When Ikea opened its gigantic flagship store in Tottenham in 2005, at one minute past midnight on a February Thursday, six people ended up in hospital. Thousands of bargain-hunters had flocked to the London outpost, lured by the promise of leather sofas for just £45, resulting in a frenzied stampede, and the store having to close its doors after only 40 minutes. As one shopper put it: “Madness descended.”
Eighteen years later the vast furniture warehouse has been reborn as Drumsheds, one of the world’s largest nightclubs: a 15,000-capacity venue set to host the biggest names in dance music. And judging by its opening on Saturday, the clubbers are a decidedly less rowdy bunch than the frantic sofa-seekers.
