(formerly PowerHouse and Shen-Ola’s)
The venue on Waterden Road, Stratford, had a succession of names and uses before becoming Club EQ. Known in earlier years as She-nola’s, it later traded as Belleair, Club Space and then Powerhouse, which by the 1990s was established as a garage venue. Powerhouse struggled with licensing issues, and in the mid-1990s it was taken over by Kenny “Sting” King, who relaunched it as EQ. Under his management EQ became one of East London’s busiest clubs, hosting garage promoters, jungle and drum & bass events, grime performances, and large-scale psychedelic trance nights with promoters like Anti World and Chichime. Local MCs and crews such as More Fire also performed there, with the club remembered as a smaller, more intimate alternative to Stratford Rex
Oral histories
Laura Wicks
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Background
Laura Wicks (Lady Laura), born 1969 in Romford, founded and co-ran the influential East London pirate station Deja Vu FM, launched at Powerhouse, and was a key promoter in Newham’s 1990s garage and club scene.
Transcript
Yeah, and then yeah, and then we was like, should we do an event? And Powerhouse hadn’t long been opened at that point, it was She-nola’s before a lady called Heather and her husband who were in there, I’d say 40s, 50s. They weren’t, they weren’t really music, seeing people. They just decided to take on this nightclub, and that had just opened. So we’ve said she would go down there, because there wasn’t a lot of clubs around at that time in East London. There was Wax, but that was jungle, Telepathy and that. So we went, and they had two rooms probably take about two, 1500, 2000 and we started to promote it, and it was just like, oh my god, like, we’re not going to fit everyone in. It was flyers. I used to drive from all around the record shops putting out flyers. And it was a lot of word of mouth at the end of club nights that were going on in London. We’d go and flyer wherever, you know, like people were out flying all the time. So it was like, what we gonna do? And then spoke to the powerhouse, and they said, oh, there’s a an empty butcher’s meat mark- meat thing next door. We’ve and we’ve got a door that goes through so we could go into there as well. So it was like, Oh, my God, okay, let’s do it. So we ended up, yeah, the launch party was probably our biggest one. And I think we had over 3000 people that, yeah. That was really good.
It was stressful as well, because by that time Dominique had gone, and it was me with two very unorganised men. So most of the organisation was down to me, they would, they were good in that they knew a lot of people, and they put the word out and do that. And obviously, first event I’d ever done so it was very stressful, and the Powerhouse were brilliant. They had a great security team as well, which, yeah, and then we went in to decorate and get it all prepared. And then when you just see the queues, such a great feeling. You know, you just see people queuing and queuing and queuing for it, forever. And then, yeah, people coming in and just seeing people having a really good time at your event was just, yeah, it’s incredible. Yeah, really good feeling.
Kenny ‘King’ Sting
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Background
Kenny ‘Sting’ King, born 1966 in Stratford, is a promoter and club owner who founded Telepathy in 1990 and later ran Wax Club, Stratford Rex and Deja Vu FM.
Transcript
From the Rex, I went to EQ. EQ was in Waterton Road, which is off Marshgate Lane, actually formerly She-nola, then Bellair, I believe, then Club Space, then Powerhouse, and then I eventually bought it from the guys. When it was Powerhouse, it was predominantly a garage venue. Lots of garage organisations were doing events there, but they were having problems with licencing, and the place just wasn’t being run properly. And them boys were all sort of, they’re East End. They’re like, you know what I mean, they’re doing other stuff. So consequently, the place just lacked that, you know, that professional administrative interaction with the council and licencing and they were about to lose it. So I bought that off of them and changed it to EQ.
EQ- I was there for about eight or nine years. I did every conceivable event there that you can or can’t think of, but I tell you what, some of the best nights that I had in there were psychedelic trance nights. I had a period of time at EQ, when it was a go to venue for the techno psychedelic trance lot, organisations like Anti-World, Chichime, just all the bigger organisations. They loved the venue every single week banged out with that trance lot. Now, if you think the rave jungle drum and bass lot are sort of freedom of expression and just sort of let it all go, mate, compared to this lot, I’m telling you, bro, this are a whole next level. We had nights in there where they just had all sorts. They had that… They had massages in there. They had stores in there selling all manner of different stuff, jugglers, fire breathers, stilt walkers, you know, you’d have a group of people sitting in the corner over there, in a circle, and in the middle they’d all cooped up some matrix shit. It’s not really there. Do you know what I mean? [Laughs]. It was the craziest, craziest, wildest experience you could imagine. Like it was, it was mad.
Preshus
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Background
Preshus (Perry Elliott), born 1980, grew up in Stratford. He began his career at Magic FM, pirate radio station Deja Vu and at Club Powerhouse.
Transcript
In Waterton Road in Stratford, there used to be a club called Powerhouse, and then it’s evolved over the years, Powerhouse, then it became Club Space. Then it became club EQ, Deja Vu, the radio station was there on the roof. It’s iconic. Anyway, regardless, it’s very, very iconic to Newham and a music culture.
So I started performing there, like three, till four with all of the greats, MC C, creed, the Godfather, shout out. Creed. I was like, 15. I wasn’t even supposed to be in there because it’s over 18s, right? But because I’m an artist. When I was on the radio, I was on Magic FM and Deja Vu as well. So when I was on the radio, I’d get booked, and they’d be like, right in, do your set out. Because I’m not. I was under age, right? I was sort of playing there 3 till 4 in the morning, and I was doing school at 7.30, 8 o’clock the next that. So it was quite a crazy roller coaster for me.
I didn’t really feel pressurised like, wow, I’m doing this and I’m doing that, and because I was young and I was just doing what I love, anyway.
I’m 15, I’m just used to hearing this voice of creed on these tape packs we need again, Sun City and blah, blah, blah, ‘Mike Rough Cut Lloyd on the decks’, and you’re listening to all these tapes. And now I’m in the club. I’m looking up everyone’s bigger than me. I can hear the music. I’m making my way towards the stage where I know I’ve got to go to. Nervous, never performed in this capacity before, never been in this over 18s environment, a little scared school, kid. 100%. But at the same time, so high on energy and excitement, I’m euphoric.
It was very more darker than what it is when I say dark, I mean lighting a little smoky, because you could smoke in the clubs, then lasers and light shows. I’m seeing the smoke and the lasers digress between each other and interlinking. And it was just- I’ll never forget it. I know it sounds a little bit it probably sounds like I’m painting a picture of a movie, but it actually was. It was a movie. I’m 15. I’m not even allowed to be in here. I’m floating on that, as it is. Look at me. I’m not allowed in here, but I’m here, let alone I’m performing. Then I’m walking towards the stage, and I hear and I get there, and I’m like, oh, that’s that guy and Creed at the time, he had these long, super long dreadlocks from his head down to the bottom of his back, and you just see, I’ll never forget it. It was like standing next to a superhero. So yeah, shout out Creed now he’s my browski, yep, but yeah, it like, it’s amazing how life brings and evolves, man.
