Egg, 200 York Way, Kings Cross, London N1
Web: egglondon.net

Occasional Sunday mornings 5am-1pm

After my first visit to Factor 25, at the Hanover Grand in October 2001, it seemed that I`d found the perfect club for me in London... so naturally it closed two weeks after I started going! It reopened after just a week as Robo Factor, at a temporary London Bridge loction, but fun as it was for a one-off, the atmosphere just wasn`t the same.

In November 2001 it relaunched to a packed house, as a Sunday evening party at Sway in Great Queen Street, with Chris McKoy the undisputed star. This, however, was a mere precursor to December's Xmas Mass(ive), when atmosphere and attendance both went through the roof, with blinding sets from Stevie P and Rob Sykes.

Their New Year`s Day Party (naturally under the name Factor 2002), was muted by news of Chris McKoy`s death just three days earlier, as much as post-NYE apathy, and was much quieter than Xmas, but those who attended were not disappointed by either the quality of the music or of the men... A slight hospitalisation kept me away from the Sun-God party in February, but I was back at Sway for Factor 25`s "Carnival" on 24th February... No idea who any of the DJs were, but there was a packed dancefloor, and it was easily the best value gay club on a Sunday. By this time I'd taken out Factor 25 membership, and as seems to be the way with these things the club closed soon afterwards! Its replacement, Action, has since become one of the most succesful gay clubs in London, so it's unlikely that Factor 25 or its Friday-night offspring Factory will be tempted out of retirement anytime soon... But, never say never!

As you'll see from the flyer at the top, not only did Factor 25 come out of retirement, it did so in true style, relaunching itself as an after-party at London's hottest new venue, Egg! Despite the added temptation of Guy Williams returning to the Factor fold, I played it safe on my first weekend back in London, and stuck to the Vauxhall Triangle that morning, but will make my way there eventually...

So much for that plan! Like its fellow Sunday morning after-parties at Egg in 2004, Factor 25's comeback, though sweet, was short... It did, however, make a spectacular one-off return at the Space Ibiza in London event at Vauxhall's Renaissance Rooms - current home of Factor 25 replacement Action - in May 2005, with DJs Rob Sykes and Brent Nicholls joined by special guests DJ Ariel and percussionist Angela. It's fair to say that the brand and the music were so well-received that it can only be a matter of time before Factor 25 is invited to make a further return to the London scene...

Martin
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