Dan Beaumont: Nightlife Entrepreneur
By Something CuratedDan Beaumont is an integral part of the capital’s nightlife scene, having begun his DJ career as one of the residents of the legendary Disco Bloodbath parties. He has since opened seminal venues, Dalston Superstore and the recently closed Dance Tunnel, as well as the massively popular New York style pizza chain Voodoo Ray’s. In addition to running one of London’s best music-focussed nights Chapter 10, in collaboration with British fashion journalist Charlie Porter, Beaumont maintains a busy DJ and production schedule, and has a regular show on the radio station NTS Live.
Working in collaboration with friends Matt Tucker and Dan Pope, Beaumont opened Dalston Superstore back in 2009. Taking on a near-derelict building in London’s East End, the trio envisaged a versatile and welcoming new local social institution. Launching during the early stages of the neighbourhood’s regeneration, the venue functions in numerous capacities, ranging from local café, diner and arts space during the day through to cocktail bar and late night club, rather unusually open from 10am-3am throughout the week. Having become a fixture of the area’s flourishing nightlife, Superstore hosts a number of regular parties, as well as platforming up-and-coming DJ’s, musicians and artists.
In 2012 Beaumont and his collaborators launched Voodoo Ray’s, the now hugely popular New York-style pizza slice restaurants, with sites in Dalston and Shoreditch, as well as a mobile food truck. Open late into the night, the joint offers an impressive selection of pizzas, catering to a breadth of dietary needs, as well as offering a late night slice, The Full Moon pizza, only available after midnight. The reliable eatery, with its fast service, casual décor and quality ingredients, has quickly established itself as an east London go-to, particularly popular with nightlife crowds.
Beaumont, along with long-time collaborators Tucker and Pope, wanted to create an intimate venue along the lines of Shoreditch favourite Plastic People. In the basement beneath Voodoo Ray’s Kingsland High Street flagship, they launched the music-focussed venue, Dance Tunnel. The 220-capacity club’s reputation quickly grew, with sets by artists including The Black Madonna, Spencer Parker and Tama Sumo drawing hundreds of revellers to Dalston. Earlier this year, the venue closed due to licensing constraints but Beaumont remains enthusiastic, noting, he wants to, “do something even better and to try and continue in a similar form.” The trio are now considering a new venue elsewhere in the capital but have not revealed any details as yet.
On Dalston’s nightlife:
“We weren’t that early… Dalston has been an important nocturnal destination since the 60s. When we started Bloodbath five years ago I could feel something was afoot in Dalston. It took us a couple of years to find the site for Superstore – we could tell the area was going to develop.” – Land of Kings, 2012
On Dance Tunnel’s closure:
“I think there’s something with the right kind of DJ and the sounds, the intimacy you get in a place like that, it can be really powerful and it can be a great place for the right kind of DJ to do their stuff … If anything, it’s given us a big impetus to try and do something even better and to try and continue in a similar form.” – Evening Standard, 2016
On Voodoo Ray’s:
“Well, we’ve got cardio downstairs and carbs upstairs, so a lot of people will have a bit of a pizza break. It does wonders for you the next morning, to get some sustenance.” – Chomping Ground, 2015