How Mark Fuller made a million in nightclubs

Learning from his setbacks, Mark Fuller used his contacts in the music industry to establish some of London's most exclusive celebrity haunts.

Rock bands are great fun, but can be "a terrible business", says Mark Fuller. In the early 1980s he managed a string of small British rock bands. "We had a couple of hit singles, but then a tour fell through and the record company went bust. We went from riches to rags really quickly."

Fuller returned to London broke and used his music contacts to organise club nights. Their success gave Fuller the cash and conviction he needed to try for his own club. He picked up a failing one that only had a few years left on its lease, got a very cheap deal, and with some help from his friends in the music industry, started attracting punters.

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James McKeigue

James graduated from Keele University with a BA (Hons) in English literature and history, and has a certificate in journalism from the NCTJ. James has worked as a freelance journalist in various Latin American countries.He also had a spell at ITV, as welll as wring for Television Business International and covering the European equity markets for the Forbes.com London bureau. James has travelled extensively in emerging markets, reporting for international energy magazines such as Oil and Gas Investor, and institutional publications such as the Commonwealth Business Environment Report. He is currently the managing editor of LatAm INVESTOR, the UK's only Latin American finance magazine.