Trade was a culturally important gay club night held at Turnmills in London founded in 1990 by Laurence Malice.

[2][3][4][5] Trade originated as an underground club night beneath Turnmills pub in Clerkenwell Road.

Trade was the second nightclub Laurence had run at Turnmills; his first was Xanadu, which he co-hosted with the club promoter Robert Pereno.

‘I invited Tim Stabler to co-promote it with me and oversee the décor in the club.’ At the time, other clubs such as Heaven, G-A-Y and The Fridge closed at around 2 am to 3 am on Sunday mornings, an hour or so before Trade opened at 3 am.

[13] This was gained after Laurence Malice had for a long period of time tried to convince Newman that there was a need for people to be able to party in a safe environment after 3 am.

The parties at Turnmills went on to be the catalyst to some extraordinary events which I’m very proud of including Love Parade in Leeds appearing to one and a half million people.

No other club, gay or straight, has managed to achieve this again.’ On May 27, 1999, Turnmills ended Trade's residency due to security problems at the previous week's event.

Trade returned to Turnmills on July 3, 1999, for the post Mardi Gras (the renamed London Gay Pride) party.

Towards the end of the 1990s, as Turnmills fitted out more space in the venue, Trade expanded into a second room, which Laurence named the 'Trade lite lounge'.

In 2000, Trade hosted one of the two main stages (the other BBC Radio 1) for the first UK Love Parade festival held at Roundhay Park, Leeds the event was attended by 1,500,000 people.

[22] A further press release on January 30, 2008, announced that the final date was being brought forward by one week to Sunday, March 16, 2008.

[24][25] Many of the original Trade DJs returned for the final event, including Steve Thomas, Ian M, Daz Saund, Malcolm Duffy, Pete Wardman and Fergie.

[26] The club opened its doors at 05:00 and during the night Laurence made a speech in the main room, thanking the clubbers and his associates, and asking everyone 'to really go for it!'.

[28] The original Trade resident DJs included, Martin Confusion,[29] Daz Saund,[30] Trevor Rockliffe,[31] Smokin Jo, and Malcolm Duffy,[30] These were followed most notably by the late Tony De Vit,[32] but also Tall Paul, Alan Thompson, Steve Thomas, Pete Wardman, Ian M, and [[Fergie (DJ)|Fergie] BK & Andy Farley ][32] Many other DJs have graced the decks at Trade throughout its tenure including Queen Maxine,[33] Gonzalo Rivas,[34] The Sharp Boys,[32] Frankie Knuckles, David Morales and Danny Tenaglia.

I worked on a few movies and did commercials, milk ads, and puerile stuff like that.’[37] It was in Australia that Laurence first began putting on parties, although being a club promoter was not the initial appeal.

‘It was the first place in England to play hip-hop music, and I used to run it with the guys who later became Renegade Soundwave.’[37] Laurence admits making money from such ventures was always a long way off, though.

In 1984, Laurence was featured in the West End musical spectacular ‘Y’ at London's Piccadilly Theatre, as a performing waiter in which he had a solo tap dancing and MC spot.

Sometime after this, Laurence started putting on fashion shows in America, which were termed ‘wearable art for durable people’.

[19] Laurence then hosted Pyramid at London's Heaven, where he hired the up-and-coming DJ's Mark Moore, later of S-Express, and Colin Faver.

‘It was the first place in England to play house music.’[39] Commercial recognition followed when his band, Big Bang, scored a couple of dance hits, which then indirectly led to his first club Xanadu at Turnmills.

‘ While the club night was perceived to cater for the LGBT community, as long as an individual had the right attitude they were welcome at Trade, regardless of their sexuality or social background.

We had bankers dancing next to pop stars, muscle boys next to stage actors and this great freedom gave everyone the chance to express themselves through art, music, and fashion.’ Trade attracted many celebrities over the years including Madonna, Bjork, Kate Moss, Marc Almond, Rupert Everett, Alexander McQueen, and John Galliano.