Erykah Badu
One of the neo- soul pioneers of the Nineties, up there with the likes of Aaliyah, Erykah Badu stormed on to the scene with single On & On in 1997. Her debut album, Baduizm, went triple platinum and she won Grammy Awards in 1998. Badu, who, incidentally, has a child, Seven, with Outkast’s Andre 3000, has released five albums since. The veteran’s polished performance and vocal talent, which has been compared to Billie Holiday and Aretha Franklin, will have you transfixed.
Wed, Jun 27. 7.30pm
Mean Fiddler, 2 Queen Caroline Street, W6 9QH
meanfiddler.com/apollo
Work It
The legendary club night that began in the underground bars of Dalston champions Nineties R’n’B. Its nights have had the glorious titles of Busta vs Missy, Whitney vs 2Pac, Snoop vs Lil Kim and Mariah vs LL Cool J. The next night, on April 21, is Work It’s 4th Birthday.
Monthly nights – join the ‘Work It’ group on Facebook to hear first
Various east London venues
youworkit.co.uk
I Love the 90s
This monthly Camden club night at The Jazz Cafe celebrates all sorts of Nineties musical gems – from super-stonking Britpop numbers to the most unashamed pop gems, plus dance, indie and hip hop classics. The word here is simple: ‘Ninetiestastic’.
Fri, Apr 27. 10.30pm
Camden Jazz Cafe, 5 Parkway, NW1 7PG
ents24.com
The Geffrye Museum’s Nineties Room
As part of the Period Rooms And Gardens exhibition, showcasing interiors since the 1600s, the Geffrye Museum has created a loft apartment, circa 1998. It’s all very Friends – there’s even a huge Nineties TV
and VCR.
Tues-Sat, 10am-5pm, Sun, 12am-5pm
136 Kingsland Road, E2 8EA
Shoreditch high Street
geffrye-museum.org.uk
Retro Denim
Nineties up your wardrobe with a visit to Blitz Vintage Department Store. Score dungarees, cut-off shorts and jock-style jackets. You’re so hip right now.
Daily. 11am-7pm
55-59 Hanbury Street, E1 5JP
blitzlondon.co.uk
The Big Lebowski Quote Along
This Prince Charles Cinema event isn’t your usual film screening. First, it’s a quote along and second, it’s fancy dress. Fans of 1998’s The Big Lebowski are encouraged to come wearing their dressing gowns, and drink at a bar selling White Russians. Movie buffs will also be tempted by a spot of competitive bowling, to win a Prince Charles Cinema dressing gown. For those who don’t know, The Big Lebowski is about The Dude, a pot-smoking bowling freak who gets mistaken for a millionaire by a gang of thugs. This gets him caught up in a kidnapping black comedy debacle of epic proportions. It’s become a cult classic.
Sat, May 5. 9pm
Prince Charles Cinema, 7 Leicester Place, WC2H 7BY
Leicester Square
princecharlescinema.com
The Nineties Room at the British Music Experience
Giving visitors a look at the past 60 years of British music history, the BME has a room dedicated to 1993 onwards, with boyband nostalgia and a display of outfits worn by the Spice Girls, including Ginger’s Union Jack dress. And on the website, there’s a Spotify playlist for the era, too, to get you in the zone.
Mon-Sun. 11am-7.30pm
The O2, SE10 0AX
North Greenwich
britishmusicexperience.com
Throwback club: 1990s special
A heady mix of music and video games, this Throwback Arcade Night, held at Bloomsbury Lanes, will play all the best indie, grunge, rock, pop and hip-hop from the Nineties, plus a live set from The Detours. But that’s just the start – there’ll also be a selection of classic games from a selection of classic 1990s consoles, including eight-player Bomberman on the Sega Saturn, four-player Mario Kart and Goldeneye on N64, Sonic on Megadrive and a hell of a lot more retro gaming greats. The karaoke rooms will also have a mix of tunes you can belt out like a true Nineties kid.
Sat, April 21. 8pm-3am
Bloomsbury Lanes, Lower Level, Tavistock Hotel, Bedford Way, WC1H 9EU
Russel Square
bloomsburylive.com
How (not) to make it in britpop
Playing Glastonbury, fan letters and walking barefoot for album covers – musician turned comedian Rosie Wilby shares the emotional rollercoaster that was chasing stardom at the height of Britpop. As documented at the time in Rosie’s Pop Diary – her column in the now defunct Making Music Magazine – expect bizarre, laugh-out-loud anecdotes, such as the time her house burnt down and she had to play a gig in an old Brownie uniform.
Sun, April 22. 8pm
Shipwright Yard, Tower Bridge, SE1 2TF
London Bridge
southwarkplayhouse.co.uk
Dress like it’s ’95
The cult vintage store has tons of cheap Nineties finds – deck yourself out in an outfit your mum would’ve dressed you in as a kid, but way cooler, obviously, because it’s become retro.
Sun-Wed, 11am-6pm. Thurs-Sat, 11am-7pm
The East End Thrift Store, Unit 1A Assembly Passage, E1 4UT
Whitechapel
theeastendthriftstore.com
Pump up the volume
Don your denim jackets and hi-tops: this night at Visions Video Bar is dedicated to Nineties hip hop, house and pop. They love the likes of Whitney, TLC and Jazzy Jeff – the tunes that always get you carving up the dancefloor. Sign up to receive updates
588 Kingsland Road, E8 4AH
Dalston Junction
pump-up-the-volume.com
Oh, what a lovely recession
The aim is to forget how bad the economy is with burlesque and Nineties nostalgia.
Every Fri. 8pm-2.30am
148 Falcon Road, SW11 2LW
Clapham Junction
the-peacock-bar.co.uk
Ecstasy
The Nineties was the decade of raving, dance music and the infamous club drug, Ecstacy. The movie version of the euphoric highs and devastating lows depicted in Irvine Welsh’s 1996 book entitled Ecstasy: Three Tales of Chemical Romance is out this week. Lloyd, played by Adam Sinclair, spends his life partying and getting trashed, funded by smuggling jobs for a local drug boss. But when he meets Heather (Kristin Kreuk), he has to figure out if he’s in love with her, or if his feelings are chemically induced. He decides he has to escape, but not before one last trip. Club kids will also love the movie’s banging dance soundtrack.
Out on April 20
Cinemas across London
ecstasymovie.co.uk
Rewind back to the 90s
Add a splash of Nineties chic to your outfit – a crop top or a denim jacket, perhaps – and head to Rewind, at the Shadow Bar inside Leicester Square’s Empire Casino. Dance until the small hours to some of the best 1990s tracks imaginable – think Ebeneezer Goode by The Shamen, Sit Down by James, Ice Ice Baby by Vanilla Ice and MC Hammer’s ultimate tune, U Can’t Touch This. And the DJs take requests – as long as they’re suitably Nineties. Party on.
Every Sat. 10pm-3am
5-6 Leicester Square, WC2H 7NA
Leicester Square
rewind-nineties.com
Titanic in 3D
Relive the iconic movie of the Nineties, with key moments such as the steamy-car-hand-swipe scene, the naked drawing and the “king of the world” bit in full 3D splendour. We wonder if it’ll make the iceberg look any more menacing?
Out now
Cinemas across London
odeon.co.uk
