Inside the Sala Apolo nightclub where Liam Hampson partied before he was found dead
This is where Aussie league star Liam Hampson partied with his mates before he was tragically found dead 30 hours later. See the photos, video.
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The Sala Apolo nightclub is a Barcelona institution — still as a statue by day and heaving with revellers by night.
From the stroke of midnight, when it opens, club-goers – high in spirits on a stomach full of alcohol – form long queues around the block for their ticket into a world of thumping electronic, hip hop, reggae and indie rock.
On the night News Corp visits, just days after the death of Australian rugby league player Liam Hampson at the club, the entry fee is 13 Euro ($A20.26).
It is a LGBT and student friendly-badged occasion, with cheap booze, two resident DJs, and international artists performing.
I queue among first year university freshers, eager to get into the split level concert venue – once a theatre and the antique concert hall which holds 2900 revellers in its three rooms and seven clubs.
A taxi door is thrown open and a cloud of marijuana follows with a line of platform-heeled revellers sporting ebony-dyed hair and sparkly nose piercings.
“It’s packed – and very young tonight, kids in their 20s, are you sure you want to go in, madam?” one officious security guard asks this reporter.
A reveller in the queue raises an eyebrow curiously.
“Why wouldn’t she?” he proffers, “It’s the best club in the world.
“Have you heard of Gorgon City, the English electronic guys? They’ve played here, the stage is f***ing amazing.”
With autumn temperatures of around 18 degrees celsius, skimpy outfits are abound: girls in short skirts and crop tops.
The Sala Apolo has a daily themed party: on Mondays is Nasty Mondays with indie rock music; Tuesdays is Crappy Tuesdays, also with indie rock.
But the club, one of Europe’s oldest, which has been operating for 25 years, trades largely off its reputation, having hosted concerts by some of the biggest names in rock, pop and punk.
Coldplay, Tindersticks, Kings of Leon, The Killers, Rufus Wainwright, Mark Almond, The Wailers, Laurent Garnier, Ellen Allien, DJ Rush, have all played there, but the talk of the night was not music but how 24-year-old Hampson had come to grief.
“We just don’t understand it, the Sala Apolo is only two floors, how could he have fallen 10 metres?” asks one.
“How could they have not found his body for almost two days?”
Towards the end of the night at 3am, one man fell backwards, hitting his head on the floor as bystanders rushed over to help.
Then, there is the ubiquitous post-party takeaway for other weary-footed clubbers, who are seen tucking into chips on their way home from Carrer Nou de la Rambla, 107.
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Originally published as Inside the Sala Apolo nightclub where Liam Hampson partied before he was found dead
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