06/05/11: Can it really be fourteen flamin’ years that one of our favourite watering holes has been doling out drinks to up-fer-it queens in delightfully dishevelled surroundings?
In that time, Joiners Arms has gone from being the ultimate post-Trade hangout (not that we ever fell asleep under the pool table of a Sunday afternoon) to one of the trendiest, fun-packed hangouts where Hoxtonistas can let go their fashion-induced shackles and drunkenly rock out to an eclectic mix of tuneage.
Honestly, where else can you hear Spice Girls followed by the Charleston, followed by an obscure Nu Romantic track? Nowhere, that’s where! Tonight’s birfday celebrations were heaving, even more than usual. It wasn’t just the heat of an unseasonably warm May evening that had sweat dripping down our back, sack and crack – that was thanks to my energetic dancefloor aerobics, the sheer amount of human body heat and a multitude of bevested, skinny jeaned lovelies.
The Joiners has happily opened her warm and welcoming arms to us on many a weekend. It’s still one of the most madcap, lairy and attitude-free venues not just in East London but across Gayland. It may not be the place to take your Aunty Joan for a small sherry, but it’s certainly the place to get rat arsed, grab a fit boy and dance like a tit. And deep down, isn’t that what we all want?
116-118 Hackney Road, Shoreditch, E2 7QL
Words by Lee Dalloway
Photos by Joel Ryder
