Ministry of Sound

Years before I moved to London, I’ve always wanted to go clubbing at Ministry of Sound. Finally, that dream has come true.

From 2008-08

Opened in 1991 at Elephant & Castle in south London, MoS kicked off the era of the “super-club.” It’s a huge establishment with 4 big dance floors, each with an amazing sound system and decor, and a license to keep the beat going 24-hours a day.

From 2008-08

MoS had a huge impact on the clubbing world. They signed and supported some of the best DJs in the world:
Sasha, Pete Tong, Fatboy Slim. In fact it’s hard to
find a popular DJ who hasn’t done a residency or been on one
of their albums.

From 2008-08

They’ve now franchised their club to several other cities and expanded into music labels, radio, clothing, electronics and more. It’s reported that the founder has earned well over $200 million in profits since its opening.

From 2008-08

I need more disco balls! I’ve got a disco fever, and the only cure is more balls!

From 2008-08

If you come here, beware: dance too hard and you’ll spontaneous explode, leaving only your shoes behind.

From 2008-08

At the bus stop on our way home, we encountered of London’s many nocturnal fuzzy creatures: the English fox.

From 2008-08

Being from the states, I’m used to squirrels, possums, and raccoons. But foxes? They seem to be everywhere. We see them at least once a week during our night-time doggie walks. Usually more. I’m against animal cruelty, but I think I’m starting to understand how fox-hunting evolved into a sport.

From 2008-08

On Anon and the Last G-A-Y

The biggest gay club night in Europe has come to an end. There will be no more G-A-Y Saturday nights at the Astoria concert hall, because the Astoria is being torn down to make way for a new railroad line.

They celebrated the last night with lots of surprise live acts. They kept the lineup a secret, so everyone thought the headliner would be someone big like Madonna or Kylie. We met some friends there at 10:30 and the queue was 4 blocks long. By 11 the club was filled to capacity, and we still had 3 1/2 blocks to go.

So instead we went to another nightclub, On Anon, at Piccadilly Circus. It has two dance floors, one R&B and one pop/house. It was a bit ‘chavvy’ — lots of young, drunk, pushy single guys, and packs of girls having their ‘hen parties.’ The R&B dance floor was better. After a few hours we headed back to G-A-Y and the queue was only 1/2 block long. It was 3am, and we hoped to get in before the last act.

See the blue arrow? That’s the front door. We were so close!

We didn’t get in, but we had a lot of fun waiting hanging out with the other people in the queue.

Later we found out that we didn’t miss much. The ‘big act’ turned out to be Dannii Minogue, Kylie’s younger sister. We also read some reviews that said that it wasn’t a very good night at G-A-Y — the club was too hot & crowded because they let too many people in.

We took the night bus home. Dawn was breaking. The moon was high but the sky was getting brighter. It was the first all-nighter we pulled in a long time. We were exhausted the next day, but it was worth it.

Club G-A-Y: Saturdays in April with September

In April, our dance partner-in-crime was back in town from Germany for the weekend and he organized another night out to “Club G-A-Y.” It’s packed, it’s hot, it’s loud, and the music is great. Everything you’d expect from the largest gay club night in London, possibly all of Europe.

It seemed to be ‘less gay’ compared to last year. Sure they played lots of pride anthems and the balloons came down whenever they played Kylie. But there were a lot more women & ’straights’ in the crowd this time.

Perhaps they came to see the live shows. There were three acts that night. First up were The Saturdays, a new girl-group starring two former members of the kiddie-pop-group S-Club 8. Their first single is being released next week [July '08] and they’re the new opening act for Girls Aloud.

You could tell they were new, practicing for the tour. Their singing was off and it looked like they had just learned the dance moves. Their songs were so-so, the same as every other girl-group. Of course that means they’ll probably be a huge success here in the UK. London loves their girl-groups.

Next up were Brit & Alex, 22-year-old identical twins trying to make it as pop-stars. Think of a tarty, Britney-ized version of the Olsen twins. But I’ll give them credit, they weren’t boring. The highlight was a cover of “You Can Leave Your Hat On” with a group of buff men as the strippers — they knew their audience well.

They also got support from local celebrity singer Lulu, who joined them for the second half of the song. Lulu is an old-school pop tart — her biggest hits were movie theme songs: 1967’s “To Sir, with Love” and 1974’s “The Man with the Golden Gun” (James Bond). She may be in her late 50’s, but she fit right in with her corset and platform boots, and she schooled Brit & Alex in how to give a star performance.

Last up was the star attraction, 24-year-old September, whose current single “Cry for You” was rising to the top of the UK charts. (It already went to #1 in the US in 2007.) It was her first show in the UK and she blew us away. Her outfit was hot, her voice was in top form, and she knew how to work the crowd. She didn’t need any cheesy choreographed dance routines like the previous acts. September rocked.

Club G-A-Y

Last Saturday we went out with friends to club G-A-Y, the happiest place on earth according to their ads (er, maybe the gayest). Marta & I decided to glam it up and she gave me some eye makeup. I think I looked good — maybe I’ll go Goth for Halloween this year.

The music at the club was incredibly cheesy, but fun. The low point was ‘Flying the Flag,’ the London entry into the Eurovision Song Contest this year — they came in 2nd to last place. But it’s so damned catchy that I couldn’t get it out of my head.

It was a live-entertainment night, and at it started off with Joan Rivers. She was terrible. Her stand-up routine didn’t play well to this crowd. But she was smart — she cut it short after 10 minutes, and said that she’d donate the money they paid her to charity for not doing the full show. That got her a nice round of applause.

Next up was the highlight of the night…

ERASURE!!! (Even their ads said ‘Could this night get any gayer?’)

Erasure was amazing. They played for about an hour, alternating between hit songs and tracks from their new album. They’re about to headline a worldwide stadium tour — and I got to see them in a small club!

After the show, the music started up again and everyone kept dancing. The place was packed. The crowd even took over the stage. It was a fun night. By the time we got home the sun was already rising. Taking the eye makeup off was hard — how girls deal with mascara, I’ll never know.

Learning to Salsa

Marta & I have started taking Salsa lessons, once a week. Some of my co-workers turned us on to it, and we all go together after work. It’s a brilliant idea — each night the dance teacher goes to a different restaurant and clears out a section of tables so that we can dance. There’s usually about 40 people, and you change partners every few minutes so that you’re not dancing with the same person the whole time. When it’s over, everyone stays for a drink and sometimes dinner.

I stink. I can do the steps, but I have no style. Thankfully, when I dance with Marta I know that no-one’s looking at me! (Yet another advantage of dating a girl from Spain!)

It’s a lot of fun. We’re going to a wedding this weekend, and I hope we’ll be able to show off a little Salsa there. Ole!

Andrew’s Goodbye Party at the Revolution Vodka Bar

Meet my friend Andrew. He’s moving to a foreign country to be with his girlfriend. (Sound familiar?) And We both do the same work — it’s his position that I replaced at my new job.

I think Andrew looks like chef Gordon Ramsey. Maybe it’s the white shirt and fluffy hair.

His last night in London, we celebrated at the Revolution Vodka Bar in Chiswick (which is pronounced ‘Chisick’ for some unknown reason). They serve flavored vodka shots, served on a rack of 5, 10, or even more.

This is how the night started…

CHEERS!

And this is how the night ended up…

Bye, Andrew! We’re going to miss you.