When Lee Butler said at the start of this year that he was bringing back the seminal Club 051, his announcement was met with both excitement and surprise.
How could the 051 – renowned as the definitive Scouse nightclub – return to Liverpool's nightlife scene after nearly 20 years? The club, located in the belly of the 051 building, played a significant role in not just the city's nightlife, but the UK's, in the 1990s and early 2000s.
While the iconic CREAM night at Nation had the pulling power of global superstars like Carl Cox and Sasha, the "0 five" relied on its resident DJs, including Butler and Dave Graham, and its family feel to get punters through the door. But the club last hosted an event in 2005 and at the beginning of this year was falling further and further into disrepair.
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However, Butler saw an opportunity to bring the club back and restore it to its former glory. Speaking to the ECHO in July this year, Butler said: "I've been trying to get the building for years. It's currently owned by someone from out of town who wanted to turn it into student flats.
"For whatever reasons, that hasn't happened yet. I was persistent and we eventually got in touch with a local guy who acted as an agent for the building. We came in five months ago and did an assessment to see if we could take it on. It was heavily vandalised – it had been smashed up and there was serious flooding.
"We couldn't stop the water coming through. We spent a lot of money just seeing if it was feasible for us to take on. There was a time when we were going to hand it back and say we couldn't do it. If you keep climbing up to the floors above everything is completely destroyed.
In May this year Butler and the team behind Reminisce Festival and In Demand radio announced the club's first events back – two opening nights in September. Within minutes, hundreds of people had bought their way into the first parties back.
Walking the ECHO around the renovated club at the time, Butler added: "People in Liverpool are loyal. They love the city's history and heritage and this building has real history. "There are not many nightclubs left, most clubs are sanitised, they're very plush, lots of booths, fancy lighting.
"This is a proper nightclub. It's a big cement basement like an air raid shelter. It's got a real industrial feel to it. The club was never plush – it was just a space for people to dance."
Inside Club 051 as Lee Butler and team refurbish it ahead of its reopening
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The work that went into ensuring the building was habitable – let alone usable as a nightclub – was massive. But in a huge job involving dozens of staff, the club was rewired, replumbed, cleared of all rubbish and rebuilt back to its former glory. Butler, a six time winner of ECHO DJ of the year, said wherever possible they wanted to keep the club as close to what it was.
He said: "It's massively important to keep it like it was. We've ripped it right back to its frame. We'll have a big memory wall at the back of the club with old pictures so people can reminisce about when they were here back in the old days."
The timing of the club's reopening took many by surprise – Liverpool, and the UK's, nightlife is still recovering from the pandemic and the ongoing cost of living crisis. But Butler said his online following, coupled with Liverpool's loyalty to its history, meant "the response to the club was amazing".
The ECHO caught up with Butler again just days before the first event back inside the famous club. The club's first two nights were just for over 30s only, followed by Butler's birthday event at the start of last month for over 25s. Butler called it a "tough balancing act" to ensure the older crowd and younger generation both got to experience the 051.
Describing the club and what the first people back should expect, he said: "The club is better than it ever looked before. It's never looked as good as it has now. It's been chaotic to get to this point but exciting as well.
"It's been all hands to the pump this week. The lighting, sound, graphics are all incredible. The support we've had to get to this point is quite overwhelming.
First pictures inside 051 as club prepares to reopen for first time since 2005
"I'm excited but nervous for the opening. I just want good feedback because ultimately it's my project and the success of it reflects on me. I just want it to go well. I want people to have a good time."
Butler and his team have the club for two years before the owner takes it back. But Butler said "if there are deals to be done we are open to having it longer".
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