Ten best London lesbian club nights we’ll be going to in 2010
by Petit Fours and Florentine, pictures Holly Falconer
The shift east happened so long ago it’s almost distant memory… and these days the Kingsland Road is surely better known for its raucous gay nights than its Turkish cultural events. Some good nights remain in Soho, but the scene has largely cut its fringe asymmetric and gets off the tube at Old Street. Here’s ten London lesbian club nights we’ll be going to in 2010 … and two old favourites that should be springing back into life.
Check the links to facebook for when the next nights are on.. and stick any other night-out tips in the comments.
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Other People’s Property
Hosted in a pirate-themed shed on the Kingsland road, Other People’s Property play electro disco and thanks to good DJs get the dance floor really kicking. Crowd is young, hair is high, if you’re looking for energetic Shoredykes, this is where you’ll find them. Fun and noisy.
Korsan Bar, 161-165 Kingsland Road, Saturdays monthly
our photos at other people’s property
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Twat Boutique
Held on Thursdays in hipster gay bar the Dalston Superstore, Twat Boutique bring in big-name DJs, and an arty crowd. There’s space to sit around upstairs and a dancefloor in the basement. Expect fashionable collars, ringleted fringes, undercuts and a late night – Twat usually goes at full tilt till 2. Twat Boutique also do one-off events that are worth looking out for.
Dalston Superstore, 117 Kingsland High Street, Thursdays monthly
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Mannequin
It’s big and keeps growing, Mannequin aims to mix some of the old soho glamour with east-end cool. Offering indie and mainstream music, and lots and lots of women.
Venues change – keep an eye on the website
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Popstarz
An oldie but still a goodie, Popstarz attracts an eclectic mix of scenesters and questionable straighties out for sweaty good times in spacious Soho home, The Den. More boys than girls but a diverse mix of can’t-help-but-dance tunes covering indie, pop and RnB/Motown. Good for those who miss unpretentious, messy nights out in their student union.
The Den, West Central Street, every Friday
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Unskinny Bop
This creaky old wooden pub gets packed in with Bethnal-Greeny funsters. Playing pop and cheesy disco, it’s a slightly older crowd than elsewhere and about 50-50 girls and guys. It’s gay to its retro core though. Someone will have spilt beer on you by the end of the night, but good for meeting 30-something TV producers.
Star of Bethnal Green, 359 Bethnal Green Road, Saturdays monthly
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Dick & Fanny
Charmingly named Dick and Fanny is a new night, also held in the Star of Bethnal Green. First outing featured gay cutie and house purist Kim Ann Foxman behind the decks. Friendly crowd and mixed girls and boys as the name suggests.
Star of Bethnal Green, 359 Bethnal Green Road, Saturdays quarterly
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Dirty Converse Disco
Tucked north (and west) of the east end scene in its school disco-esque venue, Dirty Converse Disco has firmly established itself as the friendliest place for 80s bop. Think Kate Bush, polka dots and sweet girls accessorised with sweeter smiles. Peculiar retro, in the good sense.
Boston Music Rooms, Tufnell Park, back in 2010 – check the website for updates
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Koochooloo
In arty basement venue Bardem’s Boudoir, Koochooloo brings in pretty eastie girls and live acts. Still quite a young night, expect a nice venue and good acts.
Bardem’s Boudoir, Kingsland Road Saturdays monthly
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Lounge
Pricey, but central and unabashedly Soho, Lounge is held in the Penthouse suite which sits at a dizzying height above Leicester Square. The crowd is a little older and probably more smartly dressed than your average Shoreditch punter, Lounge plays pop and crowd-pleasers and usually has a lot of women.
The Penthouse, 1 Leicester Square, usually Thursdays but check the website, change is afoot
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Girlcore
An all-girl DJ collective run this night on Thursdays in Shoreditch bar Catch. Expect trendies and Colombians in bowler hats, not gay but queer-friendly, the music and the dance floor are a riotous mash-up.
Catch bar, 22 Kingsland Road, last Thursdays monthly
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To watch out for..
Currently closed but promising new ventures in 2010. These nights should be worth waiting for:
Jolene
A quirky night that kicked off the shift to Dalston, Jolene have a nice all-girl crowd and a mixture of indie, pop and disco tunes. Their underground venue Visions Bar with its tiled floor, old tv sets and crazy mirrors was either fun or like your school’s swimming pool changing-rooms, depending on how drunk you were. The promoters have gone off somewhere, we hope they’ll come back, watch this space.
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Wish
The mother of all east-end lesbian nights based in Gramophone in Commercial Street, Wish played electro in the basement and pop-indie upstairs. The block-buster nights were somehow always full of attractive women. The times we had in that brick-walled smoking area – oh my! Wish has just closed after a 2 year run, with the promise that it will pick up again in a new format for 2010.
Hooray, my social calendar is totally mapped.com for 2010…thanks girls!