Orange Yard, off Manette Street,
London,
W1D 4JB
0871 971 3789
The ViewLondon Review
A small, unpretentious rock club that’s a good place to catch rising indie and rock bands.The VenueThe Borderline is located down a side street off Charing Cross Road and offers rock clubbers a place to mosh the night away deep in the heart of London. The stairs leading down to the club, past the inexplicably Tex-Mex themed foyer, display placards listing the bands that have played in the past. It’s worth checking out the listings of early gigs by Oasis, The Libertines and Ben Harper.
Downstairs, the area in front of the bar is left open for standing, drinking and dancing while a smaller side area provides seating. The main area isn’t huge and does tend to get packed, hot and sweaty towards the end of the evening.
The AtmosphereThankfully, The Borderline takes itself a lot less seriously than other rock and alternative venues. It’s full of clubbers who are genuinely excited when three Cure songs are played back to back. While the crowd can get quite drunkenly raucous (especially after a good live band) there’s no attitude here – everyone’s there for the music.
The MusicThe music is the main reason for coming to The Borderline. There are a selection of different nights, including ROCK night (uppercase is, apparently, essential), emo, heavy metal, indie nights and live gigs. The quality of the live acts can vary, but the fact that The Borderline is so small means that it hosts some of the most intimate and exciting gigs in London.
While the DJs can occasionally drift into their eclectic indie back catalogue, the music is normally guaranteed to please.
The DrinkThe bar prices aren’t cheap, but given that the bar is located less than a thirty second walk from Tottenham Court Road, the drinks are very reasonable in comparison to other clubs in the area. The fact that the bar staff don’t bat an eyelid when asked for: “A pint of red wine, please,” gives an indication of the quality of drinks served.
The Last WordThe Borderline is an exciting, small venue that hosts the type of indie and rock nights you really don’t get anywhere else in the capital.