10/05/14: QX let rip amidst the dazzling lights of Albert Embankment as one of London’s longest running club nights rocked back to Vauxhall for its final party at Barcode last weekend.

Queer Nation has been blasting those invincible urban vibez since some of the current clientele were still in their baby bouncers and remains as popular as ever an astonishing 23 years later, drawing in the sort of crowds to give its 90s heyday a run for its money.

Featuring two rooms of rampant disco, R&B and house, highlights included the likes of host Clington doubling up for deck duties alongside Supadon and Mista Pierre with roof-raising grooves on the main floor that had the frantic throng throwing their hands up ‘til closing time.  Meanwhile, Big John Freeman delivered those big ‘n’ bumpin’ beats we love in the front bar with a barrage of funkin’ licks getting us grinding amidst the bar stools.

Elsewhere and there were plenty of sociable antics to be had on the outside smoking terrace, despite the gale force winds and rain, as the capital’s legendary booty-shaker kept the party jumpin’ into the dawn.

Watch this space for details of Queer Nation’s Eastside summer season!

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Barcode, 69 Albert Embankment, Vauxhall, SE1 7TP
Words by Chris John
Photos by Joel Ryder

08/05/14: As if it’s been three years since a bar that’s become one of Soho’s most popular hangouts first opened its doors.

A slew of talent, characters, scene queens, drags and uninhibited yet delightfully unhinged regulars now call this den of lunacy home, and the ever-excitable rabble were out in force for the birthday last Thursday.

Like drunken homing pigeons, they fly home every week to get soaked in a heady cocktail of Jagerbombs, popaliciousness, vicious gossip and raucous laughter. Where the freshest, sexiest, most eclectic DJ talent reside, unwind and get up to things we can’t tell you about – even in this slaggy rag.

Where perky punters, buff studs, she who is, she who isn’t, queens with power, queens that lost power, queens that can’t spell power, the down-to-earth, the away with the fairies, the fashionistas, the pre-op, the post-op, the sassy, the fillered, the loveliest bar sluts in town and Soho’s most joyous cartoon villain, Alana Wintour, commingle in one melting pot.

Where else can you get papped with Bergdorf, drool over Turner, receive a withering side eye from Bestley, lick the face of DMS (or get your face licked by Daniel Lynch), wonder just how Kris Di Angelis still looks 18, or get your glasses collected by a former magazine editor?

Circa is family. Circa is epic. Three years in, Circa is what Soho is supposed to be all about.

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62 Frith Street, Soho, W1D 3JN
Words by Lee Dalloway
Photos by Joel Ryder

10/05/14: QX gatecrashed the Meth Lab Eurovision madness as Drag Queens of London stars, Meth and her Familyyy Fierce Collective, stormed the Black Cap for a Rehab: Eurovision Party spectacular last weekend.

Featuring all the thrills and spills of the world’s wackiest pan-continental song contest screening live and direct, a crowd of trash-pop lovers rocked the block for a marathon bash that had the legendary landmark heaving into the night.

Come the final ‘douze points’ moments and Camden High Street was in drag heaven as Austria’s David Lynchian ‘lady with a beard’, Conchita Wurst, snatched victory from The Netherlands and Sweden in a trans-triumph to rival Israeli winner Dana International’s 1998 steal.

Meanwhile, there were shemale shenanigans galore as Meth and her crew kicked off a supercharged show with a lip-synching romp through ‘Waterloo’ getting Euro fans bustin’ Abba moves on the floor.

Moving on and beautiful buxom Lilly Snatchdragon titillated with a sexy striptease that almost had us turning lesbian, whilst Lady Tena busted out of her bondage gear for a startling rendition of ‘Please Release Me’.

As if that wasn’t enough to keep us spinning under the chandeliers into the small hours there was more to come from the likes of Bourgeoisie, Ruby Wednesday, Miss Cairo et al as the antics continued ‘til late!

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The Black Cap, 171 Camden High Street, NW1 7JY
Words by Chris John
Photos by Eurovision 

Cliff Joannou deconstructs Eurovision and the power of Conchita Wurst…

Like it or loathe it, Eurovision is as politically-charged as it is both widely reviled or regaled. Like Marmite, you do either love it or hate it. You’re either planning your weekend around it, or utterly indifferent to its existence. It’s either a nuisance to your social plans (I can’t tell you how many Eurovision parties I’ve had to politely turn down invites to) or rejoiced in its gleeful camp in the company of friends at your favourite gay bar. Without doubt, it was the inspiration for a thousand song contests, from American Idol to X Factor via the much-lamented Pop Stars: The Rivals. (Ah, One True Voice, where are you now?)

If it wasn’t for Eurovision we wouldn’t have Abba or Bucks Fizz, and Gina G would never have gone on to make a glittering career based on her massive (s)hit single.

If UKip were right about one thing, it is that the influx of all those European countries did bring an end to the UK’s dominance… of Eurovision. Ever since we (legally/illegally) invaded Iraq and all those Eastern European countries entered our continent’s country club of power mongers, we have been hit by a swarm of retaliatory nil points, barely able to scratch the Top 10 of the lamentable contest’s final. ‘Fucking foreigners,’ Farage must be seething. ‘Here they come, breaking down our borders and making a mockery of our music industry.’ Mr Blobby would no doubt agree. (The latter, I imagine, also votes UKip.)

But what did we learn from Eurovision this year?

We learned that homophobes are often masters of their own downfall. Had countries like Russia, Armenia and Belarus allowed individuals to go about their own business of being individuals and not carbon copies of their narrow-minded vision of what a man should be or a woman should look like, perhaps Austrian entrant Conchita Wurst’s rousing song would not have garnered the attention they wanted it so much not to receive.

Had they not campaigned so vocally against Wurst’s inclusion in the contest, perhaps she would not have gained such momentum on the night of the final? After all, every presenter across Europe must have highlighted Russia’s protest at her inclusion when she came on screen. We will never know. What is certain is that the attention lauded on Wurst’s performance ahead of the contest only served to highlight what is essentially an iconic Eurovision song. ‘Rise Like A Phoenix’ is lyrically, musically, melodically, and from a performance perspective, so perfectly, outrageously, Eurovision. The fact that it’s so intensely personal only magnifies its power. A worthy Bond song, with the drama that more recent themes have missed. (I’m serious, I’d rather watch Mz Wurst’s Eurovision performance than Adele’s lacklustre Oscars rendition of ‘Skyfall’.)

It’s not the first time gender identity has played at the heart of Eurovision politics. In 1998 when Dana International won for Israel with the song ‘Diva’, it was the conservative and Orthodox Jews from her own country that dissented and attempted to void her entry into the competition.

When President Putin signed-off his intensely homophobic Russian legislation in June 2013, he probably had no idea that the greatest protest to his chokingly repressive statement of real family values would come in the form of a transsexual at the Eurovision song contest that went on to rally a continent to her vision of personal freedom. It’s a good thing he doesn’t wear a beard (not a real one at least) or he would have to join his fellow right wing countrymen who have been reportedly shaving their faces this week in protest at how Wurst’s image has singularly castrated the beard as a symbol of masculinity.

It may be the end of the beard as we know it in Russia, but at least we can rest assured that (at the time of going to press) Conchita Wurst is defiantly at the top of Russia’s Top 100 downloaded songs. And whilst this success may have even worked to conversely entrench the ultra-rightwing views of some across Europe (and even here in the UK), it was still Russian viewers that awarded her five points in the public vote.

While this certainly won’t mark the end of intensifying homophobia in Russia and Eastern Europe, Putin and other anti-gay leaders should take heed that their edicts on family values may not necessarily align with those of their people.

• Read how QX predicted Conchita Wurst’s Eurovision win here: www.qxmagazine.com/club-night/sepm/

Thursday 22nd May sees the European elections happening across Europe, which is your chance to choose who represents you in the European Union summits of Brussels and Strasbourg. 46 million people are eligible to vote in the UK, where currently anti-EU party UKIP are leading the polls. At QX we analyse the LGBT rights record of UKIP verses that of the EU, and discuss why you should use your vote. 

Did you hear the one about the UKIP counsellor (David Silvester) who said that gay marriage was causing the winter floods? Or what about the one where the UKIP local election candidate (Harry Perry) said that ‘David Cameron is a gay loving nutcase and homosexuality is an abomination’? Or even the one (and this is a good one) where the UKIP Member of the European Parliament (Roger Helmer) called gays ‘abnormal’?

The trouble is they’re not jokes, they’re all entirely real and publically aired views from members of the UK Independence Party. These three examples only scrape the tip of the iceberg when it comes to UKIP’s track record on its members and official candidates’ attitudes to homosexuality. Go to gay media outlet PinkNews and type in ‘UKIP’, where you can view article after article recording UKIP’s torrent of virulently anti-gay views dating back to 2010 and beyond.

UKIP ostensibly stand for independence from the European Union, which they view as too controlling over UK laws, but many critics have voiced how their stance thinly disguises abject racism. Party leader Nigel Farage has defended their recent advertising campaign – which includes a picture of a pointing finger alongside the text ’26 million people in Europe are looking for work. And whose jobs are they are after?’ – as ‘a hard-hitting reflection of reality’. To many though, it may seem like scare tactics designed to unscrupulously capitalise politically on economic worry, by creating easy scapegoats and demonising immigrants.

Which is why it’s worrying that UKIP are currently leading in the European election polls. When a political party and its members hold deeply xenophobic views, it is unlikely that they are going to be raving liberals in other social areas. If UKIP were to prove themselves by doing well in the European elections on the 22nd, then, at worse case scenario, it’s not unfeasible they may become real, dangerous candidates for winning a future UK general election. Should they do so and immediately pull us out of the EU, UKIP become essentially the highest power we as citizens answer to in terms of LGBT rights.

But that’s fine, because UKIP aren’t homophobic, are they? Oh wait, what were all those funny jokes that begun this article? And one I forgot to tell you, was the one about Paul Forrest, the UKIP local election candidate in Liverpool, who said that gay men are ‘ten times more likely’ to be child abusers than ‘normal men’.

And what do the EU do for LGBT rights? Ilga Europe, the European region of the International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association, reports on its website how ‘over the last two decades the EU has become increasingly committed to the active promotion of human rights’. This includes:

• The 1997 Treaty of Amsterdam, empowering the EU to ‘take appropriate action to combat discrimination based on sex, racial or ethnic origin, religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation’.

• The 2000 European Charter of Fundamental Rights, the first international human rights charter to include sexual orientation discrimination as a prohibited ground of discrimination.

• A series of resolutions of the European Parliament, opening up the possibility of making progress with eliminating discrimination in all areas of activity.

In summation, within the limited amount of space I have here to discuss a complex issue, the EU has been seriously working for many years now to protect LGBTI rights across its member states. It would not only be a step backward for the UK, but a humourless joke if we were to allow a heavily bigoted party such as UKIP to reclaim power from this institution. The big worry is that UKIP are no longer just a joke.

• Use your voice and vote on 22nd May, and protect your own rights and those of your community. 

http://www.pinknews.co.uk/topic/ukip/

http://www.ilga-europe.org/home/guide_europe/eu/lgbt_rights

When SweatBox opened 6 years ago, its goal was never to be the biggest sauna in London. As they state, “There’s nothing more depressing than a big, empty sauna.” What they wanted to be was the busiest and one of the best. And with the help of partnerships with Hard On’s Suzie Krueger and the likes of Gaydar and Manhunt, plus weekly events and specials on offer, they believe they’ve finally achieved that. How did they do it? Owner Mark Ford reveals his 10 Sins of Sweatbox.

1/ Location, Location, Location. If London is the gay capital of the world, Soho is its beating heart. And we’re there – 24 hrs a day, 7 days a week – just a short walk away from all the bars and clubs around Old Compton Street.
 
2/ Everyone loves our members  From gym bunnies, Soho bar boys, porn stars and regular guys wanting to look after themselves we have some of the fittest and sexiest members of any gym – and, of course, the vast majority use the sauna, too. This not only makes Sweatbox a damn site sexier than most saunas, it also creates a much friendlier vibe.
 
3/ You’re only as young as who you feel – Thanks to the likes of our Hard Up Mondays, when everyone 25 and under gets in for FREE, we have a much younger crowd here at SweatBox.
 
4/ Cleanliness is next to sexiness – Because we’re London’s busiest sauna we have to work extra hard at keeping it clean – so we’ve invested in state of the art technology used by the NHS like our Airsteril units, which not only sanitise the air, but sterilize everything in their vicinity. So, the whole premises are being constantly sterilised 24 hours a day. Our wraps are made of hypoallergenic microfiber, which is more resistant to bacteria than standard terry towels. And they are cleaned using a unique, patented Otex system, because it kills 99.999% of all nasty viruses.
 
5/ Let the foam fly – Our foam parties are legendary and we don’t just throw them for special occasions, we throw them twice a week on Wednesday and Saturday nights.
 
6/ We’re ALWAYS open – When Soho closes, we are still here waiting for you, and probably so is that guy you were cruising at the bar who missed his last train back to Croydon.
 
7/ Come and go and come again! – Here at SweatBox we want you to come back, and with our unique 24 hr and 48 hr pass system you can do just that and all for just one low price.
 
8/ “Nothing succeeds like excess” said Oscar Wilde – SweatBox is three levels of excess dedicated to everything that makes a sauna the best fun you can have with your clothes off.
 
9/ Shoot first, ask questions later  – Our chillout room was designed for just that. Snuggle-up on one of our sofas, get a coffee and find out if he’s into Gaga as much as you are. And if he isn’t, you can surf the internet or just hang out and join the gang enjoying our fabulous collection of gay shows on our big screen TV.
 
10/ Putting the Sweat into the Box – SweatBox Gym isn’t one of those saunas with three pieces of gym equipment gathering dust in a corner. We are a fully functioning gym, with personal trainers to help you achieve your dream body.

• SweatBox (1-2 Ramillies House, Soho W1D 7LN) is open 24 hrs a day, 7 days a week. For more information visit www.sweatboxsoho.com

As well as entertaining the masses down at Halfway to Heaven every Friday, Rotherham’s greatest showbiz export Myra DuBois is about to launch her brand new fringe show. ‘Turning’ sees Myra send-up one of the most polarising political leaders of the 20th century, former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. This one-woman show promises to be a musical romp, coated in cutting DuBois-style satire. Jason Reid was chomping at the bit to find out more, so this week we packed him off for milk and biscuits with the great lady (and yes, she snatched his milk)…

Hiya love, so the obvious question first, why did you decide to base this new show around Margaret Thatcher? 

I didn’t. Thatcher chose me. This might come as a surprise to you and it might be worth telling your readers to sit down before reading this interview, but when Thatcher died a piece of her soul broke off and nestled itself in me. A bit like Voldemort did with Harry Potter. I first noticed it when my tolerance for minorities lowered. That, and it turns out I can do a bit of an impression.

She was a very strong and powerful woman, a bit like yourself. Do you think this drew you to her? 

Well, I think it’s more of the case that Thatcher was drawn to ME because I’M a strong, powerful woman. Well, I’m not sure about the ‘powerful’. There are two or three bars in corners of London where I can blag the occasional free gin – but I suppose all power is relative.

Was she hard to master? And how did you go about perfecting the caricature? 

Oh, she was easy. You see, Meryl (she lets me call her that) did all the groundwork and I just copied her.

You saw The Iron Lady then? What did you make of it?

Yes, I did. And it had our Meryl in it, didn’t it? So, how could it possibly fail? Give that woman a wig and a bit of an accent and she’ll spin you some magic.

There’s plenty of material to play with from Thatcher’s long and varied life, but which period interests you the most?

The Thatcher period that interests me most? [drums fingers]. I think it’d have to be her final months as a recluse at the Ritz. I mean, THE RITZ! That’s rather fabulous isn’t it? I think someone should write a play about just that; Thatcher in her dotage, alone in the most posh bedsit going, in a piss stained eiderdown, with a loose grip on reality? WONDERFUL.

As someone with a strong opinion on most things yourself, what was your take on her as a politician/leader?  

Well, needless to say as a woman from the North vaguely involved in the arts, I’m a pesky lefty. I suppose this means I take the polar view on everything she ever said, thought, or did. Oh, except for the Ritz! I liked her style there!

Do you think she left a legacy?  

She did and he was called Tony Blair.

Another thing people remember Thatcher for were those, at times, bizarre quotes, such as: “We are a grandmother”; do you have a favourite? 

Yes, mine is from the film, in the very first scene, which I thought really humanised her: “How much for the milk?”

I can’t let you go without asking about your weekly residency at Halfway to Heaven…

Too right, Jason! Don’t you go letting your readers forget I’m a woman and entertainer in me own right! Make sure you plug the Fridays. The fun (as they say) starts at 9.30ish. Me doing a turn at the start of the night, plus a different performer from the cabaret stable each week. Ask manager Angel who the guests are. I don’t know. I just show up and DAZZLE.

• Myra DuBois is at Halfway to Heaven (7 Duncannon Street, WC2N 4JF) every Friday. Upcoming guests include Dave Lynn on the 16th May and Son Of a Tutu on the 23rd. 

• Her show Turning is at Komedia, 44 Gardner Street, Brighton from 23-30th May. Tickets: www.komediabrighton.ticketsolve.com

Meet Willam Belli (far right). Alongside Detox Icunt and Vicky Vox, she’s the delicious filling in the DWV drag-pop sandwich. They perform at G-A-Y this weekend…

Describe yourself in five words…

What kinda Haiku ass question is this? I’m a dickhead. Next.

What’s your worst habit?

Honesty is my worst habit.

If you wasn’t in the world’s biggest drag pop group you would be…

Just fine. I’d be just fine

Tell us a secret about you we shouldn’t know…

Turkey burgers remind me of feet sometimes, but I eat them anyway. Sidenote: I’ve been toe-fucked.

Describe the last guy you pulled…

I dunno. It was from behind and the cheque cleared.

How would a fan get into your pants?

I’m sorry – you must be unclear about who you’re speaking with.

What has been your most embarrassing moment in DWV? Any Michelle Williams a-la Destiny’s Child fuck-ups?

I watch a video at least once a week that Vicky took of Detox falling down some stairs in Belgium. It’s amazing and NOT on the internet. It’s my little treasure.

Who is the sluttiest member of DWV?

Threeway tie. See what I did there? Ha! There is one gogo boy in LA who we like to say had the ultimate ‘Chow Down’ experience because he’s had a mouthful of all of us. I will say this – Detox has the most incriminating photos of all of us.

Who is the most impressive celebrity you’ve met since you became famous?

Katy Perry yelled at us once to ‘Just sing Boy is A Bottom already’ at a private party while we were singing ‘Chow Down’.

And the least?

Amanda Bynes walked in on me pissing at my friend’s house who wrote ‘Easy A’ and was waaay overdressed and sketchy. The bitch was in Leger and YSL 6” Tribute pumps for a rooftop BBQ with more weave than three Iggy Azaleas.

• DWV are at G-A-Y at Heaven (Villiers Street, WC2N 6NG) this Saturday 17th May. Discount wristbands from G-A-Y Bar.

London club GutterSlut started life in a tiny strip club on Hackney Road and has since gone on to packing out parties in Berlin and rocking it at Bestival. The team is back in town to celebrate its 6th birthday on Bank Holiday Sunday with a phenomenal party at Metropolis Strip Club. If you missed the last one, you certainly don’t want to miss the bitch’s birthday beats. The ‘Slut gives QX

1) GutterSlut 6th Birthday at Metropolis, Sunday 25th May…

Watch out for trannies falling down the giant poles, but we are mostly looking forward to A Man To Pet providing “douche” to the horny sluts. Going back to our original strip club styelee makes us extremely randy!

2) GutterSlut ‘moving house’ party in Berlin, Friday 13th June at Griessmühle (Sonnenalle 221, 12059 Berlin Neukölln)

As the Slut got thrown out of Club Chalet for having too much sex in the toilets, she had to run off to Neukölln to find a new home. The Slut has dropped her knickers again to get a famous DJ to play at her party (we can’t tell you who yet). Dalston vs Neukölln in an outdoor orgy full of trash on the max, this is Griessmühle.

3) GutterSlut exhibition at Studio Ralf Obergfell in Berlin, Friday 13th June 

Studio Ralf Obergfell is also a sex dungeon (ask Per) so you never know what could happen. All the shit found at GutterSlut’s parties from the past 6 years will be thrown onto the walls and sold for a million bucks! LOL

4) GutterSlut with Felix Da Housecat and DJ Hell at XOYO, Friday 11th July

The Slut is having a “spit roast” with two house and techno legends – you know what she’s like, she’ll do anything for fame. The Dalston Gay Mafia is very excited to work with XOYO.

5) GutterSlut at Summer Rites, Saturday 26th July

We can’t tell you much now about this, except that we are super happy to work with Martyn Fritzgerald and Wayne Shires after having had a great time at East Bloc for three years.

6) GutterSlut Berns Stockholm, Saturday 2nd August

After last years off the hooker parties, we are back again showing the rave police how to party! Last year A Man To Pet and John Sizzle were with us making sure that there were no more blonde people entering the club. There are rumors that Jonny Woo and Jacqui Potato will be making a special appearance.

7) GutterSlut Bestival with special guests Maze & Maters, Per QX, Nic Fisher and Ms Crystal

For the third year in a row GutterSlut is rocking the closing night of Grand Palace of Entertainment. Every year GutterSlut brings a special guest DJ, and what better choice this year than Maze & Masters. These girls really know how to party and I’m sure the mud ain’t gonna stop ‘em going wild and mental! Looking forward!

• GutterSlut’s 6th Birthday is at Metropolis Strip Club (234 Cambridge Heath Road, E2 9NN) on Bank Holiday Sunday 25th May, 10pm-5am. 

Queer African Voices was organised as part of the ‘Survival Guides’ artistic programme of events in Brixton, curated by Jacob Joyce and produced by Alice Moon. It also had a charitable element to its design, raising funds for the Out and Proud Diamond Group, a collection of LGBT asylum seekers from Africa.

Emotional speeches were given from members of the group, with one speaker having to cut off her self halfway through due to tears when speaking about a friend who was killed.

Moments such as these brought back the seriousness and real dangers and threats faced by LGBT people in countries all over the world, to face a thankfully liberal society that has just legalised gay marriage. But there was also a sense of celebration too, with dancing, spoken word poetry and singing making up a large part of this fascinating and eclectic night.

Pretty Miss Cairo – who was very pretty – hosted with wit, va-va voom and intelligence, whilst we were honoured to hear poets such as Dean Atta, Sirena Reynolds and PJ Eye-See grace us with their words.

The midway part of the evening was an ‘immersive theatre experience’ inspired by the hundreds of immigrants that drown each year in the Mediterranean, trying to cross by sea from Libya to Italy.

Projected white text on a black background informed the audience that the Italian authorities regularly receive distress signals from boats in trouble and do nothing, informing nearby Malta to take care of the problem.

Then twenty people from the assembled crowd were brought to the fore, surrounded by material to affect waves in the dark, as flashlights dazzled, to the sound of the roaring sea. It ended with water being poured into vessels, a powerful and emphatic description of the fragility of human life and the horror of apathy.

Overall, this was a brilliant and important event in raising awareness and opening our eyes to the plight of others in the world. LGBT rights are human rights, and we should never forget.

• Art Nouveau Brixton, 77 Atlantic Road, SW9 8PU

Sunday 4th May

www.facebook.com/opdgroup

Ahead of uber-chic Berlin club night MEMBERS descending upon East Bloc this weekend, we caught up with the man behind the mayhem, Max, to find out what to expect…

What gave you the idea for the ‘MEMBERS’ club night party? 

It all really started when the new Club Kosmonaut was going to open and a friend was playing the pre-opening in December 2012. When we went to see the club, it was completely under construction but you could already see something greatwas shaping up – with an amazing garden, which is an important feature for Berlin parties. And above all the same incredible Funktion One sound system you find in Berghain!

What was the first reaction of the Berlin crowd? 

Everybody was excited, and we started with the first party being a huge success. It was easy to grow from there. I think it was a good time to start a party then.

What’s the music policy of MEMBERS and how did you decide it? 

We play supreme House and Tech-House, which is mostly new so we can take the guys dancing on a long musical journey instead of playing hits. That is different to really most gay parties, believe it or not. Marc Miroir is serving as a sort of musical director and we really have thorough discussions on who to invite since we don’t have your average 2-3 hour set but we like our DJs to be able to build up their climaxes and payoffs. Usually, we have one headliner and one newcomer, to give new faces a chance, apart from our dear residents.

Why do you think it’s worked so well in Berlin?

It’s the combination of several things. I think our choice of music is exactly what the guys want to hear, and I don’t mean your average guys but it’s attracting an amazingly sexy and special crowd. Then the club with all its (light) features is outstanding, and last but not least the garden is a dream, because guys can dance and romance outside all night long.

Describe the typical MEMBERS club kid you’d see coming through your doors… 

The typical crowd of MEMBERS is very mixed. We always find this variety to be the striking trait of the party. It is not like you are an outsider if you don’t have the right muscles to flaunt and you don’t have to outdo yourself in crazy outfits and make up to be part of the fun, but if you do, you will always find plenty of others who do also. So, it’s really from flamboyant club kids to the sturdy bearded men, muscle guys, young and stylish boys, men, drag queens – all united by their love of music. Young and old like you would not expect at one party and in the end you may be really surprised who ends up making out with whom.

How do you think the club will go down in London?

We can’t wait to see! We run the party together with Borja Pena and he knows exactly what the guys in London want. Mixed with our idea of a good party it’s a good combination. I’m sure MEMBERS in London will be its very own special thing and cannot be compared but with lots of hot sizzle!

Why have you chosen East Bloc as the perfect club for your party? 

We like the size and intimacy that you can only offer if you are not so commercial, the East London location, the different rooms like Kosmonaut in Berlin, the soundsystem is good and there is a good atmosphere. The best requirements for MEMBERS in London.

And finally, what are you most looking forward to about the night yourself?

I’m looking forward to a great night out: with some nice members shaking to the music we love and I can’t wait to see the great sexy guys of London!

MEMBERS DJ: Marc Miroir

Who is Marc Miroir?

MARC MIROIR is the musical mastermind behind MEMBERS who is better known internationally at clubs like Space/ Ibiza, Cocoon or Fabrik Madrid and for his coveted label PASO music.

A little bit about themselves …

Music is my passion. Since I was 20 I’ve been resident at one of the oldest electronic music clubs of Germany, already playing with the biggest names of the industry. I have often been called a DJ’s DJ delivering highly celebrated releases which are played and highly appreciated by the best DJs in the world. In my sets I come to life and I love the interaction with and the energy of the floor being able to build and maintain momentum like it is a communication for me.

1. Marc Miroir / ‘Love’ (Paso Music)

‘Love’ is bursting with energy that I decided to release it on my own imprint PASO music, my first EP since 2 years on my own label. Love simply rules no matter who or how or what.

2. Vinyl Speed Adjust / ‘Beatrok’ (Pressure Trax)

This vinyl-only by an innovative Frankfurt label delivers a new hypnotically driven masterpiece with amazing strings.

3. Rework / ‘Rise and Fall’ (Vision Quest)

I’m a big fan already for a long time and really like that every new release is an enormously positive surprise with typical rework vocals., A possible live act for MEMBERS.

4. Mark Deutsche&Musoé / ‘True’ (Paso Music)

This forcefully pushing piece of music marks PASO music’s 40th EP, great vocals, being released with two Henneberg remixes.

5. Paranoid London / ‘Paris’ Dub Vol.1 

MEMBERS classic with great female vocals with everyone going crazy on the build-up of the bassline.

• Members is at East Bloc (217 City Road, EC1V 1NJ) on Saturday 31st May

23/05/14: Summer has clearly started at Rupert Street cus last Friday night was scorching.

Outside the conducive balmy temperatures meant al fresco drinking was definitely on the menu whilst inside Alessandro was on fire on the decks with a pre club soundtrack to get our motors started for the bank holiday weekend, the bar boys in their muscle vests were dripping testosterone and the crowd was as delicious a mix as you would get on any fine dining buffet.

The fun and frolics weren’t contained to just the one night though, oh no, as Brent Nicholls, Rich B and DJ Gretta all gave it large over the weekend making it Soho’s party central every day.

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50 Rupert Street, Soho, W1D 6DR
Word and photos by Chris Jepson

Last week, gay football team Stonewall FC hit the Emirates stadium to play against the Arsenal FC Staff and the UK Parliamentary Football Team. Now, there’s a threesome nobody ever expected to see…

Homophobia in football is still a taboo that we have yet to defeat. Players are coming out after they have retired with many people asking the question “why is there not an openly gay man in the Premier League?”  Stonewall FC is the longest standing and world’s most successful openly gay football club – welcoming players of all sexual orientations.

Jamie Feldman, Treasurer and current player for Stonewall FC, is one of many on a mission to end this latest taboo in football. His latest achievement in doing so was to contact Arsenal FC and create the Arsenal For Everyone Cup.

The Arsenal For Everyone Initiative covers all forms of discrimination in football and attempts to eradicate the barriers to entry that people believe exist. The Arsenal For Everyone Cup was the first attempt by a Premier league football club to openly show their support for a gay football team and by special invitation, the UK Parliamentary Football Team was also invited.

The day itself was a tremendous success for all involved. Jamie Feldman told QX: “The excitement amongst the Stonewall FC players was evident from the day we announced it back in February. We had a limit of 17 players to take to the game and 27 offered themselves to take the day off work. Eric, our manager, ended up choosing a team that included all the Arsenal fans. It’s a lifelong dream for any Arsenal fan, myself included, to play on the same pitch as your idols. Week in, week out I go to watch Arsenal, but to get changed in the changing rooms and walk out the tunnel onto the pitch was a feeling like no other. To be there and experience that with all your close friends will be something that I will never forget. Luckily, Chris Jepson was on hand to take pictures so I can keep reminding myself!”

Jamie continues: “Our manager, physio, players and, of course, the committee who all voluntarily dedicate time and effort to this club, work so hard every year, so to give them all a reward like this was a great feeling. It’s been a long time coming that Stonewall FC gains the support of such a prestigious club like Arsenal. We will only beat the battle of homophobia in football if we get people talking about it. The link-up we have created with Arsenal FC will hopefully continue long into the future. To also have the added support of the UK parliamentary team just shows you how much people back the cause.”

The Speaker, Mr John Bercow, who played on the day commented on both the fantastic work that Arsenal FC were doing by hosting such a competition and also his admiration for what Stonewall FC stand for and are about.

Stonewall FC won the competition itself by beating UKPMFC 3-2 and Arsenal FC Staff 2-0, with a special mention going to Marcos Fernandez, a lifelong Arsenal fan, for scoring a goal at the Emirates.

• For more information about Stonewall Football Club please go to www.stonewallfc.com or contact football@stonewallfc.com, Facebook/stonewallfc or @stonewallfc

Photos by Chris Jepson

23/05/14: London grew some fur and went grrrr last week as Bearfest events popped up all over the place. Def one of our faves was the full-on, 5-star (not the 80s pop group) theatrical extravaganza that was Beartacular at the RVT.

Hosted by the über fabulous ‘What do you think you’re looking at faggot?’ Jonny Woo, a plethora of paws-in-the-air performers paraded across the hallowed boards for a capacity crowd. ‘Dave the Bear’, clearly the Miley Cyrus of the bear scene, gave us his best twerking carwash strip complete with soap suds dripping off his hot little basket.

The Dream Bears twirled and sashayed to Lady Marmalade and Nigel Murfit crooned a bit of Take That and Lion King before the little pocket rocked Edgar Trujillo turned up the heat with his fiery escapades that raised a bit of a sweat on all of us.

And just to show bears have hearts, too, 12 of them bared all in their underwear for a charity auction in aid of Ben Cohen’s anti-bullying StandUp Foundation. An aptly named Beartacular indeed.

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The RVT, 372 Kennington Lane, Vauxhall, SE11 5HY
Words and photos by Chris Jepson

25/05/14: The thing we love about continental clubbing is that most of them have a terrace that enables you to top up your tan whist dancing with a hottie in shorts.

Sadly here in London those opportunities are few and far between as most of our venues are not set up that way and our weather is a little too unpredictable to plan an al fresco shindig. On Sunday though the gods smiled down on the gays and sent warming rays to light up the Matinee Terrace Party at the Ministry of Sound giving an Ibiza feel that had the boys shucking their shirts quicker than you could say DSquared sale.

Superstar DJ Ivan Gomez joined Tony English, Michel Mizrahi and Fabio Luigi outside, while the pale skinned Lee Harris stayed indoors with Gonzalo and Mike Dower on the Society decks, and while the inside dance floor was packed, it was clearly all about the terrace which was rammed to capacity with hot flesh as scantily clad dancers cavorted on a purpose built stage and cooling CO2 cannons blasted across the crowd. The London season is officially OPEN.

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Ministry of Sound, 103 Gaunt Street, SE1 6DP
Words and photos by Chris Jepson

25/05/14: After a hard weekend partying like rock stars, Courtney Love-style, these days, veteran knights and a few squires who’ve seen more than their fair share of bank hols grabbed a vino, kicked back, put their loafers up and had a right ol larf with fellow baldie, Lizzie Drip and her many wigs.

Our gal Liz, lip-sang and joked her way through her multi-character show with Dolly, Cher, Shirley, Diana and one unfortunate dog. A laugh-filled set!

Also on hand to hand out some juicy raffle prizes were huggable friendly stout development co-ordinator Nick Maxwell and dead serious volunteer Adrian Tighe of charity AgeUK’s Opening Doors London Project which provides services for the senior LGBT community.

Lucky winners received everything from Pizza Express vouchers to Mamma Mia tickets! Manager Chris Smith, 27, and the cutest barmen this side of Oxford Street served a super-packed house crammed to the door: “We love the bank hols and Lizzie has a huge following.”

We drank, sang, won prizes and laughed til our bridges fell out! All in all a right ol bank hol, Quebec style! For more info about AgeUK contact:

openingdoorslondon.org.uk

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12 Old Quebec Street, W1H 7AF
Words by Tom Redkid
Photos by Joel Ryder

25/05/14: Horse Meat Disco on a bank holiday, can there be any sweeter combo? If there is I don’t wanna know! All the gang came to play and more than a few newbies and some devilsh hotties packed out “Studio 54 on Kennington Lane” in what has to be the friendliest, liveliest club this side of Manhattan and Ibiza all rolled into one big hug.

All this is down to manager Simon and owner Mark who never stop working all night on the scene. When most such men are nowhere to be found these guys are in the mix shaking hands pullin’ pints keepin things happy ‘n’ hoppin’. “You gotta love what ya do!” Mark quips as he jets from front door to back garden all smiles.

Keeping us smiling on the dance floor were res Horsey wrangler DJs Severino, Stanton and special guest Tasty Tim: “In a word -‘Fab’ (well, half a word is better than none.) Stanton has me on once every decade so maybe I’ll be back in 2024.”

Jerry Miskolinko, first-time Horsey, long-time hottie, came all the way from Slovenia just for HMD! “I knew about it for long time and finally came here!” And did it live up to expectations? He threw down some sexy shirtless shapes ‘neath the disco ball and exclaimed, “BEST music, BEST pub, BEST ever! I was born in the wrong decade!” Nope Jer, you were born at exactly the right time–now!

Big brothers Ian, Ben and their kin chose HMD for their family. “We all live in London. Makes perfect sense to have it here.” FWBs Dennis, Karl and Ben added some muscle-soaked dance moves to liven up the queue at the bar. Gatekeeper Omar summed it all up nicely: “we’re all disco dancers and rhthym makers.”

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The Eagle, 349 Kennington Lane, Vauxhall, SE11 5QY
Words by Tom Redkid
Photos by Joel Ryder

26/05/14: We descended upon Shoreditch’s hallowed basement of laser lights and burning beats for a different sort of night to the norm – Fairy Beary!

As part of Bearfest 2014, it pulled some of the sexiest and most muscled hairy guys in the city into the ‘Bloc to growl and grr and huh-huh-honey! We were in our dreamland baby, and we woke up with a Macho Slut at EastBloc, around six to be exact: Per QX, Done & Dusted (Alan X/Lewis Lenin). Andrew Moore, Ray Noir and Ursula Snakes all joined forces to give the Bank Hols one last kick in da rump to close out the weekend with a banger!

Hardest working manager in town Wayne, takin-none-o’-yo-shit Diego, and the whole crew kept not only Monday morn Macho Sluts but the entire weekend trippin tidy for every kid on the block. Main Room dynamic duo Done & Dusted swirled some deep, “happy filthy spacey grooves” as biggie Alan X tagged it.

Then Per QX, doin’ double duty from Guttersluts, grabbed the wheel and swerved that car right off the road into the abyss and had us freefallin’ weightless for all eternity. Other ‘sluts from the Gutter’ hobbled in on their broken heels and bruised knees to add some class with a capital ‘K’ to the day.

Bernie and Charlie dragged their post-nuclear Metropolis meltdown to the EB cellar to have one last blow-out with the few remaining survivors before starvation and cannibalism set in.

Salome, aka Ms. Charlie, danced her shorts down to her ankles and didn’t even know it til she did a catwalk spin and her brows and balls hit the floor so fast I thought the Pope had just walked in!

Huddled in the back room Andrew Moore filled us with hopeful funk-bop and Ursula Snakes kept our weary spirits alive with her own brand of hyper-happy ceiling-shakers. But, of course, who else would you expect to find at the apocolypse feasting on the dead and not-yet-dead? DJ Ray Noir! Like black smoke, his dark rock tattooed cock turned a ship o’ fools into a groove tomb making the end of the world seem pretty damn cool.

We opened the hatch Mon aftenoon, clambered out, zombies re-born—and hungry!

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East Bloc, 217 City Road, Shoreditch, EC1V 1JN
Words by Tom Redkid
Photos by Mark Storey 

Everyone’s heard that old phrase “What is this, twenty questions?” bandied about when someone is being super-nosey, right? Well, our Jason Reid IS that someone and there’s nothing he likes more than a good old probing. So this week we sent him off to fire twenty questions, of his random choosing, at two talented young cabaret queens, Divina De Campo and Mary Mac… 

DIVINA DE CAMPO

Why did you go into drag?

You gotta use what you got in this life, and I’m gorgeous.

Describe your act in five words…

Voice, camp, silly, amazing, prizes.

What’s the worst thing about being a drag queen?

People thinking they can and should touch you. Especially my face. NO!

Put these in order of importance to you: dance, sing, laugh, drink.

Sing, laugh, dance, drink.

Would you ever do a reality TV show? If so which one?

I’ve done Britain’s Got Talent, but let’s face it, reality TV is as far from reality as you can get.

If you could live in a decade from the past fifty years, which would you chose? 

1970s – love the fashion.

Your biggest strength as a performer is? 

Variety.

On a scale of 1-10 how nervous do you get before performing? 

2.

What’s your biggest ambition?

To keep working until I die.

If you could bring in one new law, what would it be?

One that prohibits people from touching my face.

The worst movie you’ve ever seen?

Leprechaun, starring Jennifer Anniston.

What qualities do you think it’s important for a performer to possess? 

Grit, thick skin and humility.

At what age did you start performing?

About 4, in shows at school.

Your best make-up tip…

Cheap base, cheap face.

If you could get something back from the past that you lost, what would it be?

A necklace my mum bought me for my 18th birthday.

What advice would you give to new acts about freezing onstage? 

Have a plan, always have a plan

What inspires you?

Beauty.

Would you enter Drag Idol again?

Probably not. I’m working too much as it is, and I hate competitions – they destroy me.

Less is more or more, more, more?

More, more, MORE!

If you could be someone else for a day, who would you be?

Hmmm, probably Liza Minnelli. I mean, what the fuck actually goes on in her head? [laughs]

• Catch Divina De Campo at West 5 (Pope’s Lane, Ealing) on Friday 30th May.

MARY MAC 

What’s your definition of a perfect day? 

Watching Jeremy Kyle with a cuppa and some custard creams, then a stroll with my puppy Apple, followed by a bit of a gossip and then either performing onstage or going to the theatre in the evening.

Put these in order of importance to you: sing, laugh, dance, drink.

Obviously sing first! Then laugh, drink and dance.

The worst thing about Facebook is…

The fear when someone tags you in a photo and you worry where it was from and whether your weave was nice or not that night.

Name one item you couldn’t live without?

My iPhone. Total Twitter addict!

What was the first album you ever bought?

The Smurfs Party… on CASSETTE!

Most overrated celebrity, in your opinion?

Joey Essex.

Your best make up tip…

Remember your neck is there and try to make it the same colour as your face [laughs]

Who was the first ever drag queen you saw perform?

Lily Savage, on TV.

What’s the strangest thing someone has said to you after a show?

“Wow, so you actually are Scottish!?”

What drives you?

I’ve always wanted to perform in any aspect of theatre/cabaret; the feeling is like nothing else and each time I do, it makes me want to do it again and again.

Would you enter a British version of RuPaul’s Drag Race? 

No.

One piece of advice you’d give to Drag Idol contestants? 

It’s a very fun job for the hour or so you are onstage but it’s also a tough industry and you have to be willing to put in the work offstage too.

Who’s the most important person in your life?

My mum.

How ambitious are you on a scale of 1-10?

9.

Which film would you like to see turned into a musical? 

Hocus Pocus.

What angers you?

Small minded people.

Put these in order of importance to you: TV, music, books, movies.

Music, TV, books and movies.

Name someone in the public eye you admire?

Graham Norton.

You have three wishes. Go…

1. For Spanx to be more comfortable.

2. To get no hangover from vodka.

3. To have my own theatre with drag on the bill all year round.

Scottish independence? Aye or nae?

I’d say whichever way it goes I’ll still be strutting about Soho in my tartan, belting out Lulu until they catch me and pack me off home on the Megabus to Glasgow.

• Mary Mac hosts ‘Mastermind’ at West 5 every Wednesday

Sandel is a staging of Angus Stewart’s cult novel depicting the relationship between a nineteen-year-old student and a fourteen-year-old choirboy. Adapted and directed by Glenn Chandler, it benefits from an intelligent script, well-fleshed out characters and, as has become par-de-course with the Stag, excellent acting – particularly in the case of Tom Cawte as the eponymous Antony Sandel. However, morally, it treads a fine tight-wire. 

Such is the case of art that it should challenge social boundaries, but those social boundaries are sometimes invested with an emotional truth. The physical separation of the boys in question of five years is hardly relevant in terms of an extended relationship – if this was to last a decade, no one would blink at a 24-year-old and a 29-year-old together in Soho.

However, as it is presented upon the stage, the Oxford student David Rogers (a solid Ryan Penny) is depicted to be attracted to Antony Sandel because he is a boy and not a man; at one point Cawte delivers a line making explicit the lack of hair on his body. Admittedly, later the boy is shown to have grown, but Rogers’ previous love for a younger boy at his school – forever immortalised in precarious adolescence within a photograph – which haunts the gaps in this new bond, suggests the ephemeral rather than the lasting.

Presumably Sandel, in its novel form, was an influence upon Alexander’s Choice, a self-published book QX was sent to review last year, which holds much the same central plot; a young man and a pubescent boy falling for one another. And there is much debate to be provoked on how far we should police the sexuality and agency of teenagers. In my review of Alexander’s Choice, I mentioned the case of teacher Jeremy Forrest who ran off with his 15-year-old girl lover, a case that appears mentioned in the programme of this play. But then the girl there quite clearly had breasts; she had the body of a woman.

It is odd then that in both Alexander’s Choice and Sandel the teenager in question is painted very vividly as having reached sexual, but not physical, maturity. They still look like children. And ultimately, surely this is the very saddest element of pederasty – that a relationship built on this aesthetic physicality is a thing of transience. Boys, inevitably, will always grow up.

Yet, as a theatrical production Sandel was eminently engaging to watch, and as art, it provoked and questioned social mores.

To read the review of Alexander’s Choice, visit: www.qxmagazine.com/blog-event/alexanders-choice/

• Above the Stag Theatre, Miles Street, Vauxhall, SW8 1SF

• Running until 14th June. Tues-Sat, 7.30pm; Sun, 6pm. £12-18. 

www.abovethestag.com / www.sandeltheplay.com