JULIAN BENNETT, TV host and Head of Public Relations & VIP Manager at swish Noho venue Merah Club, presents a brand new weekly Sunday night – suitably called QUEEN – featuring some of the most fabulous characters from our bustling gay scene. Dusty O sipped a cosmopolitan (or three) as Julian spilled the beans…
Tell us about your involvement with Merah…
Well I was asked to join the Merah Gold team several months ago by the owner, Mounir, as head of PR and have loved every minute of it since being there. We are lucky to have a lot of well-known celebrities who regularly come along to the club, including Jason Derulo, Will.I.am, Kelly Rowland and Jessie J.
The club has just had a re-furb, too, and we will be launching our new Polo Lounge in a couple of weeks in conjunction with the Royal Berkshire Polo club. You know we love the men in white jeans riding big polo ponies!
Well, I have been asked for a long time to start a great Sunday gay night and since working at Merah I thought it would be the perfect place to hold one. We are so used to the same old venues that are used all the time in Soho, so having a venue that is completely new and never been used before is great for the scene.
It is just at the end of Wardour Street on Wells Street, so just a stone’s throw from Soho. I decided to contact some of the most famous faces on the scene – of course you, Dusty, were the first person to contact as I have known you for a long time and you have always been my favourite character on the scene, as well as having run the two biggest West End Sunday nights of the 90s, Sound and The Limelight with Gary Henshaw.
You have brought together the best of the best, so the night will be amazing! We have great DJs lined up and some amazing acts performing every week at ‘Queen’.
“Having a venue that is completely new and never been used before is great for the scene.”
It’s an all-star line up for your royal family. Is this important to the night?
I think the thing that makes a night work is the people behind it. As you can see from the line-up we have, it will truly be an amazing night every week and lots of fun will be had.
What’s the music policy and vibe for the night?
Well, the night will be full of different styles and genres of music as you can see by the line up of our DJs with an emphasis on contemporary R’n’B and commercial dance. We have mixed-up star DJs from the East End like Joshyou Are and Munroe Bergdorf with new names like Adam Turner and, of course, yourself the legend that is Miss O herself. With the acts we are lining up you will see that we have style of music from camp to cheesy to classic pop and more. All I can say is you will always have a great night at Queen.
What do we have in store for the opening?
Well since we are opening on the Halloween weekend we are throwing a great Halloween party! I have the cast of ‘Thriller Live’ coming in to perform for our amusement – my good friend Alex Buchanan is the lead in the musical so he will be there to sing and dance with the cast for us. We have also got Duncan James lined up to perform soon, too, which will be amazing as we all love that man!
Are there any surprises in the pipeline for ‘Queen’?
There will be many surprises at Queen over the next couple of months – but if I told you, then they wouldn’t be a surprise any more! I think the best thing is to come down and see for yourself. We have some great drinks offers too – from £4.50 double vodka and mixers – wine and beer from £3.50. On behalf of the team that is Queen – we look forward to seeing you all!
• Queen launches at Merah (78 Wells St, W1) on Sunday 30th October, 9pm–Late.
