Stratford nightclub for live Bollywood music and South Asian nightlife
Krystals was a nightclub on Romford Road in Stratford during the early 1990s. Located between what is now Sainsbury’s and Atherton Leisure Centre, it had a dark, enclosed “black box” interior with a stage and basic sound system for live music. Unlike many later South Asian venues where DJs took centre stage, Krystals focused on live Bollywood bands, with audiences seated at tables and served food such as kebabs and samosas. The clientele was mostly male, gathering to drink, eat and watch singers and musicians perform. The atmosphere was lively and sometimes rowdy, with heavy drinking occasionally leading to fights, but it provided a rare and accessible local venue for South Asian nightlife in Newham. Though short-lived, Krystals reflected the demand for spaces where live South Asian music and community could come together in East London.
Oral histories
Sonia Mehta
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Background
Sonia Mehta, born 1972 in Liverpool, moved to Stratford in 1990 and performed at Newham venues while active in the Asian underground music scene and anti-racist activism.
Transcript
Yeah, it was on Romford road. So there were, there were two clubs on Romford Road. One was Manor Park, and one was, it’s, it doesn’t exist anymore. It was called Krystals with a K [laughs]… And that was a little bit more spit and sawdust. It was like a club club.
So, that was, it was Bollywood music. And funnily enough, there weren’t DJs… It was definitely live bands. But Krystals was more of a venue, so it would have tables and chairs… you could get kebabs and samosas… For some reason, it’s just a lot of men who would come and see their mates performing… there was lots of leery men who would get very drunk.