For the majority of Parisian night owls the Rex Club truly came to life in 1992. Thursday the 21st May 1992 to be precise, with the opening of the first “Wake Up” night organised by Laurent Garnier. His aim was to shake up and wake up Paris’ nightlife.

The rave scene had by then already begun to tire. By offering sweets, candy floss and above all the cream of international DJ’s (Derrick May, Kevin Saunderson, Jeff Mills, Sven Vath, Lil’louis), who for the most part had never played in France before, Garnier and the Rex team succeeded in establishing a magic within the club that will forever be remembered as one of the crucial chapters in Paris’ electronic music history.But let us not forget that the Rex Club already had an important history before this date.

Built in the 1930’s in the basement of the Grand Rex, the famous cinema complex, the Rex was then know as the Reve (“the Dream”). It was then a ballroom, with a full big band jazz orchestra as well as a restaurant, briefly run by Jean-Marie Rivière who had recently left the Alcazar, rue Dauphine. As the adjacent cinema complex expanded, the space occupied by the Rex Club was slowly being eaten into. By the 1980’s the restaurant was long forgotten but the club had established itself as one of the leading concert venues in the capital.

The leading underground artists of the time : Pere Ubu, Kas Product, Noir Desir, Björk, Prince, les Rita Mitsouko and even the Red Hot Chilli Peppers all played at this rue Poissonniere venue. But the guitars were too loud for the cinema goers above who were struggling to hear the movie dialogue. Concerts were therefore banned which obliged the director, Christian Paulet, to find new ideas for his club and to broaden the musical experience: Rockabilly, indie, psychedelic and house music.

In early 1988, two eccentric English promoters met with Christian Paulet hoping to start a night to spread the word about the electronic music revolution going on. Jungle, the first house night at the Rex and probably the first in France opened in May of that same year. Colin Faver and Colin Holsgrove were on the decks, soon to be joined by a young DJ living in Manchester at the time, Laurent Garnier. Some of the old rock fans were converted to these new sounds, but a new crowd was moving in and slowly taking over the club.

But many more nights such as these were needed before the Rex was to become affectionately known as “home” to the actors within Paris’ electronic music scene. “Unity”, an electro hip-hop night run by the then up-coming DJ David Guetta, “Space”, “Temple”, “Storm”, “D-Club” and of course DJ Deep’s “Legends” night and Gilb’r night “Rollin”. All these nights and more made the Rex the ultimate rendez vous for the French electronic scene. A club for whom the quality and eclecticism of the events taking place remain the focus point. There is no VIP bar at the Rex club. But for the “group who hang out at the end bar” to the “group who hang out at the bottom of the steps”, every regular has their favourite spot. This spirit is perpetrated to this day with nights such as “Automatik”, “the Other way”, “Massive”, “Groovement”, “Wax Groove”, “Paradise Massage”, “Watch Out”, “Bass Culture” and Laurent Garnier’s nights…

Since 1995, the Rex has been the first club in France to devote its program solely to electronic music. The space itself has been totally redesigned : the DJ booth is placed in the centre facing the dance floor and the sound system has been designed specifically for the needs of the club. In the spring of 2003, the Rex celebrated 15 years of house music within its walls with a festival that will remain in the hearts and minds of those who attended for many years to come.

From the pioneers of acid house (Mike Pickering, Andrew Weatherall) to the latest generation of groove explorers (Miss Kittin, Black Strobe), everyone was there to celebrate this magical birthday. Mad Mike himself came from Detroit with part of the Underground Resistance possee and Carl Cox came to play a very special set to a club full of young children. This was our way of saying thank you, and the adventure continues.

5 Boulevard Poissonnière
75002 Paris. M°Bonne Nouvelle

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