WITH the announcement that the Fabric nightclub building was recently sold, we decided to cast our minds back to the heyday of Tralee’s once superclub.
It opened in 2004 at the cost of €7 million, billed as Ireland ‘biggest and best’ nightclub by the owners. This was a time when the nation was booming and young Tralee folk wanted a slice of the good life.
Here’s a look back at some of the things we remember about going to nightspot…
1. Being incredibly impressed the night it opened with the knowledge that we were allowed to have very nice shiny things in Tralee.
2. From the beginning, in order to make sure the clientele was of a very high standard, an order was decreed that no trainers should be allowed on the premises. This resulted in lads taking off their black socks and pulling them over their white runners.
Continued below…
3. After some time, those plush carpets began to take on the wear and tear of ‘fat frogs’ and cider.
This unholy concoction made the carpet so sticky it’d whip the socks right off your shoes as you walked across to strut your stuff on the neon dance-floor.
4. Fabric was the first place in town where you had guys in the jacks who you’d hand over €2 to for the pleasure of washing your hands and a squirt of the finest sweetest smelling Joop (the high class scent of the time).
It wasn’t long before you were on first name terms with your now ‘bathroom buddy’.
5. Paying in and spending the entire night sitting on the wooden seats in the smoking area. Parts of that smoking area resembled more of a farm enclosure (both in design and, at times, the users of it) than a place you would light up.
6. One of the main features of Fabric was the hallowed ground of the VIP area. Dreams were shattered the night you bluffed your way in past the burly bouncer and red velvet rope to find it was pretty much the same as the rest of the place.
7. The end of the night signalled what was, for many, the ‘main event’. On some nights, as people made their way out of the club, what would ensue on the street was a pitched battle of shirtless apes exerting their masculinity all down Princes Street.
Until, of course, the guards came and ‘Round Two’ moved up to Bridge Street.
Relive those fond memories of Fabric with a look at the video below…