The 333 sits (sort of) regally in the middle of Shoreditch, lording it over its younger, more impressionable live music neighbours like the queen bee of this area that is essentially is.

Not that the exterior blows the venue’s trumpet – for years now the 333 has been characterised by a closed-up-warehouse-style street visage, something that over time has come to define its charm. This is not a venue to draw attention to itself – not that they’d need to, sitting comfortably on busy Old Street.

The reason 333 is a bit different to the rest of the gaggle of East London live haunts, is that thanks to an illustrious history and continuing innovative programming, this is the Grand Dame of this area, an area as much maligned as celebrated in recent years. 333 was an original Hoxton trend-setting nightspot. Part of the scene before there was a scene.

“It had been a gay bar for nine years before I bought it,” says owner Vicky Pengilley who took over in 1990. The East End back then was a distinctly different beast to the swaggering kingdom of really cool stuff that it is now, and thus in between the previous owners and Pengilley taking over, the squatters moved in. Always rebellious, always exciting. Whatever was going on here.

It was a risk to take the place on, surely.

“It was not for financial reasons,” stresses Pengilley. “The place was up and coming and we thought it needed a lot of venues.”

Of course the 333 has two spaces: the 333 itself and the Mother Bar, which Pengilley opened in 1999, and has earned itself a reputation as a hub for unsigned bands and DJs, though that’s not to say bigger-name acts haven’t swung by in the past. Pete Doherty and Razorlight were regulars in their early days, while even before that Groove Armada, The Beastie Boys and various Gallagher brothers would stroll in and out, the latter often as punters, while 333 was a crucial training ground for a budding Robots In Disguise in the late 90s/early 00s. Pengilley also points out with some irony that Zoe Ball and Phil from Eastenders have known to frequent the dingy bar area.

“And in the old days Seal came in a lot,” she says “and we had Pulp at a massive New Years Eve party.”

Despite the fact this was the central venue for the ‘Hoxton revolution’ the interior of the bar remains very much an echo of its past lives as an proper East End boozer. Therefore the décor is brown, the smell is musty and the grog is simple.

The 333 is reliant then, on the strength of their promoters and their reputation. These days they have the likes of Last One In’s A Rotten Egg and Shoreditch is Shit, while in the past the venue has been associated with Ninja Tunes, Nue Noise and Renegade Pop Party. Then there is Shoreditch Twat, the irreverent fanzine that was edited and published by promoter Neil Boorman that started as a listings rag but developed into one of the city’s wittiest and weirdest alternative publications. Unfortunately the magazine, published on behalf of the 333, was folded in 2004.
Times have changed in Shoreditch since the 333 first opened.

As the boom of the last few years in the area comes to a gloomy end, Pengilley is able to reflect on the journey the neighbourhood has taken… “We all seemed to get on up to a couple of years ago, now it’s cut-throat and not as villagey as it was.”

And 333’s way of maintaining its status as the best of the bunch?

“Stick to your roots, and don’t tart it up….”

News just in is that the place has indeed been refurbished inside, but still retains its unpretentious and honest aura. 333: the best of both worlds.


Where? 333 Old Street EC1V 9LE 020 739 5949
Web? www.333mother.com
How? Tube: Old Street (Northern Line)
Bus: 21, 76, 141, 271, 394, 812, N76
Founded? 1990
Atmosphere? Hip central
Pint? £3.50