks and electronic club sets sit alongside drag performances, cabaret, workshops and community programming. Upstairs centres the bar, skylights and a lower-key DJ soundtrack; downstairs is the committed-clubber space, with a separate DJ, forceful volume, colour-changing lights, strobes and occasional smoke effects. There is no dedicated quiet room, though weekend welfare provision is available downstairs. Earplugs are available at the bar.

Sources

1. About Us - Dalston Superstore — Dalston Superstore
2. Access Statement - Dalston Superstore — Dalston Superstore
3. Dalston’s super store — Hackney Citizen
4. 15 years of Dalston Superstore, East London’s queer clubbing haven — DJ Mag
5. Dalston Superstore — Dazed