Ministry of Sound began as the brainchild of Justin Berkmann. Inspired by New York’s Paradise Garage, Berkmann set out to create London’s first club devoted to the American house music scenes of 1980s New York, Chicago and Detroit. As opposed to striking a balance between the typical hallmarks of a live music venue, Ministry of Sound was conceived as an arena purely dedicated to sound. Berkmann stated: “My concept for Ministry was purely this: 100% sound system first, lights second, design third (in that order); the reverse of everyone else’s idea.”

Berkmann was introduced to James Palumbo, who was working in property finance at the time, by Humphrey Waterhouse to realise the concept. The site, a disused bus garage, was located in Elephant & Castle in Southwark, London. The club opened on 21 September 1991.

With opening sets from American house DJs such as Larry Levan, David Morales, Roger Sanchez and Tony Humphries, Ministry of Sound quickly grew in popularity as a clubbing venue. It now attracts around 300,000 clubbers per year and has hosted sets from popular DJs including: Tiesto, David Guetta, Sasha, Pete Tong and Armin Van Buuren. The nightclub was recently ranked seventh in the 2013 DJ Magazine top 100 clubs poll and has won the IDMA ‘World’s Best Sound System’ award four years in a row.