LONDON CREATIVE: Rob Star

We caught up with Rob Star, the successful promoter of Last Days of Shoreditch, who has rocked the London Scene in recent years.

1. YOU’VE SUCCESSFULLY RUN A STRING OF AMAZING LONDON VENUES, WITH THE LAST DAYS OF SHOREDITCH RIVERIA AS THE MOST RECENT ON THE LIST. WHERE DID THIS LOVE OF VENUES STEM FROM?

I have been going to nightclubs since I was 14 years old (venues were much less strict on who they let through their doors in those days!). My first experience was going to early rave clubs where the focus was on the music, to get an all-night license they couldn’t serve alcohol, so it was strictly bottles of water! In those days pubs also closed at 11pm, so people had no choice but to go to nightclubs, whether that was cheesy Krystals-type venues or your cooler house clubs. I went to both – cheesy clubs during the week when it was 50p or £1 a pint and proper clubs at the weekend. I went out pretty much every weekend from the age of 16 to my early 30’s. That’s a lot of nightclubs, so that tends to give you an idea of what makes a good one!

2. WHAT ADVICE WOULD YOU GIVE TO SOMEONE BREAKING INTO THE INDUSTRY?

You really need to live and breathe it to get somewhere in this industry. Start at the bottom and work your way up, even though I was putting on my own events from a very young age, I was still working at as many events and clubs as possible to learn the ropes. That included – handing out flyers, working in promotion offices, looking after DJ’s in clubs and stage managing festivals – basically anything that would put me in contact with people and give me experience when it came to doing my own events.

3. WHAT CHARACTERISTICS DO YOU THINK ARE KEY IN CREATING A SUCCESFULL LONDON VENUE?

Increasingly people want to be entertained and have an experience that they can tell their friends about (probably via social media), whether that’s with music, food, drinks or some other form of entertainment. People need to have more than just a space to drink and socialise these days.

4. ARE THERE ANY PLANS TO OPEN SOMETHING FURTHER AFIELD?

I couldn’t open something outside of London, I wouldn’t know where to start!

5. WHEN YOU’RE NOT AT ONE OF YOUR AWESOME ESTABLISHMENTS, WHICH HANG OUT SPOT IN LONDON WILL WE SEE YOU AT?

The Gun in Well Street, it’s my favourite pub to go to when I’m not working.

6. WHAT WOULD YOUR PERFECT LAZY SUNDAY IN LONDON LOOK LIKE?

Probably a run round the park, followed by a nice Sunday Roast, then a cuddle on the sofa watching a movie.