Golden Pudel may be forced to close in April

Hamburg's revered Golden Pudel nightclub may be closing its doors in April, according to a report by Electronic Beats.

The institution first came into existence as a punk club in 1989, and has since established itself as one of Europe's premier clubbing spots, welcoming the likes of Ben UFO and Move D last year.

Now it looks likely to shut down permanently, following a prolonged dispute between owners Rocko Schamoni and Wolf Richter.

The pair operate under an arrangement in which Schamoni owns the bottom floor of the building containing the club dancefloor, and Richter owns the restaurant upstairs. However, issues began to arise in 2014 when Schamoni opened court proceedings against Richter for allegedly not covering his costs, and in 2015 Richter cancelled the joint contract the pair had in place.

Now the space is said to be suffering crippling financial issues and has been forced into being put up for auction in April, after which the new owners will be free to do with the building as they please.

However, Golden Pudel regulars are not going down without a fight. A community campaign operating under the name The Freaks Are Alright has been protesting against buyers since threats of the closure first came apparent last year, and a crowdfunding effort has been set up to purchase the club on Indiegogo.

Watch The Freaks Are Alright's campaign video below.

[Via: Electronic Beats]

[Photo: Christian Olofsson* *for RA]

Patrick Hinton is Mixmag's Digital Intern, follow him on Twitter here