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 UP - gone The Rhythm Factory, Whitechapel This club saved my life! Maybe not quite so dramatic, but I was ready to give up on clubbing in London, after a particularly horrendous night out at Love Muscle... I'm sure Love Muscle wasn't always this bad, but having spent the whole summer exploring the Ibiza club scene, I made the mistake of allowing Love Muscle to be my first night out when back in London, and it proved to be the biggest club comedown of my life! Fortunately, I decided to give London another chance (yeah, big of me, I know) and on Saturday 13 October 2001 I discovered Rhythm Factory's rather fantastic underground party Up... and the music of DJ Jack Chang. Jack had actually invited me to Up a year earlier when it first opened, but fear of the unknown kept me away, and it was only a desperate need for a decent night out in London that persuaded me to pay the Whitechapel venue a visit. And I'm glad I did, and soon became a regular at this stylish and comfortable venue, free of muscle marys, but vibrant with an Ibiza sound from resident DJs like Jack Chang and Kesner Kidd. That night opened a Pandora's box of new clubbing experiences, and over the next few weeks, I set out to try each and every gay club in London, to see what else compared to the quality of music and clubbers I'd found at Up. Unfortunately, Up's schedule and line-up became increasingly hit and miss, shifting venues and nights and frequency, to a complex schedule of fortnighly exchanges between East London's Rhythm Factory and Rouge in the West End, sometimes on Saturday, sometimes guesting at The End, often without their star DJ Jack Chang. The clubbers supported this one, but the promoters seemed to have fucked it up big time. Still, one day I hope to see it back, as it still has a sound reputation. And no, I've never been back to Love Muscle nor any of its vile offspring...
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