212:). Other smaller rooms within the complex included: The Drink (renovated to become Cathouse then Surface), D'Luxe Lounge (renovated to become Haven), The Orange Room (renovated to become Chroma), SkyBar, Charlies (renovated to become Gallery), Tanja and Acid Lounge. The Guvernment opened in 1996 and closed in early 2015. The Kool Haus venue became known for hosting the first ever concert performance by Canadian rapper and singer
24:
396:, and bright psychedelic lighting throughout the venue, the group of individuals running RPM especially focused on the club's visual component, manipulating it regularly every year with different installations including dinosaurs, dolphins, an airplane with parachuting soldiers, flashing neon signs as well as a black
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reported during April 2013 about The
Guvernment's fate already being sealed in the same manner. The official confirmation occurred over a year later when, on 1 May 2014, The Guvernment's parent company, INK Entertainment, announced plans of closing the entertainment complex effective 31 January 2015.
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development. According to the club's owner
Charles Khabouth, the venue had already been slated to close a year earlier, but did not due to his company putting up a legal fight: "We fought tooth and nail, spending a lot of money on legal fees, and ending up not being able to stretch it much more than
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Steve Dash and remained throughout the club's existence despite various renovations. Khabouth credited the system as one of the best in the city and would call Dash up from the United States to tune the room's mixer when required. Additionally, Khabouth also arranged for the installation of a wooden
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Annually, The
Guvernment / Kool Haus venues would host "full-complex" events where all seven rooms that made up the complex were accessible. These events were held on long weekends and special occasions and sometimes went as late at 10AM. Some of these events included 'Labour of Love', 'Decadence',
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In parallel with the
Toronto-wide condo boom that had been on since early 2000s, the rumours and speculation about the imminent sale of The Guvernment's attractive Queen's Quay East lakefront location to property developers and subsequent closure of the nightlife complex have circulated for years.
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Khabouth has indicated his intention to build a bigger venue of approximately 100,000 square feet to replace the
Guvernment while admitting that it would probably have to be outside of downtown Toronto due to difficulty of finding a suitable property of that size in the heart of the city.
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Saturdays at The
Guvernment (promoted as 'Spin Saturdays') featured underground electronic dance music until 7AM with resident DJs Mark Oliver and the Manzone & Strong duo. Additionally, 'Spin Saturdays' (later known as 'Alive until 7') played host to many international DJs such as
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The decision was prompted by the sale of the city-owned property, that INK had been renting since 1996, to The
Daniels Corp, a property development company, which outbid INK and also bought out the rest of the block in preparation for what was expected to be a massive
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while his vacated Sunday spot got taken over by Terry Kelly and later Matt C. Initially playing dance music in the most general sense, Sheppard's club nights at RPM gradually began moving away from rock and coalescing around house music and the emerging
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and remove the age restriction; his all‐ages
Sundays immediately became RPM's signature night with teenage crowds reaching capacity well before 9 p.m. each week and many lining up outside around the block at the foot of
595:'Freedom', 'Thriller', and the nightclub's anniversary party. On these nights, various international electronic music artists performed in the different themed rooms hosting upwards of 10,000 guests.
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From the very beginning, in addition to club nights, RPM served as a live music venue. Among others, its star DJ, Chris
Sheppard, participated in booking acts for live gigs at the venue, bringing
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raised floor that had to be redone every year due to wear and tear by dancers at a cost of $ 30,000 to $ 40,000, citing it as a necessary component to achieve better sound.
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were brought over from The Copa to be RPM's residents. Initially, TK played
Mondays (billed as 'Psychedelic Mondays'), Thursdays ('Disco Thursdays'), and Saturdays ('
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by late June 2001. Khabouth revamped RPM by installing a series of smaller lounges and bars within the complex. A sound system was designed for the main room by
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Sunday-night gig at The Copa to recreate the same energy at RPM. TK's Monday nights quickly began gaining in popularity, attracting patrons with an eclectic
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284:'s Chrysalis Group. Joining Ball in the new RPM ownership group were Martin Arts, formerly The Copa's original general manager, and Neil Vosburgh.
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that would end up getting circulated for almost thirty years before the band eventually decided to release it as an official live album named
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With the rampant trend of downtown Toronto buildings that house nightclubs being sold and then demolished to make way for condominiums, the
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A few years into RPM's operation, Sheppard moved to Fridays for a 19+ age-restricted night that was simultaneously broadcast live-to-air on
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a year...I knew about it and delayed it as much as I could". He further promised a series of farewell events leading up to the closure.
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was installed by the Canadian audio engineer Ted MacDonald. Located in a semi-industrial area on the eastern edge of Toronto's
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by Tony and Albert Assoon, two of the four Assoon brothers who had simultaneously been running the successful and influential
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Initially capped at 1,100, RPM's capacity steadily expanded over the years due to high demand. Featuring oversized art,
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under the ownership of Murray Ball, an artist who had formerly fronted the Toronto-based punk/new-wave band
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599:'s Canada Day sunrise sets on the roof top terrace SkyBar were considered legendary by many.
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s Top 100 Clubs annual list. Its highest ranking, number 8 in the world, came in 2008.
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as the headliner. Resident DJ Mark Oliver along with Khabouth played the final track,
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released a live recording of his final set at The Guvernment from two months prior.
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entrepreneurship on the Toronto nightlife scene having successfully run The Copa in
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The Guvernment's south side exterior in July 2007 (main entrance was on east side).
789:"An Oral History of the Legendary 80s Club That Introduced Toronto to House Music"
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The site of the Guvernment was first converted into a nightclub in 1984 as
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On Sunday, 25 January 2015, The Guvernment hosted its final event with
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company and is since March 2015 in the process of being turned into
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Prior to closure, the property was sold to The Daniels Corporation
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761:"Remembering RPM: Toronto's Wildest and Weirdest Club of the 90s"
981:"Daniels confirms it has bought Guvernment and Koolhaus complex"
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In late March 2015, at a presentation attended by Toronto mayor
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after-hours club at 185 Richmond Street West in Toronto's
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1012:"Legendary Guvernment nightclub faces wrecking ball"
925:"With clubs disappearing, where will Toronto dance?"
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902:"Rumour: Is the Guvernment closing this year?"
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953:"Guvernment nightclub to close next Jan. 31"
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602:The Guvernment consistently placed high in
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951:Mudhar, Raju; Menon, Vinay (1 May 2014).
264:The space returned almost immediately as
869:"Discogs – John Digweed Live in Toronto"
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819:– Discography recorded at The Warehouse
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666:List of electronic dance music venues
574:released a compilation album, called
231:development called City of the Arts.
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1225:Young Centre for the Performing Arts
1066:Andrew-Gee, Eric (30 January 2015).
1010:Stevenson, Jane (25 January 2015).
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1468:2015 disestablishments in Ontario
923:Micallef, Shawn (11 April 2013).
688:Alcoba, Natalie (27 March 2015).
1215:St. Lawrence Centre for the Arts
1170:Elgin and Winter Garden Theatres
1038:Chan, Connie (28 January 2015).
904:. EDMCanada.com. 6 February 2013
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787:Boles, Benjamin (30 May 2016).
759:Benson, Denise (21 July 2015).
564:Global Underground 025: Toronto
1463:1996 establishments in Ontario
1094:Teo, Mark (25 February 2015).
246:Fresh Restaurant and Nightclub
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1458:Electronic dance music venues
727:BlogTO History of Guvernment
641:'s mix of "I Feel Love" by
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979:Starr, Ryan (8 May 2014).
411:sitting in it. The club's
409:Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis
1195:Princess of Wales Theatre
280:on behalf of its owner –
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129:Entire Complex (10,000+)
1448:Music venues in Toronto
1278:Phoenix Concert Theatre
1210:Royal Alexandra Theatre
1200:Queen Elizabeth Theatre
221:real estate development
94:43.644212°N 79.368804°W
1230:Young People's Theatre
817:The Warehouse, Toronto
613:Closure and demolition
427:throughout the night.
254:Entertainment District
125:The Guvernment (3,000)
1453:Nightclubs in Toronto
439:with even some early
99:43.644212; -79.368804
1185:Meridian Arts Centre
375:with the release of
295:Saturdays' blending
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1180:Four Seasons Centre
367:throughout 1986. A
352:had just come out.
154:(as The Guvernment)
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1407:University Theatre
1341:Scotiabank Theatre
1165:Ed Mirvish Theatre
840:2015-09-23 at the
587:In December 2014,
559:Global Underground
513:Above & Beyond
377:their second album
272:before turning to
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1397:Shea's Hippodrome
1392:Runnymede Theatre
1367:Hollywood Theatre
381:bootleg recording
365:Chris & Cosey
337:underground music
317:The Four Horsemen
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127:Kool Haus (2,500)
114:INK Entertainment
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1402:Standard Theatre
1362:Broadway Theatre
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1283:Roy Thomson Hall
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179:February 2015
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1387:Roxy Theatre
1336:Royal Cinema
1331:Revue Cinema
1268:Lee's Palace
1263:Koerner Hall
1240:Music venues
1144:Theatres in
1100:. Retrieved
1089:
1077:. Retrieved
1073:Toronto Star
1071:
1061:
1049:. Retrieved
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1021:. Retrieved
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992:23 September
990:. Retrieved
986:Toronto Star
984:
974:
962:. Retrieved
958:Toronto Star
956:
946:
934:. Retrieved
930:Toronto Star
928:
918:
906:. Retrieved
896:
890:– Guvernment
887:
881:
872:
863:
854:
853:trance.nu –
848:
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810:
798:. Retrieved
792:
782:
770:. Retrieved
764:
699:. Retrieved
693:
651:
647:
643:Donna Summer
632:
621:Toronto Star
619:
616:
603:
601:
597:Steve Lawler
593:
589:John Digweed
586:
575:
569:
562:
553:
521:David Guetta
509:
499:
495:
489:
480:Foo Fighters
447:
445:
441:bleep techno
437:rave culture
429:
413:sound system
391:
386:Toronto 1986
384:
361:Skinny Puppy
354:
346:Beastie Boys
325:Jimi Hendrix
286:
265:
263:
245:
243:
227:700 million
218:
209:
205:
189:
185:
184:
134:Construction
40:Former names
1316:Fox Theatre
1273:Massey Hall
1160:CAA Theatre
1051:23 February
1017:Toronto Sun
964:27 November
888:top100clubs
800:21 February
577:Toronto '09
476:David Bowie
421:shuttle bus
398:convertible
350:debut album
293:dance‐music
274:hospitality
229:condominium
196:complex in
97: /
72:Coordinates
50:(1985–1995)
45:(1984–1985)
1432:Categories
1311:Cinesphere
1102:1 November
1079:1 December
1023:1 November
936:22 January
908:22 January
815:Discogs –
701:2 November
672:References
557:created a
394:blacklight
270:The Dishes
208:(formerly
176:Demolished
144:(as Fresh)
85:79°22′08″W
82:43°38′39″N
772:18 August
654:John Tory
570:In 2009,
555:Deep Dish
500:Kool Haus
460:Radiohead
369:synth-pop
329:The Doors
278:Yorkville
206:Kool Haus
194:nightclub
160:Renovated
1098:. Aux.tv
1045:Vice.com
886:DJMag –
838:Archived
794:Vice.com
766:Vice.com
660:See also
635:deadmau5
549:Carl Cox
537:Deadmau5
417:downtown
401:Cadillac
357:Ministry
309:alt-rock
305:new wave
192:, was a
149:(as RPM)
121:Capacity
66:, Canada
56:Location
1355:Defunct
1298:Cinemas
1258:History
1146:Toronto
873:Discogs
582:Toronto
529:Marco V
333:Nirvana
235:History
202:Ontario
198:Toronto
64:Ontario
60:Toronto
605:DJ Mag
547:, and
478:, and
363:, and
348:whose
323:, and
303:, and
168:Closed
139:Opened
43:Fresh
627:condo
541:Sasha
456:Suede
452:Björk
321:AC/DC
297:house
240:Fresh
214:Drake
142:1984
110:Owner
1104:2015
1081:2015
1053:2017
1025:2015
994:2014
966:2015
938:2017
910:2017
802:2017
774:2020
703:2015
468:Bush
432:CFNY
407:and
331:and
313:rock
301:funk
163:2007
48:RPM
327:to
266:RPM
260:RPM
225:C$
190:RPM
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