The Palms Nightclub

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The Palms ( Hilton ) Hotel Nightclub. was a weekly event held in Hornchurch, Essex, UK, within the London Borough of Havering . The Nightclub was closed in 2011.

Palms Nightclub was housed within the hotel's restaurant. It averaged attendances of approximately 600 patrons per night over it's 17 year tenure. This equated to an aggregate of over half a million customers . The venue incorporated and relied upon a pioneering method of music delivery - 'Powerplay'. This - and various other Palms Nightclub factors and occurrences - including violent incidents - was the subject of many newspaper and magazine articles, and other media, along with further, more recent pieces.

Overview and Exclusivity

The club ran from 9pm until 2am, every Friday, having previously operated as Palms Hilton National Hotel Piano Bar. The business was unique, locally, due to the policy of being unadvertised or promoted . On Friday 18th December 2009, an estimated 1300 clubbers attempted to gain entry to the site. A 'ClubMix' newspaper article pictured a queue of prospective customers, awaiting entry. Other media footage remains in the public domain, including videos entitled ‘Nightclub in a Hotel Restaurant' - 650 Clubbers!' and ‘Palms Nightclub Experience’

Music Policy and Powerplay Technique

Aimed primarily at a more mature clientele, the night ran officially as an Over 25s event. Palms played select but varied music genres, driven by 'PowerPlay' - a pioneering accelerated format of performance. Newspaper articles described the unique '... speed of the night' (as its) 'secret to success' . Individual tracks were rearranged by sole-resident DJ Richie Lingel, (aka DJ Richie Richh) designed to be played out of sequence. For instance: Introduction/Chorus/ Verse/Chorus/Chorus. A song's introductions or verses were, oftentimes, omitted altogether, thus concentrating on the 'hook' of a tune in the hope of creating a more urgent and dynamic ambiance. A beginning configuration of Chorus /Chorus was commonplace. The creation of this rapid-fire show was in stark contrast to the common thinking of the time , where records were played all the way through - often extended versions - which could last 4 to 6 minutes or more. As observed in a Recorder Newspaper (Argent Press) review, “(the) style is a quick-fire, recognizable-after-recognizable-record ... policy ... and it certainly works for the Palms crowd who keep coming back for more week after week.” . The technical method included 'mash-ups’ and remixes of both contemporary and party songs. Music priorities centered on an eclectic combination of Current Chart; R n’ B; Urban; House; Garage; Old Skool and Party; designed to attract pockets of followers for each type of music onto the dance floor and then keep them there for the 5 hour duration of the show.

Club Inception, Ownership, Management and Operation

Palms Nightclub was conceived unintentionally, when Lingel - the musician for the Friday night Hilton Piano bar, was contracted to play 'DJ music' during breaks from the live act. When, soon after, the venue filled with those demanding a full club experience, the music press began to run articles. One, headlining as “Not Much Room at the Inn”, included photographs of dancing customers. General Manager Jela Ilic made way for Andrew Dorrington, who agreed to concentrate solely on club, rather than live music, following the initial success. He received the Hilton Manager of the Year accolade, awarded at Park Lane in 1995. Dorrington was later promoted to head the Hilton, Stansted, London Airport. Palms soon moved towards a pay-for-entry system, averaging £10 per person during its lifetime. Free entry was offered before 9.30 pm and for those who had booked one of the on-site 149 hotel rooms. The club in its early format finished at 12 midnight and eventually extended its closing time to 2am. Cocktail waitress service, which was curtailed in 2001, aided the efficiency of the only two bars in operation. These included the former waitress “dispense counter”. Palms survived macro-economic factors including recessions and some internal business-affiliated issues, plus the vibrant and competitive Essex nightclub market including such venues as the 2000 capacity Time (later renamed Liquid) and Envy, instigated in nearby Romford, Essex in 1998.

Outside Promotions

Promotors X.Cite decided to utilize Palms and its facilities for separately organized Saturday nightclub events in 2003, to run alongside the previous night's opening .Marketed and promoted as Epping Forest Country Club reunions, both locally and in Central London, it incorporated entertainers such as percussionists, professional dancers, saxophonist, magicians, ice sculptures and top DJ's including those from Epping Forest Country Club. The opening night was headlined by Celebrity Big Brother star DJ Brandon Block. The X.Cite promotions group, now including local club owner Tony Nicholls, negotiated with Palms for a regular Saturday date, but were denied due to the lack of possible opening hours extensions.

Ownership

Hilton sold The Palms Hotel to Gowerhill Spring Park in 1998. This added to their group, which included Russ Hill Hotel, Charlwood, near Gatwick. It was then acquired by Mastcraft in 2009, whose portfolio also included the Bentley Hotel in South Kensington, London and The Washington Hotel, Mayfair,London amongst their acquisitions. Mastcraft renamed Palms as Austin hotel in 2012.

Palms Nightclub Finale

Palms ultimately closed its doors as a Nightclub in February 2011. Lingel's 18-year-plus relationship with Palms had ended in September 2010. An official film made by Domini Productions earlier that year had documented the hotel's Friday nights. It was posted on YouTube and other media under the title ‘Palms Nightclub Experience'.

Popular Culture

A long list of famous celebrities frequented Palms. In his autobiography, the Premier League footballer Ray Parlour describes an incident where he and former England captain Tony Adams steal a potted plant during an evening at the nightclub. Management agreed not to press charges. Others mentioned in press articles relating to the venue include the then - Member of Parliament for Henly, Boris Johnson. Other sportsmen and women were resident at Palms Hotel and Nightclub. All players taking part in the annual PDC World Darts Championships, held at the nearby Circus Tavern, from its inauguration in 1994, were hosted during the whole 2 week event. Wives of certain stars compiled a lighthearted playlist to be played in the club, made up of their husbands 'walk-on' songs. Latter media articles centering on Palms included one entitled “Doctor in the House” as its headline, which touched on Lingel's studies in Music Psychology at University of East London to ‘help club bosses have a better understanding of the science behind what makes a successful venue’

Murder

On 10th November 2007, two of a group of retail contractors, who were both residents at the attached Palms Hotel, and had been within the nightclub, were involved in an altercation during which Lee Archer, 33, received fatal injuries. Gary Conner of Hebburn, South Tyneside, kicked Mr Archer down a staircase within the hotel, which resulted in his death. Conner was found guilty of murder at the Old Bailey, on 5th August 2008

References

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