It was savaged by a fire in early 2020, but as of 2022 the hottest thing about Camden's legendary KOKO is its epic facelift, and it's only cost a cool £70 million. Cha-ching!
The Koko we used to know was a cool, rough around the edges music venue meets nightclub. Now it's an bad-ass 50,000-square foot state-of-the-art live music venue and broadcasting house. They say go big or go home, so they went colossal.
This wicked ex-theatre venue which has hosted music royalty of the likes of The Rolling Stones, Oasis and Amy Winehouse is now boasting four floors, including a 200-capacity Fly Tower (think venue within a venue vibes), a new shop/DJ space; a morning-to-late-night pizzeria and tap bar; a recording studio; piano room; library; a hidden speakeasy and a less hidden cocktail bar in the dome of the building; a stage kitchen; vinyl rooms and even a private members area. Then there's the new nightclub, Koko Electronic which on Fridays and Saturdays has the music pumping til 6am. On top of all that (literally) is a fly roof terrace with more greenery than Kew Gardens and three awesome new restaurants with La Petite Maison's former chef Andreas Engberg keeping everything in check.
Legendary status: reinstated.
Imagery credit: Lesley Lau & Recent Spaces