Dan Prance and Argyris Georgopoulos (aka Silverhook) are the promoters of BEEFMINCE which runs every third Friday of the month at the iconic Royal Vauxhall Tavern.
We had a chat to them ahead of this week’s party, about beefy beginnings and meaty music!
QX: Hey boys! First of all, describe BEEFMINCE in three beefy words.
Dan: Well “beefy” as you said, has to be in there, but don’t forget the “mince”! We don’t have a fragile masculinity and we are not taking ourselves too seriously. The third one has to be “fun”.
QX: How did it all start out?
Argyris: I started out DJing and promoting at The RVT at the end of 2012; both Dan and I were part of the team that organised a popular bi-monthly party called Hot Fuzz for three years. During London Pride 2014, Dan and I noticed a lack in bear events, so we decided to put on a huge pride party for the following year. We secured Corsica Studios for London Pride 2015 and BEEFMINCE was born. Soon after, BEEFMINCE did a collaboration with another promoter at the O2 Brixton Academy (New Year’s Day 2016), and then we moved it into The RVT in January 2016 and we’ve been there every month, ever since.
Why do you think the London gay scene has been so receptive to it?
Dan: If you’ve been to our parties in London you’ll know to expect a welcoming crowd full of hotties, beards, cubs, bears and all lovers of a good party. BEEFMINCE champions an ‘everyone welcome’ policy that creates our attitude-free atmosphere. Our events focus on the social element of a night out”. People feel relaxed to socialise with friends or have a dance and flirt with other friendly guys.
Argyris: Also, we keep our music policy fresh; both myself and our other resident DJ, Cactushead (Ian Buchan), like to introduce new tracks as well as delivering the crowd-pleasers. And of course we hand pick our guest DJs, who fit in both musically and add to the atmosphere.
QX: The RVT’s a great venue…tell us a bit about what it’s been like being there.
Dan: We’ve been going to The RVT for years, topping up the bar profits whenever we could. It’s iconic, unique and ran by a team of passionate people who manage to fill the old girl up with a variety of club nights and cabaret every week. We get on really well with the management team, the bar staff and security. We love having BEEFMINCE there, and honoured to be part of the RVT family and its legendary LGBTQ+ history.
QX: We hear you’re launching in Manchester! Tell us about that. What made you pick Manchester?
Argyris: It’s true, BEEFMINCE has made the journey all the way up the M6 and has finally arrived in Manchester. We have a lot of connections up there, so it made sense to launch a Sister Mince there. Our Manchester home is at the newly refurbished Night People club in Princess Street, right in Manchester’s famous Gay Village. You can find out more about our Manchester Launch Party here.
What’s been your favourite BEEFMINCE party ever?
Dan: So many to choose from! After two years of filling the RVT to capacity, we were offered the 2017 New Year’s Eve date. This felt like a great acknowledgment of our success so far and we were super excited to take on the challenge. We changed up our format to include cabaret until the midnight countdown and kept the purest BEEFMINCE party vibe afterwards by having only the residents DJs playing all the the hits until 5am. We all had a ball!
QX: If you could get ANYONE to do a live PA at one of your nights, who would it be?
Argyris: This is such a tough question. The BEEFMINCE format does not really include performances, cabaret, PAs or otherwise unless it is NYE or other special events. But since this is a hypothetical question, we will have to say our favourite singer, George Michael.
What beefy stuff do you have planned for 2018?
Argyris: There are loads of exciting plans for 2018. Besides our launch in Manchester, we are delighted to announce a collaboration with clubbing giants, XXL! We are hosting Room 2 on Sunday 27 May, together with our special guest Massimo Paramour. This is the second May bank holiday and part of the Bear Pride celebrations organised by XXL, which will also be fundraising for The Albert Kennedy Trust. In the main room, our friend (and internationally acclaimed DJ and producer), Pagano, will be delivering a special nine-hour DJ set to celebrate 25 years in the music scene. We are super excited to be part of this huge event!
Dan: Wait, there’s more. As we know how keen the mincers are on seamen, we are organising a boat party on the Thames, BOATMINCE, at the end of the summer, which will include another great surprise – all will be revealed in time. And this year we will organise our third annual BEARD AID, a fundraiser in collaboration with Myra Dubois, off the telly. She is a quadruple threat; acts, sings, dances and she pours a decent pint. Myra is our kind of lady, and we plan a lot more with her towards the end of the year. Watch this space…
BEEFMINCE returns on Friday 20th April to transform the legendary Royal Vauxhall Tavern into another bear full, attitude free party! Click here for details.
