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 TRADE Turnmills, 63a Clerkenwell Road, London EC1 I never bought into the whole Trade ethos, that it was the one, the only, the best, until the past year or so, when I learnt to love Trade. Over the following year, having made friends clubbing in Ibiza with Trade's Steve Simmonds and PR princess Natalie, my trips down to Trade London became all the more frequent. Still, I never really got over-excited by the prospect, and when Trade closed in October 2002, giving way to the seeming impossible, Sunday morning competition (in the form of Beyond), my feelings were that
it was a long-overdue mercy killing. It came back at Pride's Big Gay Out event, where these pictures were taken, and very good it was too. Let's hope things have calmed down enough for it to return to Turnmills by the time of their 14th anniversary in October 2004...
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My first Trade? Probably 1991 - FF days - me, DJ, and a handful of others were routinely an oasis of sobriety amidst the vast recreational desert. It wasn't until 93 and 94, when I was having to manage the LA on Saturday nights, that I started going more regularly, and that was usually only to look after the children, i.e. ensure that the younger members of staff had no problem getting in on the guest list. Most nights I'd sit gassing in the coffee shop, until suddenly the music would stop and it'd be time to leave. I had my rare moments on the dance floor, but that was often so nobody could see whatever odd outfit I'd turned up in - minikilts were all the rage at the time, I just happened to like wearing a black rubber one!
Anyway, I wasn't what they called a Trade baby, and didn't build my life around nights out at the club. Most of the good memories were of the Christmas parties, almost like a reunion of London queens without any homes to go to! When I stopped clubbing in the mid-90s, Trade was soon forgotten, and I don't think I went back until Xmas 2001. That was fun, and the 'new' Lite Lounge kept me most entertained, even though it was way too busy.
So, how was it that when they held a party to celebrate the 1st anniversary of closing, I finally learnt to love Trade? I think being with the right people - Des was there, Haroun, Spike and his boyfriends, loads of old faces from my early club days, and even more from my current adventures - and a particularly fantastic set from Rachel Auburn had a lot to do with it! Having the uncommonly good sense not to throw themselves back into a regularly weekly schedule, Trade returned every 6 weeks or so after that, each party getting better and better, until the Easter party of 2004 when the excesses of a handful of selfish idiots led to the promoters reluctantly calling it a day on Trade events at Turnmills.
