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London’s Madame Jojo’s closed following violent incident
By Aly Barchi | Published on Tuesday 25 November 2014
The owners of Soho-based London club Madame Jojo’s have had their license revoked following a “serious incident of disorder” last month, in which several staff are implicated.
Jojo’s, which was the site of various cabaret nights and ten year old indie franchise White Heat, was closed down in late October after a Friday night fracas involving a number of bouncers, who, according to this police report, were seen on CCTV taking out baseball bats to attack a group of assailants throwing glass bottles after a ‘verbal altercation’ took place. The bats were hidden in black bin bags stored inside the Madame Jojo’s reception area, and were used with the knowledge of the venue’s night manager and security manager, it’s claimed.
Despite venue management having filed an appeal against the October decision and having made several staff changes to appease Westminster Council, the licence suspension was upheld at a hearing last week, with the venue’s Events Manager Walt Utz resigning later that day.
White Heat promoters have reacted to the news by releasing a statement on Facebook that reads: “We’ve been forced to cancel all of our foreseeable shows at the venue and it’s probably going to be impossible to have one last hurrah at Jojo’s for old times sake. Over the ten years we’ve been there we’ve put a lot into how the venue looks and sounds to make it the best live experience possible and to try and be one of the best places to watch new bands in London. So it really is gutting to have to announce that White Heat at Madame Jojo’s is no more”.
The statement adds: “For now we’re going to weigh up our options and try to work out what we can salvage from this. We’ve put on a party every week for the past ten years so it’s in our blood, don’t expect to hear nothing. Thank you all for everything you’ve helped us create so far”.
