Working off the turkey: clubbers at last year's Christmas Orange
Gay clubs open on Christmas Day
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By Paul Burston. Image © Chris Jepson / londonclubland.com
Updated: Wed Dec 10 2008 -
December 25 isn‘t just about turkey dinners and the Queen‘s speech. For many gay Londoners, it‘s yet another excuse to enjoy a night on the tiles. Time Out finds out why
Believe it or not, not everyone will be spending Christmas with the family, tucking into the turkey before arguing over ‘EastEnders’ or nodding off in front of the Queen’s speech. Some will spend the day with friends before venturing out for a night on the town or under a railway arch in Vauxhall. Others will skip the festivities altogether and meet their friends at Fire or their extended family at Trade. Christmas clubbing is still a relatively new concept, but for many gay Londoners it’s become a tradition.
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‘I spend way too much of my time clubbing’, admits Martin Reilly, 43, and ‘a professional clubber’. ‘I’m a complete club saddo, so at Christmas I actually look forward to spending the day at home, watching shitloads of telly. But it often gets to the point when, as a single gay man, you just want to see your friends and have a dance and a drink. I’m going to Trade, because there’s a very social atmosphere on Christmas night. With no public transport, it’s mainly locals, and it’s always special. Otherwise, there aren’t many other clubs I’d want to go to on Christmas Day itself. I can understand why it’s not everyone’s cup of tea, but it can really break up the loneliness of Christmas for a lot of single people. And there are a lot of us in London.’
‘I’m a bit bi on this one,’ jokes Ray Chapman, 30 and an IT project manager. ‘For me it’s family first then on to Fire and back to the family for Boxing Day. You get to dance the turkey off for six hours, keep the bod fit and get the endorphins rocking and rolling to get you through to New Year’s Eve. My favourite time clubbing at Christmas has to be my first time at Trade at Turnmills. It was back in the mid ’90s, on a very white and snowy Christmas day just at the turn of midnight. Seeing so many fellow clubbers all in one place felt like a continuation of this big family occasion. It was full of people I would consider my extended family. I didn’t realise Trade was still going. Ms Malice, if you’re reading this, put me on the guest list plus one, please! It won’t be the same without me.’
It hasn’t been the same for Carl Stanley, 38, and what you might call a recovering Christmas clubber. ‘I haven’t been out clubbing on Christmas Day for a few years now. Christmas Day used to be an excuse to get a few friends round, have a white Christmas involving loads of drugs and then go on somewhere. The dinner would get earlier and earlier each year, until one year I was up cooking at 8am. Another time I decided to do something a bit different, so instead of a turkey I bought four poussin – one for each person. But I’d taken acid and when it was time to put them in the oven I had a complete freakout. In my mind I suddenly had four turkeys and I couldn’t work out how I was going to fit them all in.’
So if it’s not a stupid question, why did he call time on Christmas clubbing? ‘It’s always an anti-climax. You get to the club and there’s always a huge queue and inside it’s heaving. It’s full of people who’ve spent Christmas with their families and are desperate for some drugs, and people like me who’ve been taking drugs at home with friends. And you still get the cruising thing going on. What on earth would possess you to look for sex in the toilets of a gay club on Christmas Day? Is nothing sacred? Also, I love the whole idea of Christmas being a time of giving and the irony that, apart from New Year’s Eve, it’s the most expensive time of the year to go out clubbing. Maybe if the club promoters got into the spirit of things and started letting people in for free on Christmas, I might consider going out again.’
In the meantime, there are plenty of people lining up to take his place. ‘I think that Christmas night clubbing is popular because by the time 10pm rolls around, people have had enough of Christmas TV, family, turkey and mince pies,’ says Dave Cross, DJ and marketing director at Fire. ‘It’s always a fun, relaxed night with everyone in a great mood, and you can’t ask for more than that’.
Trade and Juicy at Fire are both open on Christmas Day.- Add your comment to this feature
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