Under The Arches, Villiers Street, London WC2
Web: heaven-london.com [Wednesdays]

Weekly - Wednesdays 10.30pm-3am

For a long time my favourite night out in London, offering cheap entry, cheap drinks, and DJ Gordon John...

Aside from the guarantee of good quality house in the main room from Gordon and co-conspirator David Rosen, plus reserve Vicki Edwards, Fruit Machine always managed to attract a fun crowd, and seemed to be the gayest of Heaven's parties. The only downside to this night came from the sometimes overbearing presence of security and glass-collectors - everywhere, and constantly getting under your feet!

Experiments with the music, and the introduction of guests like Sonique seemed to have a detrimental effect on numbers at Fruit Machine. After Gordon's departure from the roster, I no longer felt the same incentive to make my way down there week-after-week, and the one time I did make the effort, it seemed as if I was the only one, the B-list of DJs that night insulting my memories of previous visits.

It was the arrival of DJ hero Wayne G that tempted me back to Fruit Machine, and within seconds of his first record I was reminded why he was such an excellent DJ. Aided, doubtless, by a busy night - Heaven had advertised an exclusive London appearance from Kiki & Herb, to pull the punters in, keeping the fact that it was for a private party in the Departure Lounge much more of a secret than their appearance - the atmosphere at Fruit Machine was at its best, and Wayne kept the dancefloor packed past 3am, playing encores until an eventual 3.15 finish... Security also seemed much less obtrusive than I remembered it, with the rest of the staff as friendly as ever. Having been too busy to make it down to Heaven on a Saturday, it was nice to finally hear Wayne playing again, and after hearing him play at Fruit Machine I'd be tempted to make a return visit back to the Saturday night party.

Expecting more of the same the following week, it was with some disappointment that I found the club quieter than I'd ever known it, and with Stewart Who? playing in place of Wayne G... Stewart's music didn't disappoint, being the best set I'd heard from him in this country, but with so little atmosphere in the near-empty venue, I regretted shelling out £6 for the experience.

At it's best, Fruit Machine could easily be the highlight of midweek clubbing in London, but it's probably not worth taking a chance on it unless you can guarantee getting in before 11.30pm, when the door charge is only £2 with a flyer or advert, or a spanking £1 with a voucher from their website! The arrival of Ghetto's Nag-Nag-Nag on the scene, plus the proliferation of late-night bars like Escape and Barcode, where equally talented DJs are spinning the tunes, seems to have provided unwelcome competition on Wednesdays, but if Heaven stick to playing their big guns, and remain honest with their advertising, Fruit Machine has a good chance of once again becoming London's hottest midweek party.

Martin
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