Circa owner Alan Winter asked his team to fess up about their most memorable nights at one of Soho’s most insanely sociable venues…
Sam DMS at TWERQ, Tuesday
We all get our fair share of unwanted attention but one particular guy kept turning up on my night and getting overly-friendly. I made the mistake of moaning to Alan to which I was met with the response: “Oh be quiet Sam, it’s a quiet night, take one for the team!”
Dusty O Detained, Wednesday
On one particular day there was an event on in Soho I was working at. One of the first places I head to is Circa. On this occasion Mr Winter’s generosity overcame me, and combined with the lovely atmosphere I always enjoy so much and – you guessed it – I got drunk. In fact, I got bladdered. So much so that I forgot I was working and spent the whole night at Circa. It was only the next day after waking up fully clothed on my bathroom floor did I remember I was actually meant to be somewhere else and had come home without doing my duties. I never miss a gig, especially my own and was horrified. However, it’s a testament to how much I adore the bar and its wonderful welcoming atmosphere. Thanks Circa. I love you!
Munroe Bergdorf at VS, Thursday
That mirrorball booth has seen its fair share of moments, but the time that I managed to get both my dress and weave stuck in the DJ booth fan was particularly epic. I’m not sure what I would have done without Adam Turner untangling me before the track finished…
Munroe Bergdorf at Discipline, Friday
Fridays are always full of crazy, but that time I was balancing explaining WHY I wasn’t going to play Celine Dion’s ‘new one’ to a punter, whist trying to remain invisible to two ex-boyfriends in the crowd and hide the new one inside the booth, was particularly memorable.
Adam Turner, Saturday
There was one night during our late licenses last year that we had a DJ who had to get to another gig before Circa closed, which meant I had to do the last hour of Circa. With a two hour gap of no DJing for me and Alan forcing Jaegarbombs down my neck, once I got back on the decks I have no idea what I played, if I played or where I was. Moral of the story: never agree to DJ the last hour if Alan has anything to do with it!
Jonathan Bestley at Love #Hangover, Sunday
We were obsessed with American Horror Story this year. Little did I realise I’m actually part of a coven. We cursed a wicked man the other day and he woke up in hospital the next morning with concussion. Do not incur our wrath! (He was fine btw LOL)
Lee Dalloway, Dungeon Master
Downstairs at Circa, affectionately known as “The Dungeon”, is naturally the venue’s epicentre of sin. While not the delightfully rotten core of the bar (that honour goes to our leader Alana Wintour) many of the things a drunken cloakroom slut gets up to on an average shift are unprintable.
But the biggest sin is clearly vanity, thanks to the floor-to-ceiling “selfie mirror” next to the loos – where the great, the good, the drag and the bladdered pout into an iPhone then Instagram the shit out of it. Security cameras regularly catch Soho’s drunkest sprucing and preening, but the best moment had to be a staggering kween who, somehow, mistook the giant mirror for a continuation of “The Dungeon” and smacked face first into his own visage. We’ll leave it up to you to decide if the problem was a lack of reflection…
• Circa (62 Frith Street, Soho, W1D 3JN) celebrates its 3rd birthday on Thursday 8th May. Open ‘til 4am.
