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Edinburgh Live
Edinburgh Live
World
David McLean

Remembering the various guises of Edinburgh's 'Cav' nightclub down the years

News of the imminent closure of Edinburgh's ATIK nightclub has come as a shock for people of all ages in the capital.

Whether you knew it as The New Cavendish, Clouds, Coasters, Cav, or even its tongue-in-cheek nickname, Jurassic Park, the popular night spot has been a favourite for the city's clubbers for as long as we can remember.

In the early days the legendary West Tollcross venue operated as a ballroom, where locals would turn up dressed to impress and dance the night away to the sounds of the big bands.

READ MORE: Iconic Edinburgh nightclub ATIK to close its doors for good this week

The rock and roll era introduced new dance trends into the mix and The Cavendish became a place where would-be dance partners sought potential romance, with countless couples going on to become lifelong partners.

Name changes in the 1960s and 1970s brought a change in direction for the club, as it began to attract rock and pop - and later punk - groups on to its stage.

Plenty of local clubbers will also remember the venue's stint as a roller disco in the 1980s and the many great club nights it has hosted in the years since.

We take a look back at the iconic Edinburgh venue's history and recall its various guises from down the generations.

The New Cavendish Ballroom

In the 1930s, the New Cavendish Ballroom opened at West Tollcross and would soon develop a reputation as the swankiest venue in the city. The early years would see men and women flock here in their finest togs and frocks to waltz and quickstep the night away.

The layout of the original venue consisted of the main dancefloor on the ground floor, a café on the middle level and a smaller venue above. The main hall featured a sprung dancefloor, which was quite the novelty. Company balls and dinner functions were commonplace at the venue in these days.

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Clouds

In 1969, The New Cavendish became Clouds, which signalled a change in direction for the former ballroom.

Starting with Pink Floyd in its opening year, Clouds hosted loads of legendary names over the years. The gig venue was particularly popular during the punk and new wave years, welcoming the likes of The Ramones, The Jam, The Clash, Siouxsie and the Banshees and Adam and the Ants.

Coasters

With roller disco being all the rage at the tail end of the '70s, Clouds was renamed to become Coasters. Big names including U2, Depeche Mode and Simple Minds all played at the venue in the early 80s. A flurry of new clubs also operated on the other floors at the venue over the course of the 1980s, including the Hoochie Coochie Club, Outer Limits, Texas and Bermuda Triangle.

The Network

A new decade and another new name change for the former Cavendish Ballroom as Coasters became The Network at the start of the 1990s. Around this time, the number of gigs being hosted at the venue decreased, with special club nights such as the hugely-popular Mambo being put on instead.

Cavendish

In the mid-1990s, the venue re-emerged as the Cavendish - an old name that harked back to its early years as a ballroom. The owners would stick with the Cavendish name for quite a few years.

It was around this time that the 'Cav' started to put on regular Over 25s nights (locally known as 'Grab-a-granny' nights), which would result in the venue earning the moniker 'Jurassic Park'.

ATIK

After a spell of being known as Lava & Ignite in the 2000s, the club briefly reverted to the Cavendish - or just Cav - but rebranded once more as ATIK in 2017. While the venue would undergo a much welcome refit, regulars would bemoan the loss of the club's iconic multi-coloured dancefloor.

Revellers will recall that the famous venue enjoyed a starring role as the backdrop to a key scene involving Renton and Begbie in Danny Boyle's 2017 Trainspotting sequel, T2: Trainspotting.

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