SUGAR CLUBBING EXHIBITION

It's a (Sugar, Gravy) Pleasure to see iconic Peterborough indie club night the Sugar Club celebrated with a new documentary and exhibition.

Sugar Clubbing is now open at the community gallery at Peterborough Museum running until April 4.

The exhibiiton includes the chance to watch a new documentary by one of the club’s former DJs Martin Rowe about the city’s longest running club night. It evokes memories from 1991-2002 and a very special era for the city and young music fans looking for something different.

Docmunetary maker and former Sugar Club DJ Martin Rowe (right)

It follows on from Pete Elderkin’s book – Sugar, Gravy, Pleasure – which is a wonderful look back at how he co-founded the club, a snapshot of the times and the legacy it’s left.

You can even see a really early edition of ESP Magazine from 1999 included in the displays which feature memorabilia from the time, flyers, and records any self respecting Sugar Club-goer would have had in their collection.

There are photo displays and the chance to add to the display by writing your own memories from the time.

Martin hopes you’ll also view the documentary while you’re there and says – “Pete's story needed to be told and told visually. This is about what happens when working-class youth refuse to accept that culture happens elsewhere, in just the big cities.” 

The film and exhibition tell the story of The Sugar Club, an alternative music club night that operated from 1991-2002 in Peterborough against a backdrop of grunge, Britpop and nu-metal. It also explores the wider decline of music venues since Covid-19 and the lasting impact this is having on city-centre nightlife and the music industry.

Peterborough Museum & Art Gallery added – “This exhibition is a real passion project for me. The Sugar Club shaped so much of who I was growing up, and I know that other people feel the same way. When you look back, the 90’s felt like such a positive time, the age before smartphones and widespread access to the internet. It was absolutely the end of an era.”

Sugar Clubbing is a free exhibition – we recommend you drop by and take a look and see who and what you can remember from Peterborough’s nightlife back in the day, a time before smartphones and the internet.

Don't forget to pick up a copy of Pete's book - Sugar, Gravy, Pleasure - while you're there!

For more information about the exhibition and events at Peterborough Museum, please visit: www.peterboroughmusuem.org.uk.