Colour Factory’s Nathanael Williams on new London Nightlife Taskforce and the future of Hackney Wick
In five years, Nathanael Williams has become the owner of one of London’s largest black-owned venues, Colour Factory, alongside south London favourite, Jumbi, making him well-placed on the city’s new Nightlife Taskforce.
Ten years ago, Mick’s Garage in Queen’s Yard was, well, a garage owned by a man named Mick.
By 2015, having kept its name in tribute to its former owner, it became a storehouse and venue owned by the minds behind CRATE Brewery.
A change of hands to Nathanael Wiliams in 2020, amid a decade of rapid growth in the area, saw the birth of what is now one of London’s biggest black-owned music venues, Colour Factory.
Since then, Williams has seen two more venues open (and one close) with lessons learnt through adaptation to a pandemic, a threat of license revocation and harnessing the value of community.
His 1200-capacity Hackney Wick nightclub plus south London venture Jumbi erupting into one of Peckham’s best-loved nights out, has put him on the map as a key player in east London’s night-time economy.
Now, the Colour Factory owner joins a group of fellow industry experts from across the capital on the new London Nightlife Taskforce, an independent group set up to address challenges facing the night-time sector.
The first official meeting was held on the dancefloor of Fabric at 9 am on Tuesday 4 February, with the initiative’s founder Mayor Sadiq Khan in attendance.
A strange light in which to view the walls of the legendary Farringdon nightclub perhaps, but no shock to Williams, who has seen the nightlife sector from all angles as a bartender, director of a successful catering company, and gigging at venues including Village Underground and The Old Blue Last since the age of 18.
But it was as a delivery driver, chucking beer barrels into Mick’s Garage, that he first laid eyes on the space that would soon be the dancefloor of his future venue.
Following the previous owner’s financial struggles during the pandemic, Williams took on the space, self-funding the venue, which he says is still not a profit-making endeavour.
Yet it’s hard to imagine economic struggles when out and about amongst the flowing pints and dressed-up crowds of typical Hackney Wick weekend, with dance floors packed with local partygoers and Essex commuters.
With Soho, London’s former Zone 1 party area, grinding to a halt, venues like The Fold and The Cause have opened in Newham, while the UK’s largest venue, Drumsheds, is now in Tottenham. It seems the capital’s nightlife is branching out. But the Hackney Wick hub seems to be going strong for now.
‘People like going to places where there are loads of choices. I don’t see venues or bars or nightclubs competing with each other. I think the more there are the better,’ says Wiliams.
Yet a storm of rising rent, challenges with licensing and safety protocols, as well as shifts in Gen Z drinking habits, have meant that venues are struggling more than ever, says Williams who operated food trucks from the Queen’s Yard site to keep afloat during the pandemic.
Williams himself has lived in Hackney Wick since 2009 and his favourite local spots include Total Refreshment Centre, Crate Brewery, Satan’s Whiskers in Bethnal Green and Shoreditch’s Village Underground.
Hinting at just one of many issues the Taskforce is likely to bring to light, Williams says: ‘Many cities around the world thrive with 24-hour transport systems. About 1.4 million people are working at night, and extending transport hours would encourage more people to go out, have fun, and spend money.’
In Hackney Wick, all-night partygoers are rewarded with a glimpse of the sunrise over distant Shoreditch skyscrapers aboard the first Mildmay Line train of the day which departs just as day breaks around 6 am on a Saturday. On a Sunday morning, the wait would be another three hours.
But for those leaving the dancefloor before dawn, the orange haven of the Overground closes just after midnight, even on Fridays and Saturdays, leaving most at the mercy of a pricey Uber.
At Colour Factory the buzz doesn’t stop during the week and Monday nights can draw in crowds of 400 for open-mic jazz night, Ori Jam, a lively evening of music and drop-ins from guests like Thundercat, says Williams, noting many dashing for the last train on these nights.
But travel is far from the only issue. The balance between residential areas and nightlife hotspots is a constant battle with noise and antisocial behaviour.
Elsewhere in east London, a general trend towards younger demographics is seeing dwindling numbers of families with many schools in Hackney and Tower Hamlets recently closing due to low numbers.
But even the once-squatted and illegally raved-on land of Hackney Wick is becoming increasingly residential with new blocks quickly heightening the warehouse-clad landscape.
In 2018, the Agent of Change principle was introduced in an attempt to put the onus on developers to soundproof their flats where venues are preexisting. as opposed to venues dealing with noise complaints.
More serious challenges for the nighttime economy include drug misuse, crowd control, violence and sexual assault and Tottenham’s Drumsheds made recent headlines after two drug-related deaths and a stabbing took place at the 15,000+ venue. The venue has kept its license with modified conditions.
‘One of the things that the task force is going to try and do is come together and try and identify what should be a proportional balance between keeping venues open and bad actors,’ says Williams whose license was also threatened after a man was fatally stabbed outside the venue in 2023.
‘One thing that we try not to say at Colour Factory is that we are a safe space because safety looks very different for different communities.
Safety for a person-of-colour (POC), femme-presenting queer night could look completely different to a drum and bass night. We try and be the safest possible space,’ says Williams whose venue aims to champion queer and POC artists.
The Nightlife Taskforce will work with international data-led nightlife consultancy, VibeLab, as well as University College London, speaking to local businesses and communities and drafting recommendations for the industry.
Despite hurdles, Williams would encourage others to join the music venue industry speaking to the increase in jobs, community and musicians that venues can bring to an area.
‘I see Queen’s Yard in the next two or three years becoming a real hub and centre for nightlife. I see more bars opening. I see more interesting venues such as the Yard Theatre.
Nightlife is a reason people gravitate towards an area. It’s the beating heart and the soul of what makes an area interesting and a great diverse place to be.’
A short Overground ride away in Peckham, Williams’ hi-fi bar Jumbi, co-founded with music project The Colours That Rise collaborator Bradley Zero, was originally envisioned as a laid-back rum-tasting bar. It now sees queues out the door, with a jam-packed dancefloor swaying beneath a disco ball to vinyl records championing sounds of the African-Carribean diaspora.
‘It’s funny because you design a space and think this is what a space is going to do and then people come in and just rip up the script. We can’t micromanage and say, no, you’re, you’re going to stand here and you’re going to dance here.’
Williams attempted a sister venue, MOKO, in Tottenham but it didn’t take off in the same way, and the nascent venture was dropped after just a year.
Whilst offering different vibes and event production models, Jumbi and Colour Factory are both championing black voices in the nighttime economy.
‘[Colour Factory] is the largest black owned venue in London. We’ve been saying this, for about four years now and we haven’t been corrected. I hope that we are.’
‘I do think there needs to be more representation from Caribbean communities and other diasporic communities. The Caribbean community has arguably contributed more to music in England than any other community despite making up less than 2 % of the population.’
Other members of the London Nightlife Taskforce include Nadine Noor, founder of Pxssy Palace, a collective prioritising events for queer women, non-binary, and trans people of colour, such as the Black Carni After Party at Richmix cinema in 2024. Also on the team is Provhat Rahman, co-founder of various initiatives promoting South Asian music and culture, plus leaders from London’s club scene and the wider UK hospitality sector.
While some critics have predicted the decline of Hackney Wick, venues like Colour Factory have continued to shine, though the road has not been plain sailing.
As London’s nightlife still grapples to recover from the impact of the lockdown and the rising costs of operation Williams’s east London success and his own adaptability have not gone unnoticed. His influence could be the spark London needs to reignite its night-time economy and keep the original spirit of Hackney Wick burning.
If you liked this read Sadler’s Wells East theatre announces inaugural programme – and it’s affordable
