ACTION - gone

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Renaissance Rooms (ex-The Mayfair Works)
Wandsworth Road (opposite the Esso garage), off Miles Street, Vauxhall, London SW8
Tel: 07973 233 377
Web: actionclub.net

1st & 3rd (& occasional 5th) Saturdays 11pm-6am

Promoted by Mike and Andrew, two of the hard-working souls behind two of my favourite clubs, Factor 25 and Factory, Action burst onto the London gay scene in May 2002.

The absence of both Factor 25 and Factory during the preceeding months guaranteed that their replacement was eagerly anticipated, doubly so with the presence of Factor's favourite DJs, Rob Sykes, Guy Williams and Stevie P. Any doubts about their ability to fill a 2000 capacity club in a previously unheard of venue in South London were rapidly dispelled on the opening night, and many months later, with the club now operating twice-a-month, they were still pulling in many more punters than any of their rivals.

By 2003, Action was established as the leading Saturday night club in London, benefitting maybe from being on only twice a month, South London party queens being able to divvy their time betwen Action and Crash. One of the best sets to date had been from Guy Williams in January 2003, but one of the best parties followed early in April, when Action`s DJ line-up and music surpassed all expectations. From Craig Daniels and Stewart Who? in the classics lounge, to Paul Heron, David Jimenez and Gonzalo on the main floor, there wasn`t a record out of place during the whole night. The final ever Love Muscle that same night led to a slight reduction in numbers, giving us more room than usual to move and breathe, though the club was still busier than most. Paul Heron was perfect in the earlier slot usually filled by Rob Sykes, David Jimenez took things harder, and Gonzalo played an excellent tribal set suiting the mood on the dancefloor perfectly. The best Gonzalo set since Kinky Trade in Ibiza the summer before, and David Jimenez, who I also first heard play at Kinky Trade, can seemingly do no wrong!

Though it's the faultless sets from Rob Sykes, Paul Heron and Pier Morocco that provided backbone to the main floor week after week, a personal highlight in 2003 was seeing DJ Erse, a friend from Ibiza where he was one of the residents at Gorgeous in 2002, playing upstairs in Action's classics lounge. Erse's appearance was the night of the Black Party, which saw clubbers in London making an effort to dress for the occasion. By the time summer was in full swing, I was safely ensconced on the Ibiza club scene, so missed any White Party that may have followed, but sadly also missed Action's 1st birthday party.

After an 8½ month break for an Ibizan summer and a London autumn, my return to Action in January 2004 saw more spectacular improvements to the famed Action decor, improvements to the sometimes dodgy main-floor sound system, and a series of top-notch guest slots from the cream of the gay scene's DJ talent. Regulars Rob Sykes and Paul Heron were still in weekly attendence, the sorely underused Mr Sykes still holding the main slot, but with a harder tribal edge to his old vocal house sets, and rising star Paul now playing it dark and keeping the floor busy until the very last tune. With guests including DTPM's Alan Thompson and Ariel, funky monkey Gordon John, and former Beyond legend Alan X, it seemed like Action had reached the pinacle of its success.

Instead, as Action headed towards its second anniversary in May 2004, Rob and Paul teamed up to form the back-to-back mixing duo Masterbeats, and at a time when complaints about staleness on the gay music scene were rife, this inspired pairing gave Action a major shot in the arm, just as Crash was starting to reassert itself on Saturday nights. The latest guests to wow the Action stage included Luke Hope, Rich B (pictured somewhere around here) and Brent Nicholls, and even Stevie P was making a welcome return to Action's classic lounge.

Having long had a reputation for hideous coat-check queues, Action now has the most stream-lined of all club coat-checks, with an eager team shifting people and coats quicker than a sale at Burberry! As always, queues at the door are best avoided by buying advance tickets in the bars and shops of Soho.

I missed the birthday party agan in 2004, but did make it back to Action for Steve Pitron's (long-overdue) debut in October. On a very busy night, Steve proved he was born to play warehouse parties, the scale of the venue giving him a chance to bask in the adoration of a frenzied and grateful crowd. Brilliant night. If you missed it, tough, as he wasn't back again until March 2005, but in the meantime Action continued to grow in stature, producing the most consistent Saturday night party in London.

Martin
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