While it may have been the leanest twelve months of turns in our world, a series of setbacks very much making it an uninspiring & unlucky 2013 for us, there was, nevertheless, much to celebrate in a year that promised much by many but only delivered by a few & disappointed by a few more, we take a personal look at the ups & downs of a year we (and a fair few others) would rather forget.
When we look back over the last twelve months & then compare them with the previous twelve, or indeed the last six years we have been reviewing, reporting & recommending not just clubs, events & festivals on the capitals circuit, but also around Europe & the globe, it has, unquestionably, been our leanest year of all, moreover our activity coming to a grinding halt during the summer, while the wheels of the mighty clubbing machine continued to turn, in the main, unabated. Not only did we court considerable controversy among a certain quarter of the scene, but we turned our back on what was (and probably still is) our favourite club brand of all-time, much of this on the promise of colossal clubbing change that was set to revolutionise the capital’s circuit like we had never seen before, a cartel of clubs & promoters aiming to break the monopoly of one of London’s biggest players. However, with all this promise pretty much coming to nothing, we also beset with serious personal health problems culminating in lengthy hospitalisation & then recuperation, it would be fair to say that, in having effectively burnt the solid bridges we had built with this clubbing conglomerate, when we were ready to return to the circuit, we were effectively given the cold shoulder, this also dampening our spirit & resolve for stepping out on the scene elsewhere, even our publications drying up completely.
So, that was our year in an overview nutshell, but what about the nitty gritty detail? Well, Mary Poppins would say, let’s start at the beginning, it’s a very good place to start, that beginning being New Year’s Day 2013 & our annual homage to all things Beyond, famous for being one of this brilliant brand’s biggest & best bashes and, predictably, it was one of those roadblock events where all the NYE party animals still out seemed to head for. So, jockeying our way into position on our spot & in the usual privileged position next to Beyond superstar resident Steve Pitron, was a bottle & a half, but well worth it as we saw a sparkling back-to-back performance that got 2013 off to a spectacular start, January proving our most productive clubbing expeditionary month of the year, the following weekend seeing us sink into the splendour of Paris’s Scream alongside impressive Israeli Guy Scheiman, who was celebrating his birthday in the French capital. But it didn’t stop there as the following weekend we were in party mood again, helping DISH celebrate its first birthday, promoters Tom Stephan & Borja Pena clearly having cooked up a resplendent clubbing recipe, while Soho was our stomping ground for the third weekend of the month, two D.J.’s that have very much been right at the top of our “Protégé Players” list, Zach Burns & Adam Turner, entertaining us at The Edge & Circa respectively.
However, Soho was never going to be quite the same as what was surely the biggest shock of 2013 came with the sudden news that Profile & Lo-Profile would be closing, this wonder on Wardour Street having proved very much the centre of our clubbing universe during 2012, not least the prolific “PLAY>TIME” which not only proved a Friday highlight but, single handled toppled the might of Onyx from its partying pedestal. But, amidst claims from its owners, Gaydar, that the closure was due in building re-development, the underlying issue was one simply of money, as it was clear the also ill-fated Gaydar radio had been draining resources at an alarming rate and the venue itself was barely holding its head above water, the huge re-development costs incurred when profile was amalgamated with its clubbing sister, the weight around its neck, the catalyst in its sudden sinking. And is if that loss wasn’t enough, within days the radio station folded too, the individuals affected, many whom we can call friends & clubbing colleagues reeling with the ramifications, while we weren’t even given the opportunity to waive a fond farewell to Profile & Lo-Profile with a party to befit the occasion, rather its doors closed for good, not one party in 2014 to report on. However, both “PLAY>TIME” & (more successfully) “Society” would reincarnate themselves in Vauxhall later in the year, the latter still going strong on a Sunday & even extending into a Friday.
Into February & the hope of an promising year was quickly dashed by a nasty injury to our knee, the sore consequences playing out on social networking sites & engulfing an estrangement from our London nearest & dearest that was to plague & play on our mind right through the spring & summer, while it was a welcome relief to yet again escape into Europe, this time to Belgium & the amazing Antwerp, a reunion with our playing pals Elof de Neve & J.d. Cerronez at Red & Blue for the special party “Propaganda” one of the hugest highlights of an otherwise uninspiring 2013, being back with J.d. a real fill-up for a number of reasons, those trademark tears (of joy) tumbling, while he proved that partying in his company makes memory making moments made in heaven. Being away in Antwerp, we sadly missed the launch of a new Soho based club venture “Baked (changed to Bake Box)”, which promised something fresh & different to the Vauxhall norm, although like many in its wake; it failed to capture clubbers imaginations enough & had disappeared off the calendar by June. Another alternative party we missed in February was “This Is Prohibition”, the marriage of club promoter minds Alex Erfan (of Lovechild & Hustlaball fame), Patrick Lilley (Queer Nation & Work) & Manu Cartenegra (Beartrap, Café Ole & others), although while this outstanding alternative offering to the “As One” package of partying was a real step change for the scene, clubbers just didn’t seem to warm to the Southwark locale and it too waned from our world.
March dawned with much promise of all this colossal clubbing change, the centre of its construction being Covert in Vauxhall, the owners having arrested its operation from the Orange Group and were planning parties a-plenty as key players were jumping allegiance ship like flies, we too caught up in this massive revolutionary movement, courting that considerable controversy with an unabated barrage of what we called “Seven Day Sermons”, these soap box style reports falling short of naming & shaming individuals, but squarely pointing the ever decreasing circles within the capitals clubbing circuit at one particular conglomerate. But with that promise kicking off with a luxurious launch party at Covert, followed by a new Friday nighter “Foundation” a short lived Saturday soiree “Unsensible Saturday’s” & a slightly more successful Sunday soiree, “Velocity” delivering on that promise, at least in the eyes of the colossal clubbing change protagonists, the reality was far from the success story that had hoped for, but more importantly the all eggs in basket we had plunged ourselves into leaving us out in the Vauxhall clubbing cold, the lack of follow through on the part of the Covert collective resulting in our abject disappointment & dejection. Indeed, the 16th March outing would prove to be our last for some considerable time, not the partying picture that we had painted in 2012 & the years preceding it, while the divisions within the scene very much remained, that promised inclusivity we had yearned for a pie in the sky dream.
April & Easter was on us now although with our till now mysterious (and what would prove life threatening) serious illness having taken grip, we were forced to cancel our trip to Paris for Matinee’s “La-Leche” event, just one of a long list of prolific parties from this giant on the global clubbing scene that would bookmark a truly amazing year for the Spanish superclub around the world. Indeed, with WE waning, Matinee would dominate the spring into summer across Europe & the America’s, while other brands on the continent making hay & receiving our continued support, included Scream La Demence,, The Farm, Muccassassina, Red & Blue, Greenkomm & Splash, while having burnt our bridges in Vauxhall, London brands Room Service, Gigolo, DISH & Popcorn formed the main thrust of our promotional picks, the east end scene also benefiting, The Joiners Arms, The Dalston Superstore & the mightly East Bloc very much serving up successful soirees & ample alternatives to the gap Vauxhall had left in our world. Indeed, in terms of 2013 scoring successes, both “Super Electro Party Machine (SEPM)” & “Hot2Trot” are right up there with the best, both theses brilliant branded bashes along with “DISH” & the ever popular “Gutterslut” affirming Wayne Shires’ East Bloc as the biggest clubbing mover & shaker of the year. However, Vauxhall did get a look in throughout the spring & summer, Sunday smash Norse Meat Disco & its home venue The Eagle picking up plenty of plaudits, while Barcode seemed to be scoring a successful rejuvenation too, although we couldn’t escape giving shouts to certain clubbing events from the Orange Group that we felt warranted the support, Beyond & Matinee among them.
With Gay pride & summer festival season upon us, our lengthy hospitalisation meant we would miss out on much of the amazing action both in London & internationally, the biggest bash in May both in terms of headline news & attention being “As One In The Park”, this very much signalling a resurgence in the outdoor & park partying appeal, a huge line-up of main stage stars complimented by a mass of dance arena’s supported by the capital’s & the continent’s biggest brands, promising to make for the gathering of the year. However, dependant on which side of the fence you sat it proved to be a mere marginal success, or as some had put it, an all mighty flop, the estimated 20,000 strong clubbing crowd less than half that figure, although the same could be said for “Summer Rites”, the outdoor post London Gay pride park festival that, in truth, was also a bit of a flop when measured against the lofty expectation of its colossal promotional campaign, the same which could be said for As One, perhaps the reality being that people had not fallen back in love park partying as we had thought. However, the summer smash that was to prove Barcelona as the biggest outdoor clubbing playing field, was “Circuit”, this full-on seventeen day festival once again scoring a gigantic goal of success, while it also seemed that Ibiza was very much back in favour, a sparkling season encapsulating some of the best brands & world renowned clubs in a scorching summer of sorties & soiree’s that very much put the while isle back on the clubbing favour map.
Having missed out on virtually all of the spring & summer while we battled with our illness, a fight that seemed to drag its feet both physically & mentally much longer than we had anticipated, the scars it left on both our mind-set & motivation were fundamental in forcing us to step back from the clubbing scene for a prolonged period, our energies rather channelled into our recuperation but also the re-building of relationships with our London nearest & dearest, our re-connection in September proving to be the saviour of our soul in what was very much an unlucky thirteen in our personal & clubbing life. However, we braved the storm that was stepping out on the scene that we had scorned so scathingly earlier on in the year, a surreptitious appearance at WE “Ole” at the beginning of October followed by a brace of Beyond’s thrusting us into the path of the promoters & owners who, not only gave us the cold shoulder, but pushed plenty of penance into our face, leaving us both emotionally & physically vulnerable. And it was this that would resign us to the remaining town months of the year not just on the scene side-lines, but out of action altogether, we missing the massive re-launch of Trade & plenty more parties besides, only our D.J. nearest & dearest coaxing us out for a final 2013 foray at WE’s 3rd anniversary. But the scene certainly seemed to carry on regardless, the likes of Room Service & DISH continuing their success stories, while Gigolo dropped off the calendar along with a host of alternative others, not least “Tramp”, Hot2Trot”, quite surprisingly “Later”, the latter replaced by “Play” in December, while London’s “Society” seemed to go from strength to strength, continent colossus Scream scoring the same, without doubt making it our best international brand of the year. As for our best clubbing moment, well it has to be “Propaganda” at Red & Blue in February, the reunion with our adorable Joeri swinging it, while in London terms, “DISH” scoops the DM best club prize, special mentions going to Tom Fuller, Steven Sharp, Zach Burns & Adam Turner who made a decidedly difficult year believingly bearable, while without two true towers of strength in our world, our Parisian pal Leomeo & the diamond person that is Steve Pitron, we would not have made it through what has undoubtedly being our most challenging year on the planet, clubbing or otherwise.
So as we reach the final day & wave a (not so fond) farewell to 2013, despite all the difficulties, we can be thankful that we are here to reflect on it all, while in having looked back, we are now firmly looking forward to 2014, a new year & a new start, one which we are determined to dance our way through in the company of the clubs & companions whom we love so much & make us tick. So here’s to a fresh new beginning & a brilliant twelve months ahead. (DISCO MATT)
