CRASH

66 Goding Street, Vauxhall, London SE11
Web: crashlondon.co.uk

Weekly - Saturdays 10.30pm-6am

My first visit to Crash in 2000 left me vowing never to return, I was that unused to the seeming aggressiveness of the muscle crowd... Fortunately, I was lucky enough to make the friendship of Crash doorman Steve over the following year, and trusting his judgement more than my own, I finally returned through the doors of Crash in March 2002, and again, and again... Maybe I just got lucky with my timing that first time back, with fantastic opening sets in both rooms, from Martin Confusion and Talullah, through to a rocking closing set from Per QX, or maybe it was the ever-so-slightly impressive guest appearance of Tom Stephan that changed my mind, but I left that night hooked!

For my second return visit, I was treated to an equally spectacular line-up of guests, with DJ Eddie X from Miami, and a PA from Yoko Ono of all people, promoting a dance remix of her 70s classic "Open Your Box", already going down a storm in the clubs. So started a pattern that meant that by the time I left London for Ibiza that summer, I had spent more time at Crash than any other club...

On my return to London that winter, Action was firmly established as the twice-monthly alternative to Crash. Though this had rendered Crash quiet during Action nights, the astounding success of Crash afterhours party Beyond, at nearby Club Coloseum, meant that the Crash posse won either way, the success of Action guaranteeing the success of Beyond. But it's Crash on non-Action nights that everyone visits!

On one of those nights, Boy George made his Crash debut, and Crash was as busy as Action had been the week before! With an excellent first half to his set, Boy George more than proved his DJ credentials to the demanding Crash punters, but it was the sublime work of the subsequent DJ, Alan Penney, which left the longest-lasting impression on the packed dancefloor. I've not seen Alan back there since that day, but his set reinforced Crash's credibility at the forefront of dance trends. One-time Up resident Paul Docherty also made his Crash debut that night, and has remained a fixture of the club since, having kept the second room busy even when George was playing next door.

A PA from pop group The Ones, a couple of weeks later, gave me my first taste of Crash on an Action night... As expected, much quieter than normal, but by all accounts the scheduled PA has boosted attendance significantly. Obviously, I wasn't the only fan of the group who wouldn't let anything stop him seeing them live... The same couldn't be said of The Ones, however, as they failed to show! No complaints though, as I instead I got to hear a full Steve Pitron set uninterrupted, and with room to dance on the main room floor for once! After Steve, Malcolm Duffy came on and also left me more than slightly impressed with his DJing skills, working perfectly after Steve Pitron. Even Boy George was up dancing to Malcolm's set, and that's not something you see every day.

The following week Tom Stephan was back in action, proving once again why he is one of the most gifted DJs in the country, with a set as challenging as anything I'd heard in the main room at Space. With Martin Confusion, Brent Nicholls, Alan X, Antoine909 and Severino also on the bill, there were few clubs if any that could have matched the musical talent on offer that night.

The one thing that Crash offers, which few other clubs on the gay scene have managed, is a consistent policy of putting the music ahead of the gimmicks. Pick a night with any of the above-mentioned DJs playing, and you should find something that impresses...

Having said all that, Crash eventually bit the dust in its current format. With the increasing success of Action, Crash was becoming a non-starter on Action nights, so when Beyond was forced to close late in the summer of 2003, Crash took up the slack as a provider of an after-hours service in South London... After spending one week at Club Colosseum, before closing and relaunching as Element, which was always more Beyond on a Saturday night than Crash by another name! As Crash Afterhours continues to pull in an increasingly large number of clubbers, Crash itself is going through a Saturday-night renaissance, now playing host to a diversity of successful nights, including D-N-A (Dance-not-Attitude) from former Sleaze-promoter Spike, Megawoof (twice-monthly at Crash after its false-start at Turnmills) and Tonker, plus Hung, fortnightly on Friday nights...

These pictures are from Classic Crash, a one-off or a possible return to form, on the 31st July 2004, when original DJs Severino, Alan X and Antoine909, joined with Steve Pitron and Dave Cross to put on one of the best Crash saturday-nighters since Action started to provide them with some competition. Let's hope it won't be the last.

And when you go to Crash, be sure to ask why to Miguel?

Martin
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