A lost Liverpool nightclub that was often described as an "adult funhouse" was like a "second home" to those who went there.
In the early 1990s, The Krazyhouse on Wood Street burst onto the city-centre scene and became famous for its indie, rock and alternative scene. Also synonymous with Liverpool students, it was affectionately known as the K! to loyal clubbers.
One of the biggest clubs in the city boasting three floors with different genres of music on each one, it was also loved for its quirky feature pieces and drink deals. Clubbers often experienced sticky floors, drank the money saving Red Stripe deal or a bottle of Faustini and could order pot noodles and pickled eggs from the first floor kitchen.
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The dancefloor would fill when the Happy Days theme tune came on on the top floor and it wasn't unusual when the lights would come on at the end of the night to the Thomas the Tank theme tune. A Bill Bailey look-alike would also frequent The Krazyhouse, old cartoons would grace the screens and clubbers would ponder over the unusual art - like the rhino on the third floor.
But in 2018, the closure of the nightclub was lamented by many as the end of an era. That same year, the venue reopened as Electrik - but the spirit of Krazyhouse lives on.
JJ Haggar, originally from Wrexham in North Wales, was resident DJ at Krazyhouse from the early 1990s up until its closure. Whilst promoting shows, JJ went to a venue called Tivoli in Buckley where be met owner Howard Croft, who was also one of the owners of Krazyhouse.
After seeing bands Love/Hate and The Wildhearts at the Krazyhouse, JJ was later asked to get involved in the business in Liverpool. He told the ECHO: "To be honest it was a dream come true because growing up in North Wales, Mersey lights shine in the distance as we say.
"I came over and that would have been in 1992/1993 and that's when I stared being the resident DJ. At that point, we only had one room, it was one floor, a rickety cash tin and a couple of hundred people and that was it."
JJ said Krazyhouse "felt like home" and the people who went there made it feel like that. He said it wasn't "one dimensional" as the music played there was across the "alternative, indie, rock and metal spectrum."
The business later and expanded to two floors and then three and among those to play there through the years were Oasis, The Verve, Carcass, The Wildhearts, Love/Hate, Thunder, Stone Temple Pilots, Ocean Colour Scene, Space, Stereophonics, Placebo and Bush. JJ said: "It was incredible to be a part of and for me to be in there as the resident DJ and also involved with booking the bands and working closely with Howard and his daughter Paula and Steve Jones the manager - it was incredible.
"It was a great time to be part of Liverpool's music scene for what it was. It’s tribal - people went there because everybody looked after each other.
"It didn't matter about anything to do with the way you were, the type of music you liked, the way you looked, your sexuality. It was just come on in and have a great time."
JJ said one of his favourite memories of Krazyhouse was when Placebo - then an unsigned band - played at the venue. He said it was a place where people met partners and made lifelong friends, who still talk about Krazyhouse today.
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He said: "People do say do you remember the seating and stuff. The seating had carpet on.
"There was a film called Letter to Brezhnev and the carpet was used in that film, then it was taken and put on the seats. And it was there for so long that all the beer had been spilt on it and you stuck to the seats when you sat down and the floors were sticky because we did two for one.
"I love the fact that we made a difference. It was the kind of place that you could go to and feel safe. You could meet people who liked what you like and that for me was incredible and I think that’s its legacy, people who still talk about it to this day."
Photos of Krazyhouse nights below
Adam Coffey, 33, from Runcorn worked as a promotions manager at Krazyhouse in 2011, but first experienced the club as a student in the city. He told the ECHO: "During freshers week, I remember it being really really busy and I thought I'm not going to come back here again, it's just too busy.
"My first year I went once and it took me a while to eventually go back and then I was gutted that’d I'd gone a year not going every week because I didn't realise how good it was. I was missing out on all the music I like. It was the only place really without sounding too cliché where a lot of people thought of as a second home.
"Every week you’d have the same people coming in, the same people dancing in the same spot. It had a big social feel to it, it was like an alternative members club because you’d always got the same people coming in."
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Adam said the venue was always very busy and has often been described as an "adult funhouse." Also known for its quirky feature pieces, Adam said on Krazyhouse's last night, clubbers left with a number of mementos of the iconic venue.
He said: "There was the famous rhino statue on the top floor that people always remember, there were the massive Lego bricks, there were quite a few iconic pieces. There was the man in the box on the first floor who was like a Halloween horror figure coming out of the wall. There was the massive Jack Nicholson photo as you came up the stairs.
"When it was closing down we got quite a lot of messages asking where is this going, can I get this. People were wanting to come down and get some of that stuff.
"By the time it was the final night, we had already started renovating the first floor because we didn't have very long until we were reopening again. We tried to give away little pieces from the DJ box or the floor to customers when they were leaving."
What are your memories of The Krazyhouse? Let us know in the comments section below.
In July 2018, it was announced that the Krazyhouse was to close that summer. Promising a "new era," at the time clubbers were told it would re-open in September that year, potentially under a new name.
In a cryptic message, the club said: "I'm sorry that we have taken so long to finalise this. Hopefully we can make the last weekend something special.
"The venue will be closed from the end of July until September (can't tell you the exact date just yet!)." A week prior, Krazyhouse also announced some sad news.
In a statement on Facebook, the Croft family said: "Sorry it has taken us so long to speak to you all but it has been a hard couple of months. For those of you that don't know, Howard Croft, the man behind all that was The Krazyhouse passed away in February, he loved Rock Music, Liverpool and its people, he wanted to bring the best bands to his city and help the local acts, which he did for nearly 30 years.
"We know he would like to thank the staff, customers and everyone who supported the Krazyhouse over the years and made is what is was, a very special place, even if the floors were sticky." The Krazyhouse hosted one last rave before closing.
In August 2018, new club Electrik announced it was to takeover the former Krazyhouse on Wood Street. Spelt with a K on the end in homage to The Krazyhouse, the venue opened on Saturday, September 15 that year.
In a huge refurbishment, the club saw a brand new light and sound systems across all floors - playing rock, metal, punk, pop punk, indie and alternative music. The new venue team also promised there would no longer be sticky floors. Although the new club team promised the venue would bring a few "good surprises," they said they were also passionate about making sure they bottled the "magical essence" of the K.
JJ said: "Regardless of anything, the fact that Electirk and that building is still there the Krazyhouse spirit continues. I think Howard Croft deserves his name to be mentioned as someone who created something that has a legacy because it’s still standing. I think there’s a lot of celebration of venues and nightclubs in this city and I think the Krazyhouse deserves its place."
Although the Krazyhouse itself has now shut its doors - it was not to be lost forever. Last summer, Electrik transformed into the Krazyhouse once again for a big reunion night. Now all covid restrictions have eased, another is set to take place this weekend on May 1.
Adam said: " We are really looking forward to bringing The Krazyhouse back again for one night. It will be great to get all of the old DJs to return, playing the music that the building was so popular for for so many years.
"These reunion nights always have a special feel to them when people get together with old friends they haven't seen in a long time and hopefully enjoying it like they did back in the day." To find out more about the Krazyhouse Reunion, click here.
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