The Cambridge Junction

The Cambridge Junction is an arts centre on Clifton Road in Cambridge, near the railway station, on the site of the former Cattle Market. It opened on 14 February 1990, established by Cambridge City Council after the Cambridge Venue Group campaigned for a place for bands and young people. John Peel launched the venue, and local band The Bible played its first-night gig. Paul Bogen was its first director, serving from 1990 to 2007.

The main auditorium, now called J1, began with standing room for 400; its capacity rose to 500 in 1991 and 850 in 1992. An upstairs bar added in 1998 took club-night capacity to 1,050, compared with 850 for live music. The venue has three performance spaces, two bars and a food concession in the auditorium, run by The Great Crepe company; a third lounge bar operates upstairs on club nights. In 2005, refurbished J1 reopened alongside J2, a 220-seat theatre, and J3, used for participation and artist development.

Drum and bass entered the programme with Warning, launched at the Junction in 1995. Other club nights have included Good Times and Boogie Wonderland 2. Artists who have played there include Emily Makis, Hybrid Minds, Dillinja and Mowgli. The two main spaces received an audio-system upgrade, with work on J1 completed in summer 2023 and including d&b XSLi12 loudspeakers and KSL-GSUB subwoofers.