Shaking up the scene and championing clubbing change across the capitals circuit, we find Vauxhall’s Club Covert at the centre of this magnificent movement, so delve deep into the aims & achievements of this band of brotherly club owners, promoters & figure heads, both for this coming Saturday’s “A New Beginning” event and for the future bright blue with brilliance.
There can be no escaping the lacklustre and sometimes lousy state the scene here in London has found itself within over the last dozen or so months, the decimation of a whole bevy of big clubbing brands that have been effectively brushed aside by the greed & domiace of one particular clubbing conglomerate, that has send many promoters running for cover, scattering themselves to the edges of existence or simply upping sticks and moving onto pastures new. Moreover, the competition crushing, the dominance & the monopolisation of this greedy group has, in the course of what has proven a destructive downswing in what was always seen as the most richly diverse yet inclusive scene’s in the world, sucked many people into its practices, this period even seeing us fall for their seemingly good intentions to better the scene, bring new dynamic parties, international brands & exciting new concepts to the capital, have effectively imploded that very diversity & dynamism that was the admiration that was extolled on London by many corners of the continent & wider clubbing world. Yet, despite this doom & gloom picture we paint, there is a bright new movement that his looking to champion change, banish this bad egg practice and restore then scene to that rich & diverse yet inclusive one that has been so sorely missed in recent months.
So, who is at the centre of his marvellous movement in championing the change to clubbing in the capital? Well, ironically, it from within the very backyard of this greedy group that both a venue & club owner, promoter & scene figurehead collective that is the driving force behind what they are labelling as “A New Beginning” for clubbing, not just in Vauxhall but across the capital, Covert the club and this collective a terrific team from both within & outside of this latest superb clubbing spot in this one seen mecca & melting pot south London suburb on the scene. And as for the individuals, well this championing collective includes Covert’s co-owners, Alan Adams (aka D.J. Alan K) and his cousins, along with investor & business partner to Alan, one Paulo Moreno, while the team extends to promoters Alex Erfan, Steven Sharp & Steven Geller, who are all on board very much on board with this brave new beginning, while a long list of D.J.’s have sounded their support, not least that they are very much buying into the fairer pay and more open playing field that Alan & his Covert partners are proposing. But the wider team includes some major scene figure heads too, Tom Fuller (like Alex, Steven, Alan & Paulo) having formerly been associated & n the employ of Orange Nation, is now heading up the management of Covert, while scene starlet hostess, Chrissy Darling, is fronting the Covert house and, along with Tom and other peeps such as Mark McKenzie (aka Edna), makes for a terrific team of individuals who share the passion & desire to champion clubbing change in the capital.
With much promise along with ample aims & achievements that Alan is driving through his passion for the scene, it’s probably appropriate before we get into the detail of his & his clubbing collective plans, to spell out the situation with regard to Covert itself, a venue that was to be the third in the then expanding Orange Nation empire, one that at the time of its purchase from previous owners under the incarnation of Factory, was pitched as injecting further vitality & opportunity for variety in Vauxhall, but in the hands of the said group was rather run both shoddily & sloppily on a number of fronts. Indeed, having been privy to plans, having conducted a construction site visit back in April last year and having had a prolific picture for plans painted by Orange Nation’s Craig Elder, we were somewhat dismayed by what we found a few months later when we attended Deelooded, one of only a very small handful of Orange Nation supported brands that were residing within Covert, those plans very much to make the venue the cornerstone of the clubbing conglomerates plans to halt the so called ping pong effect of clubs between their other two venues. But more than that, with a clear sense that the venue, even nine months down the line, remained unfinished, that certain parts where looking shabby to say the least, was suffering from the lack of ongoing maintenance & re-investment from party profits that was promised, the writing looked very much on the wall that Covert’s owners, and we must stress that Orange Nation did not have a capital stake in Covert but were simply running the club, would wrestle back full management, not least due to some unscrupulous financial irregularities that came to light.
So, just eight months after handing Orange Nation the running reigns, Covert’s owners unilaterally seized back Covert lock, stock & barrel, this move very much contrary to the picture painted by both Orange Nation & its effective magazine rag Boyz, Alan particularly incensed by some of their unscrupulous activities and, like a lot of us, realising that the time was née to champion change, to put a halt to the domination & monopolisation that Orange Nation had engendered, but moreover to pay and award/reward workers, D.J.’s management & promoters connected with Covert in a fit & proper manner, something which had been severely lacking in the hands of its former management. And this change has quickly been the catalyst for the new beginning movement that is set to sweep both Covert & the wider scene from this coming Saturday (16th Mach) and beyond, the likes of Messrs Erfan & Sharp soon part of the process, while Alan, his cousins & Paulo have been very clear about how they want to champion the change they have been talking about so vocally. Indeed, with working relationships with others promoters across the scene, including Wayne Shires, Patrick Lilley and more, the words are being transformed into actions, although the building blocks for this phase of clubbing co-operation & change still need to be properly formed and this change they are championing may take time to bear considerable fruit, although the promise is both heartening & welcoming.
Well, it all begins with Covert’s “A New Beginning” event this Saturday, one we will be expanding on in our upcoming Weekend Focus Special, “Charitable Clubbing Champions”, but with the seeds on this marvellous movement sown, we leave you with a trailer teaser and welcome you all to be a part of the clubbing change that is set to sweep the capital in the coming weeks & months. (DISCO MATT)
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EFAdZcep_6I[/youtube]