I hear on the grapevine that the sale of FYEO Mayfair to DeJaVu is close to completion and that DeJaVu are still looking for further venues in the Greater London area. The intention still seems to be to brand these places all as “Larry Flint´s Hustler club”.
There are also stories that they are taking over the former Barclay Club in Dublin.Ex Marmalade drummer Alan Whitehead {who seems to have been involved with every club in London at some point} has left the Docklands club Majingo´s . I have heard an unconfirmed rumour that he is now involved in the attempt to open the Spearmint Rhino Vauxhall club {opposite the MI6 building} which SR abandoned when it´s rapid UK expansion hit the buffers last year though it had by then already got a license.
With the trend in recent years being a reduction of the number of East End strip pubs it´s good to report the re-opening of a long lost venue the Sir John Franklin {on the north end of the Blackwall tunnel} which has re-introduced girls for the first time in several years. It´s now supplied by the Promises agency and it´s Friday evening only at present but the pub was a 7 day a week venue 20 years ago and let´s hope it returns to that eventually. I wonder if the legendary Solly´s will ever re-open !
While recalling old times I bumped into former Shoreditch star and ex landlady of the long lost Sturt Jacky Dean and her partner Terry at the Erotica show at Olympia during the month. They now supply clubs like FYEO and Spearmint with costumes { see the web site www.jandtdesigns.com }.
Talking of East End strip pubs my current personal favourite is the White Horse, Shoreditch High Street which has been a constant feature on the circuit for 25 years or so and is the place that has changed very little in that time. I featured it as such in the article on strip pubs in November´s strip-magazine. However since that article was written there have been a few changes including a separate changing room, a new mirrored stage complete with pole, and for the first time the introduction of house fees { £10 only}. Thankfully I hear though that the Horse has currently no intention of introducing table dancing! The White Horse features a number of London´s top girls including the likes of Alex, Elouise, and Shannon {photos}.
While on the subject of updates to that article Browns has raised both it´s house fees { now £25 to £60} and table dance costs { now £15} by 50% since it was written. Also the Nags Head is in the process of converting the former kebab shop next door into a table dance area.
As mentioned in this column previously a number of pubs/clubs have been raided by immigration officials in recent years and it now seems that they are turning their attention to the agencies. I have heard that Rainbow for example is having to be much stricter regarding birth certificates etc than before.
A new club in Northampton by the unusual name of “Urban Tiger ” {seewww.urban-tiger.com } opened during the month. Nearby the 27th of November also saw the opening of Milton Keynes first club Smiles {the web site is actually www.SmileMk.co.uk not as reported last month}. Brighton now has 2 clubs with the long established Pussycats club in Hove opening a new sister club called Top Totty and a 3rd potentially plush rival Tivoli club { application reported in July´s column} had it´s license application turned down despite support from the local planning department.
Pussycat´s expansion to a 2nd club seems to be part of a trend particularly outside London where a few small chains of clubs are starting to emerge which follows the way the US model developed. These include La Stanza {Huddersfield and Halifax}, Purple Door {Leeds and Doncaster}, and Angels {Stockton and Redcar}. Last month Legs 11 one of the very first UK clubs announced it is opening a 2nd club in central Birmingham. The latest addition to these ranks is the Blue Leopard which opened it´s first club in Leeds in September 2002 and now a 2nd club in Liverpool {photo} in September of this year. See www.blue-leopard.com .
Out in the UK´s “wild west ” the Vamps of Weston Super Mare pole dancing competition { reported in last month´s column} had to be cancelled after intervention from rival clubs saw the entry list disappear. Club Crème of Bristol has also lost a court case to HTV {local TV company} on appeal and faces large legal bills. In nearby South Wales I have heard that the Gentleman´s club chain has opened a new club in Newport but that there is a question mark about the Swansea club due to problems created by the receivership of nightclub chain Po Na Na Plc who held the building lease.
Up in Scotland the Bottoms Up bar in Edinburgh now has a web site {www.bottomsupshowbar.co.uk }.
A new high class troupe of models/dancers called Dreamgirls { seewww.dreamgirls.co.uk } was launched during the month featuring well known girls like Amazon and Cathy Barry.
A new character in top TV soap Coronation street is being played by Stacey Winfield who it emerged had worked for several years in Manchester lap dancing club the Fantasy Bar while trying to make acting pay.
Tyke
Author: Saxon
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