McQueen in Shoreditch has been a feature of London’s club landscape for 10 years. Themed after the late great American star, Steve McQueen, the multiple award-winning venue has an overall capacity of 650, divided between two principal spaces and a 55-cover restaurant. Its strong reputation has been built on its ability to stage and attract high profile events, featuring top DJs and deliver excellent hospitality.
Shoreditch continues to grow as one of the capital’s leisure industry hubs and entrepreneur Dezzi McCausland, Head of Design and Concepts at McQueen, is acutely aware of the need to take a progressive view in an evolving and highly competitive market. Recognising a trend towards increasingly multi-functional venues, McCausland took the decision to use the occasion of the club’s 10th anniversary to re-launch McQueen – updated, upgraded and able to deliver a wider spectrum of entertainment.
The core values of popular club nights and excellent hospitality would remain in place, supplemented by more live music, a modern American pool lounge and casino tables. Essential to the design was audio provision that could deliver all the power and quality required in a club setting, as well as possess the versatility to address the needs of the venue’s multi-functional spaces. McQueen chose Pioneer Pro Audio’s XY Series speakers.
Dezzi McCausland knew what he wanted and wasn’t prepared to compromise. He was seeking audiophile quality throughout and having experimented with other brands, had yet to find what he was looking for. His team was aware of Pioneer Pro Audio’s growing reputation and decided to make contact and arrange to attend a demonstration. McCausland’s reaction left no room for doubt:
“We were blown away with the quality of the sound that the boxes produce. We want to set McQueen above the bar and maintain its position as the coolest boutique club in London and one of the ways of ensuring that is to embrace the very latest technologies and place them at the heart of our design. High-quality audio is fundamental to everything that goes on at the venue – DJs and performers of the calibre that we present expect nothing less and the same is true of our patrons, whether they are eating, playing pool or enjoying a full-on club night – it has to be the best.”
Trusted and experienced integrators, Cosmic Electronics, was engaged to install the systems across the three spaces at McQueen. The company has an impressive portfolio of completed installations in all sectors, including a number of high-profile UK nightclubs. Under the supervision of technical director, Mark Damon, the Cosmic team completed the install in three days, to Dezzi McCausland’s great satisfaction.
In the downstairs club area, which hosts promotions such as Cafe Mambo Ibiza and sets by the likes of Melon Bomb, Artful Dodger and Idris Elba, the system comprises 8 x XY-101 10” full range speakers with 2 x XY-115S bass reflex subs, 2 x XY-215S quasi-bandpass subs and 2 x XY-2s. Upstairs in the bar area, where adaptability and versatility are key to the staging live bands and DJs, as well as a range of ambient background music, 8 x XY-81 8” full range speakers with 4 x XY-115S bass reflex subs make up the main system, with portable XPRS 10 full range active speakers deployed as stage monitors. To complete the picture, a further 3 x XY-81 speakers are installed in the restaurant space adjacent to the bar area. The systems are all powered by Powersoft M and K Series amplification.
Pioneer Pro Audio Managing Director, Kei Aikawa, is pleased that the XY-Series has once again demonstrated its versatility: “The trend towards venues using their spaces for the broadest possible range of events, is clearly on the up. It makes sound economic sense and is a direct response to greater customer demands for multi-faceted experiences. Our XY-Series, as is perfectly illustrated at McQueen, is designed to be adapted without compromise to meet this wide variety of applications – whether it’s a club night, a live band or even a spoken word presentation, the power and consistency of the XY combinations deliver every time. We’re very pleased that Dezzi and his team chose Pioneer Pro Audio for their beautifully designed, award-winning venue.”
McQueen officially relaunched in early April with Pioneer Pro Audio at its heart. Not only do the systems boast impressive audio credentials, they fit seamlessly with the venue’s carefully designed aesthetic – a fitting addition to the Shoreditch destination dedicated to “The King of Cool”.
Dezzi McCausland summed up: “Cosmic Electronics did a fantastic job. They’re super sharp and know their stuff, big time. Their team came well prepared and did a thoroughly efficient and professional job. We would definitely work with them again. Pioneer Pro Audio is a relatively young brand, but they are flying and we want to be along for the ride – we have plans to install more Pioneer Pro Audio boxes in our next venture later in the year.”
