13/02/14: Brace yourselves Soho! MANBAR, London’s freshest face on the scene, has launched Thursday night’s ‘Babylon’, a mixed media polyglot of colourful sweets sure to tease the tongue and delight the senses. Mover-shaker Chris Amos has spared no expense sweeping out the crusty ol’ cobwebs, dragging Soho kicking and screaming into the 21st century.
And what a kick-off! DJs, lasers, lightshows, fire-dancers! We were not in Kansas anymore, Toto! Hunk-o’-spunk DJ Paul Heron kept it fun and funky as he layered track after track of jazzy deep house grooves surrounded by state-of-the-art digital displays beneath the new lycra ceiling décor courtesy of marketing guru Wesley Marilio, the brains behind Babylon.
Hostesses from heaven – or hell, you decide, – Ursula Snakes and Raul (my li’l) Pony danced their brand of East End edge amongst the strobes to the squeal of the packed house of sexy young thangs and humpy he-men.
“I just arrived 10 days ago! I love this! Unbelievable!” shouted Croatian newbie Marko, his 6’2” muscles straining under his tighty-whitey T, who managed to land himself a bartending job right then and there!
‘Unbelievable’ was an understatement as fire dancer Edgar “Fiero” Trujillo-Gonzalez, emerged from the mist, bowl of fire in hand, weaving through the crowd, flames licking across his taut sinewy muscles to everyone’s shock and awe. “I want to bring some urban cool back to Soho,” Amos declares. With line-ups like these, we have every confidence Manbar already has!
79 Charing Cross Road, Soho, WC2H 0NE
Words by Tom Redkid
Photos by Joel Ryder
