The new Docklands club Majingo´s which opened during July is offering the girls that work there GMB {Trade Union} and Equity approved contracts. These are not the usual ” you pay me and then your on your own ” type as operated by most clubs. Majingo´s being a new club wants to attract top girls though I suspect that in the end whether it hangs onto them or not will as usual depend on how much they earn. The strip industry is not one that has traditionally treated its workforce with much respect so this may herald the start of a new era, and not before time in my view.
On the other hand word on the street is that London is full of would be strippers at the present, several pubs reporting girls regularly turning up unannounced at the door on spec {Tom at the Axe reportedly had 4 on a single afternoon} looking for an audition. Whether this is caused by the usual seasonal influx of foreigners looking for a paid, extended summer holiday in London or a rising tide of locals happy to bear all is not known. However a surplus of girls over venues is not likely to encourage the more traditional owners to improve working conditions.
It is reported that immigration officials have recently been seen in some of the London clubs which given the number of Brazilian and Eastern European girls working is not a surprise. As yet I am not aware of any convictions or deportations but problems of this sort may well be brought up when a new license application is made.
As reported last month the club Sophisticats has reopened with new management and after a £1m refit. To mark this reopening the club are offering a limited number of free VIP memberships, anybody interested should leave details on their web site {www.sophisticats.co.uk} which is currently being reconstructed.
As follows the normal pattern Secrets, Hammersmith has finally managed to overturn a typically arbitrary council ruling that previously forced the girls to remain on stage when fully nude.
Following on from the lead of Sam Kirli on the 6th of July Jezz who used to work for Rainbow but now mainly works for Enter tease { web sitewww.entertease.com } these days organised a charity event called the Jezzathon . It was in aid of McMillan cancer relief and held at the Wagon and Horses, Flamstead to the north of London. The all day event included mud wrestling, tug of war, and a range of strips and was deemed a great success raising over £1,600. Jezz´s husband is himself a cancer sufferer.
Rumours started in July that Major back Ltd {effectively brother and sister duo Wayne and Denise Chandler} has acquired a 3rd premises in Clerkenwell to add to Browns and the Griffen. These turned out to be false in the event though word has it that the Browns duo has not ruled out further expansion.
Spearmint´s ambitious expansion policy continues both in London and in the provinces. They are reportedly soon opening a new London club opposite the MI6 building on the embankment in Vauxhall, London {no doubt it will be full of tall men in DJs drinking martini´s!}. In addition they have announced that the “biggest lap-dancing club in the world ” is opening in Birmingham in August and further new clubs in Leeds and Sheffield due to open shortly afterwards.
Richard Travis co owner of the new BadaBing club {web sitewww.badabing.uk.com but not much on there as yet} has been featuring in showbiz gossip columns a lot of late due to his relationship with Denise van Outen. Tasty Essex girl Ms van Outen, former breakfast TV presenter, star of the musical Chicago on both sides of the Atlantic, and recent collaborator with aged crooner Tony Bennett has a career on the upward trajectory at present. A personal live appearance on stage at BadaBing therefore looks currently unlikely but I for one live in hope!
A new club in the Shoreditch area called Platinium in Paul Street reputedly started table dancing in July. Given the council´s position on new licenses {i.e. dead against} and the failure to date of the mighty Spearmint to get round this it will be interesting to see how this place develops.
Lawyers at a recent trial involving city traders stated that it was the norm in the city for everyone to go ” whoring ” around the London lap dance circuit on Thursday nights. This predictably threw up the usual series of inaccurate articles in the tabloid press complete with titillating photographs and disapproving text. August sees the trial of Steve Martin of Metropolis on child sex offences so expect more of the same.
More positive was a review of Stringfellow´s restaurant in the Sunday Times Style magazine where 2 of the columnists had taken their respective wives for a meal. Their verdict was that the service was superb, food very good, and the views outstanding!
I made a rare trip to the North East of England at the start of the month and spent a very enjoyable Saturday afternoon strip session at a pub called Rio´s in Whitley Bay. It´s a million miles from the sophistication of Spearmint or Stringfellows {I doubt very much that AA Gill would like the food here!} but much cheaper and to my mind a lot more fun! If you are ever in the area and can put up with a very crowded bar I would thoroughly recommend the place.
By far the best web site for the London strip scene is www.trashcity.org and this month Jim McLennan who runs it {from Arizona these days!} is getting married. Congratulations to him and my best wishes for the future.
Tyke
Author: Saxon
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