CLF Arts Cafe @ The Bussey Building

Dancing, drinking, theatre and art: there is always something happening at the Bussey Building

Tucked down an alley in Peckham Rye, the Bussey Building (or CLF Café) is a multifunctional entertainment and creative space. Exhibitions, plays, bands and club nights fill its roster of events and there aren’t many nights – or days – when you can visit and find nothing going on.

We visit on a Friday night at around 10pm having spent the early evening sampling Peckham Rye’s variety of bars but if you want to go in without queuing /paying then you’ll have to make it in early. We wait and pay £7 for the reward of live music and DJs. Separated into various different rooms, this club-cum-community centre has Peckham written all over it. Young and so far unpretentious, there is a wider mix of characters than you’ll find in the likes of Shoreditch or Dalston these days. The bar sells generic beers, drinkable wine and overpriced spirits but it’s the atmosphere and the music that count.

Before the band takes the stage the DJ plays a mixture of classic rock n roll that keeps the large crowd’s minds on dancing. Beyond the likes of indie discos and Soul Train nights, the Bussey also hosts plays, record fairs and more obscure DJs for one-off events. The multi-storey industrial building also has a café, which is worth dropping into for coffee and the chance to see the building’s flair by daylight.

South East London might not be flooded with late clubs and bars but the Bussey Building would woo the crowds wherever it was.

Reviewed by T.A.O
Published on Sep 9, 2014

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A great space for dancing south of the river

For those accustomed to Shoreditch nightlife, the prospect of partying in Peckham might seem alien, even terrifying, but Bussey Warehouse has everything a clubber could want for (unless you’re into the sounds of David Guetta, and/or sipping white wine on the dancefloor). It’s dark, boasts a great sound system, and the bouncers won’t make you feel like a criminal upon entry. The Bussey Building (once a cricket bat factory during the Victorian era) also doubles up as café/art studio/all-round cultural centre for the area, in a similar vein to Elephant & Castle’s Corsica Studios, but bigger. There is a total of five floors, accommodating 1000+ people, however the warehouse space itself is intimate.

The bar is cheapish (£2.50 for a can of beer), and there’s a smoking area with seating; furthermore the summer months see the sixth floor roof terrace put to use - Secretsundaze hosted their 10th birthday celebrations here over the August Bank Holiday weekend. Warm have been intermittently throwing parties here when they’re not being held at Plastic People, including their recent 12th birthday when Innervisions main man Dixon played an unprecedented 8 hour set. Horsemeat Disco and Dollop have also alighted south of the river, and other varied events have included Dreadfest with Congo Natty, and soul and funk nights.

Still not convinced? There’s a bus back to Shoreditch and another to the West End, and the licence extends to 6am. Surely that’s all bases covered.

Reviewed by Leila
Published on Nov 7, 2011

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