Storied London Club The Cross to Reopen After 15 Years
The Cross in London had a formidable run, remaining open from 1993 to 2007. On Friday, September 9, the historic nightclub will celebrate its grand reopening at a different King’s Cross address.
Masterminding the reboot is Bill Reilly, the original club's founder, and his wife Gemma Reilly, the managing director. The six-floor venue will fill the space formerly occupied by Bill’s gastropub, The Driver. Dubbed, The Cross 2.0, it will include a lounge and restaurant in addition to a rooftop bar with recurring themes including velvet and exposed brick.
“When I suggested my idea of relaunching, at first Billy thought it was nuts,” Gemma told Camdenist. “But we discussed it over a couple of glasses of wine one weekend during lockdown, and by the Wednesday morning he said, ‘right, let’s do it.’”
The Cross has grown up," Gemma continued. "The new venue brings some of the heritage and nostalgia elements, in that it's still right here in King's Cross [and] the club was six arches and now its six floors, but we're also making sure that we're getting the best quality marble fittings and designer upholstery throughout.”
The first iteration of The Cross was known for booking progressive house DJs and for long-running promoter residencies. Renaissance, the event brand famous for launching the careers of Sasha & Digweed, took place at the club, and artists like Danny Rampling, Dave Seaman, Judge Jules, and Paul van Dyk performed there as well.
King’s Cross was also home to nightclubs like Bagley’s and The Key before developers gave the area a makeover. It is now occupied by offices for The Guardian, Google, and Central St. Martins, in addition to an arts center and conference hall called King’s Place.
Bookings at The Cross 2.0 will only be promoted in-house, according to Camdenist. No lineup has been announced for the grand reopening at the time of writing. More information is available on the nightclub’s official website.
