QX has been fortunate enough to have worked with some of the most legendary, famed and feared clubbing promoters and venue owners of our illustrious gay scene over the years. Here we talk to a wide selection of these well-known faces who have shaped the gay face of London as we know it, finding out both their career and personal highlights from their time on the scene.
Jodie Harsh, Room Service
Career: Being fired from Heaven in 2003 (don’t worry, I got back in there years later). Being thrown out of Clone Zone for laughing at the sex toys (I didn’t realise they come in so many different shapes!) Being barred from The Village for serving drunken shows by breaking a table I was dancing on – and subsequently breaking my wrist – when I was 18. I think I’m allowed back in now.
Personal: When Madonna performed at G-A-Y. It was such an amazing moment. I remember it being really hot and sweaty and she came on quite late, and the second the lights dropped, the clock started ticking at the beginning of ‘Hung Up’ and the disco ball opened, I just lost my shit. Biggest thing in gay London ever.
Mark Oakley, The Eagle
Career: The creation of the world’s first Gay Cinema sections in a high street retail chain with Virgin Megastores in the early 90s which evolved into ‘Gay Shopping Nights’ with exclusive titles like Priscilla Queen of the Desert. Beautiful Thing topped the national charts although only available from our own Virgin Megastores!
Personal: My personal highlight is the happiness, love and life I am sharing with my partner of twenty-seven years: Ian, my rock and my best friend.
Suzi Krueger, Hardon
Career: Having a float at Gay Pride for my last club FIST in the 90’s and having a FIST dance tent at all the Gay Pride’s in the 90’s.
Personal: Being able to work with so many people on the gay scene and creating so fantastic events over the years!
Mark Ames, XXL
Career: Simply starting XXL. It’s brought me highs and lows, brought me friends and foes but I still pinch myself at times. I knew nothing about running a night let alone owning a club. When I started it really was just a mad leap of faith. All I really knew was what not to do and the people I wanted to come, related with mostly bears, and the rest is history. I still remember the look on staff’s faces in the QX office when I exposed the idea for XXL… Happy to say we are mostly all still here.
Personal: Going to Number 10 Downing Street as a gay community representative. I had, prior to XXL worked in politics for years so I’d been there numerous times for work, but being there representing my community was a whole different thing. I was very humbled and proud to have done that, I even chucked out my own reasoning and agenda and went in saying ‘I’m gay first, and this is what gay people need’!
And what I believe personally was secondary, odd as I knew many of the politicians there and I have been since told I was a bit stand-offish towards them and ‘this is not enough and we need more’… Hey ho, sometimes my poker face is just too good and bitches need to be told.
Wayne Shires, East Bloc
Career: Has to be the opening night of Crash. We were the first dance club in Vauxhall back in 1998 and had an amazing ten years there; the highlight was Yoko Ono doing a PA and Madonna’s brother getting wasted after her wedding with Jean-Paul Gaultier and Rupert Everett.
Personal: I am still recovering 9 years later! Ha! Personal: My 40th at the Rivoli Ball Room. Panti Bliss performed (before she was an international gay icon).
Jeremy Joseph, G-A-Y
It’s hard to say one personal highlight over 1000 issues of QX, as every time I pick up QX, it’s a new highlight in my life. But I think the highlight is how G-A-Y has grown over the 1000 issues. When QX first started, G-A-Y was in LA2, below the Astoria. From LA2 to The Astoria, expanding by taking on a business partner and opening G-A-Y Bar and G-A-Y Late.
And then the biggest investment of all, when Astoria was knocked down for Crossrail, a sad day in the history of music venues, but a silver lining: buying Heaven, and then not forgetting G-A-Y Manchester. But as you take one risk and think you can relax and breathe again, survival meant no longer sharing the day-to-day responsibilities of G-A-Y as a business and having to go it alone, buying out my business partners with a huge loan.
So when I think of 1000 issues of QX, I don’t think of one highlight, I think of all the highlights that brought G-A-Y to where it is today – Gawd Bless QX and all who have sailed in her!
Chris Amos, Manbar
Career: Hard to pick one highlight out of dozens! When I was editor of Bent Magazine I got to interview the original Duran Duran band members. I grew up in outback Australia and was a massive fan as a kid so to meet them each individually for one-to-one interviews, in London, was electrifying and a bit surreal.
Personal: Actually, I think my own personal highlight may have happened this week. I saw the first viewing of the rough cut edit of a feature documentary film I am producing with Colin Rothbart starring six East London performers. It is so funny, touching and amazing, I am blown away by how good it is! We raised about £10,000 through Kickstarter and are now in the process of completing the film which was filmed over the last five years. It’s called ‘Dressed As A Girl’ and will be in cinemas next year, hopefully.
Patrick Lilley, Queer Nation
Career: My favourite highlight of my own club work was literally last year on the night of Pride in London, when we hosted ‘Urban World Pride’, the biggest urban LGBT club event in the UK at Club Colosseum. We had all the best urban and world club brands working together like Queer Nation, Work, Urban Desi, Queer Nation, Bootylicious and even gay arab club Habibi in under one roof – a spectacular 1500 attendance embracing black, white, Asian, Arab, huge numbers of people from all backgrounds… Each with their own sound. Urban R’n’B bashment, house, desi/Bollywood, pop and Arab sounds.
It was amazing. A few weeks earlier I had wondered if it was worth putting stuff on… then wham! Your biggest hit ever. I am immensely proud of Urban World Pride which is an annual event now in its third year and will be at The Scala in 2014.
Personal: To be honest I love both Brighton Pride and Summer Rites, but personally I guess those early Summer Rites caught the zeitgeist of London in the 90s. Just five clubs in the park. There was friendliness, and a great mix of people, I think it was even free. Although not a Pride event as such it has a London community feel… Personally I also adored some of the boutique nights like Marvellous and Rebel Rebel. There is so much still on in London. As someone said five hundred years ago: bored of London, bored of life!
Neil Hodgson, Comptons
Career: Reflecting on the last fifteen years at Comptons, I think one of the greatest highlights of my career, and certainly the most memorable, has to be the reinstatement of the top floor and the overall refurbishment of Comptons façade. It’s certainly been the most challenging but very much worth it!
Personal: The most personal highlights of my life must be back in my teenage years, marching for equality when “Pride” really meant something. Also, the candlelight vigils outside Parliament, showing strength in numbers for the lowering of the age of consent. It’s great to see where we have got to in terms of equality, it was really tough growing up gay in the 90s for many reasons.
Jimmy Smith, Two Brewers
Career: Taking over The Black Cap for the first time was the big move in my career. I was so proud to be a part of such history. Lets hope it continues and wins its fight to stay a major part of London’s Gay Scene.
Personal: Gay Marriage! And yet we are still fighting predjudice and ignorance.
Dan Beaumont, Dalston Superstore
Career: Definitely opening Dalston Superstore and proving that actually London queens know their music and appreciate a proper drink.
Personal: For me being part of the most vibrant and creative gay scene in the world is an ongoing privilege that I am forever thankful for. When QX landed, 1994, was actually the year that I came out!
Jason Woodson, SweatBox
Career: When we first opened SweatBox and had yet to build up a customer base, we had this one really sweet foreign guy who came every day for our foam party, and even though some days he was completely alone in the room, he loved every minute of it. He called it his sexy fun time and said that in his country he didn’t get to do things like this, which made it all the more worth it for us.
Personal: It’s hard to pick one highlight, because we are so fortunate to have such a vibrant scene. The things that stand out for me are my nights spent at Queer Nation and Barcode, painting a mural live at the first Hotwired event, Suzie Krueger’s Sweat parties @ SweatBox, and, of course, being fortunate enough to live in a country where I can say that I am marrying my partner, Mark, this time next year.
Chris Selby, Popcorn
Career: It’s hard to pinpoint one moment – lots of great things have happened, big and small, and they’re so very special for different reasons. Launching and maintaining a record breaking night and brand, to this day, seeing it grow, through good times and bad, has been incredible and something I am grateful for everyday.
Personal: Probably maintaining my sanity! (Anyone who works in this industry will understand!)
Craig Elder, Orange
Career: My biggest moment happens continuously, to feel how lucky I am time and time again as I see the most talented men and women who make my clubs not just the best in London but the best in the world. It never amazes me to see how much passion they have. It humbles me and made me realise how London has to change with the times. And I am so proud that Orange Nation holds the mantle that keeps London clubbing.
Personal: What is there not to say about being gay in London. London is the epitome of being free. This is not possible in most countries. We should all be proud to love under a regime that allows freedom and equality for all
Gary Henshaw, Ku Bar
There have been so many personal highlights in my career.
I arrived in London in 1991 so some predate QX including the opening as general manager of The Village West One in Hanway Street followed by The Village in Wardour Street and then Kudos in Adelaide Street.
QX arrived in October 1994 whilst myself and my then business partner Michael Joyce were running The Gay Tea Dance at The Limelight. That was a fun event every Sunday evening from 6pm – midnight, with Dusty O on the decks and some fabulous and some rather dodgy cabaret performances.
In December 1995, 14 months after QX arrived, Ku first opened its doors at 75 Charing Cross Road. That was a great high point in my life.
Ku was to have a bumpy ride over the next twelve years as the London scene went through the ups and downs of a major terrorist attack, and as Old Compton Street established itself as the heart of gay London.
In January 1997, Ku Charing Cross Road closed its doors and in February of the same year I gambled my life’s savings and my home on a massive venue in Chinatown. Many said I was insane. On the opening night ,February 14th, in the presence of my family and friends, Ku Leicester Square opened to a massive queue and has been packing them in ever since.
It’s been almost 20 years since QX launched, 1000 issues, and so much has changed on the scene in London. Most importantly, attitudes and laws regarding our rights.
QX has been there through all these years, I have always advertised and had great editorial support. Of course, I have had the odd strop but hey, we all argue in relationships.
Overall QX has been there as both myself and my business have grown. My personal life and my business life are so intertwined it’s very difficult for me to differentiate: perhaps therapy is needed.
But there is no doubt in my mind about one thing. London remains the ‘Best Gay City in The World’, bar none. And I am very proud, as QX should be, be to have played a part in its continuing evolution.
A big congrats to Tony, Ben and all the team at QX. Well Done.
David Pollard, The Joiner’s Arms
Personal: THAT 20 years encapsulates so much in gay history: our legal framework is radically different, of course, but so is our ‘cultural’ world. Capital Gay was still going, ‘Thud!’ magazine was about to be born (and only lived two years), we invaded the airwaves, Manchester Mardi Gras started about that time. We still didn’t have combination therapy, and that was a stark, dark background against which we frankly glittered.
Attitude started in May of that year, and I think QX was already up and running then. I know THUD was, ‘cos, scathingly, I reviewed Attitude for it, and QX was in my remit for a ‘what the gaypers say’ column. Capital Gay was still going, as was the Tory government, and there was nothing in the medicine cabinet except the failed experiment with AZT to deal with HIV/AIDS.
It was a time crowded with incident for Queers (hence your title): clause 28 was still firmly on the statute books, AND in February of that year Parliament had refused an equal age of consent by rejecting Currie’s amendment. The fury as we did a vigil outside the Commons was amazing – the road was invaded and the traffic stopped, and the party at G.A.Y. afterwards was almost triumphalist. The memory of Angela Mason dancing on a table drinking champagne from the bottle is as clearly blurred in my memory as the sight was then.
Paul Kemp, Wild Fruit/Brighton Pride
Career: Well, I guess Brighton’s the other end of the London train line and London’s my second home. I’ve had some of my best nights out partying in London and some great Wild Fruit collaboration parties: Trade, Queer Nation and Mama Yvette.
Personal: My highlight each year is the exodus of London to Brighton for Pride. Brighton Pride’s always been hugely popular with Londoners and we love playing host for the weekend.
