The Story of Ministry of Sound

Ministry of Sound is celebrating 35 years with a talk at the V&A South Kensington on Thursday 19 November, from 19:00 to 20:00. It's a look back at the London club and record label that helped push dance music from an underground scene into a global cultural phenomenon. Billed as London's home of sound since '91, it grew from a South London warehouse into a worldwide brand that put music and movement first and helped turn DJs into international stars.

The session draws on a new book's archive of photography, posters, record sleeves and personal recollections to trace that journey. On stage are author Simon Moore, DJ and broadcaster Benji B, DJ Paulette Constable and Ministry of Sound founder Justin Berkmann, alongside V&A curator Harriet Reed. It's a conversation with the people who were there, rather than a lecture from the sidelines.

The talk is part of the V&A's Lost Music Venues display, which brings together around 50 'lost' performance spaces from the 1980s to the 2010s and treats venues as centres of creativity. It draws on the Lost Music Venue Archive with press cuttings, tickets, photographs, designer posters, club merchandise and even a pair of Adidas Superstar trainers worn by DJ Slamma in 1994. The Ministry of Sound talk fits right into that: a night about one of the city's most famous dance floors, held within a wider look at the venues that have disappeared.

Tickets are £15 to £20, which includes the wine reception that follows the talk, with book sales running on until 20:45. If you can't make it in person, there's a livestream version available online for £8. The talk takes place in the Lydia and Manfred Gorvy Lecture Theatre at the V&A, Cromwell Road, London, SW7 2RL.