POP 712 Friday 30 September 2011
Today’s POP is Rachel… Burning the midnight oil.
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It's nights you could never dream up or invent. It's tales of wig swapping and outfits so large that they force you to sit down. It's Madonna’s producer dropping beats for the first time in a decade. It's a cultural melting pot where club kids, performers and wayward creatives combine in a glamourous mess of painstakingly applied make-up and false eyelashes. But more than any of these things, it remains a club night in which the only thing longer than the queue to get in is the amount of time that it takes for its guests to dress themselves for the evening. This is… Circus.
An innovator in popularizing a unique form of after-hours hedonism which has since become its signature, club night Circus is soon to reach its fifth birthday. And what could be a more fitting way to celebrate than by rounding up its most devoted clientele for an exclusive photo shoot?
Ring leader and club promoter extraordinaire Jodie Harsh has collaborated with photographer Tim Bret-Day to present 100 figures from the club’s tenure in an exhibition at Bond on Kingly St, placing personalities such as Jaime Winstone, Sadie Frost, Margo Stilley, Mika, Jonny Woo, Immodesty Blaize, Alexis Knox, Scottee, Kris Di Angelis prepped for performance within the setting of a classically kitsch theatre.
Displaying video, audio and performance pieces, the exhibition is set to be as lively and multi-dimensional as the reputation Circus has gained. To celebrate, POP has decided to relive some of these infamous nights with the stars of the show.
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JODIE HARSH, DJ, PROMOTER AND PRODUCER OF THIS IS… CIRCUS
Can you describe the most memorable night you've had at Circus?
There have been so many! Every party has its own individual stamp. William Orbit playing his first DJ set in ten years was quite wonderful, he opened with Madonna's Ray Of Light. That was quite a 'wow' moment. Roisin Murphy has put on a good show at the club: she's our icon and muse.
In what way do you think Circus exemplifies the London club scene?
It is full of variety, and it is the best of everything. It's glossy production, it's great music, it's beautiful people, it's an amazing party…
Who would make the cut for your ideal guest list?
Madonna, Lil' Kim, Pamela Anderson… I'm sure there's a running theme there! Bottle-blondes with attitude!
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MUNROE BERGDORF, DJ
Can you describe your most memorable night spent at Circus?
Last year’s annual PJ party was pretty epic. I turned up barely clothed and left barely dressed.
In what way do you think Circus exemplifies the London club scene?
Circus doesn't follow any other scene. It is a scene in itself. It sets the trends that others follow and does a bloody good job too! Everything from the crowd, the image, to the music is the best that London nightlife has to offer.
Circus doesn't follow any other scene. It is a scene in itself. It sets the trends that others follow and does a bloody good job too! Everything from the crowd, the image, to the music is the best that London nightlife has to offer.
Who would make the cut for your ideal guest list?
Daphne Guinness, Nicki Minaj, Lindsay Lohan & Kate Moss.
Daphne Guinness, Nicki Minaj, Lindsay Lohan & Kate Moss.
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EMPRESS STAH, AERIAL PERFORMER
Can you describe your most memorable night had at Circus?
Well the thing about truly memorable nights is that the details are usually a little hard to recall!
In what way do you think Circus exemplifies the London club scene?
Club Kids, Gays, Performers, Fashion, Gays… Music, Dancing, Gays… Circus has it all and it keeps evolving … 5 years on and it still feels fresh and exciting.
Club Kids, Gays, Performers, Fashion, Gays… Music, Dancing, Gays… Circus has it all and it keeps evolving … 5 years on and it still feels fresh and exciting.
Who would make the cut for your ideal guest list?
I don't care who you are, or who you think you are. If you have the right attitude and a good look… Then you're in!
I don't care who you are, or who you think you are. If you have the right attitude and a good look… Then you're in!
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DANIEL LISMORE, CLUB HOST
Can you describe your most memorable night spent at Circus?
My most memorable night at Circus was spent with Amy Winehouse and her boyfriend Blake. I was a bit worn out by my massive outfit so decided to go sit in the VIP area behind the DJ booth, when a small girl shuffled up next to me. I didn't know her but I realised she was the girl my mum told me about: it was Amy. We talked a lot, drank some champagne and left in the morning daylight. She was not as famous at that point so there were no paparazzi hounding her outside the Soho Review Bar. I walked home thinking, ‘That was the best night I have had out in London yet!’ There were nights at Circus you couldn't dream up or even recreate. They will go down in nightlife history.
My most memorable night at Circus was spent with Amy Winehouse and her boyfriend Blake. I was a bit worn out by my massive outfit so decided to go sit in the VIP area behind the DJ booth, when a small girl shuffled up next to me. I didn't know her but I realised she was the girl my mum told me about: it was Amy. We talked a lot, drank some champagne and left in the morning daylight. She was not as famous at that point so there were no paparazzi hounding her outside the Soho Review Bar. I walked home thinking, ‘That was the best night I have had out in London yet!’ There were nights at Circus you couldn't dream up or even recreate. They will go down in nightlife history.
In what way do you think Circus exemplifies the London club scene?
For me Circus was a platform for all kinds of freaks, trannies and creatives to express themselves. It helped me find my feet and gave me so much inspiration. It inspired a lot of fashion folk too: I recall Kim Jones & Lee McQueen watching as London's freaks danced around the stripper poles. A lot of amazing talents come from club land and Circus was one of the main clubs of our generation who helped create new stars of today, and it is still happening.
For me Circus was a platform for all kinds of freaks, trannies and creatives to express themselves. It helped me find my feet and gave me so much inspiration. It inspired a lot of fashion folk too: I recall Kim Jones & Lee McQueen watching as London's freaks danced around the stripper poles. A lot of amazing talents come from club land and Circus was one of the main clubs of our generation who helped create new stars of today, and it is still happening.
Who would make the cut for your ideal guest list?
My ideal guest list would consist of Kate Moss, Pete Burnsand Prince Harry. But most importantly a few drag queens and club kids who wouldn't need a guest list to get in: they are who made the night happen.
My ideal guest list would consist of Kate Moss, Pete Burnsand Prince Harry. But most importantly a few drag queens and club kids who wouldn't need a guest list to get in: they are who made the night happen.
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IMMODESTY BLAIZE, BURLESQUE SHOWGIRL
Can you describe your most memorable night spent at Circus?
There have been so many: Jesse J singing in a blackout; Amanda Lepore flinging her G-string over the dance floor. But I really loved the night when I DJ'd an electro set. It shocked everyone because they thought I'd be whipping out some 50s swing or something. Terry De Havilland was enjoying it along with his champagne, and I'd swapped wigs with Jodie Harsh by the end of the night…
There have been so many: Jesse J singing in a blackout; Amanda Lepore flinging her G-string over the dance floor. But I really loved the night when I DJ'd an electro set. It shocked everyone because they thought I'd be whipping out some 50s swing or something. Terry De Havilland was enjoying it along with his champagne, and I'd swapped wigs with Jodie Harsh by the end of the night…
In what way do you think Circus exemplifies the London club scene?
It's a space for free expression, no-one is above anyone and no-one is a nobody. Every night is a lucky dip sweetie bag for who is going to be there, you always see old friends from the creative scene as well as new fresh faces. I think everyone admires and inspires each other.
It's a space for free expression, no-one is above anyone and no-one is a nobody. Every night is a lucky dip sweetie bag for who is going to be there, you always see old friends from the creative scene as well as new fresh faces. I think everyone admires and inspires each other.
Who would make the cut for your ideal guest list?
I think they've all already been! Except for Madonna; I'd like to see John Waters there too, and Liberace would have a ball if he parachuted in from the pearly gates.
I think they've all already been! Except for Madonna; I'd like to see John Waters there too, and Liberace would have a ball if he parachuted in from the pearly gates.
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SCOTTEE, PERFORMANCE ARTIST
Can you describe your most memorable night spent at Circus?
It was a few years back with Mark Feehily, Jodie Harsh, Sue Tilley and Skin (Skunk Anansie) singing Happy Birthday to me. It was like my dream pop group in real life – and harmony!
It was a few years back with Mark Feehily, Jodie Harsh, Sue Tilley and Skin (Skunk Anansie) singing Happy Birthday to me. It was like my dream pop group in real life – and harmony!
In what way do you think Circus exemplifies the London club scene?
Nowhere else in London will you find Amanda Lepore sipping cocktails with Westlife or Ms Dynamite rocking it out with Immodesty Blaize. Circus does not exemplify the London club scene. Circus is a unique space that exemplifies nightclubbing of an era past.
Nowhere else in London will you find Amanda Lepore sipping cocktails with Westlife or Ms Dynamite rocking it out with Immodesty Blaize. Circus does not exemplify the London club scene. Circus is a unique space that exemplifies nightclubbing of an era past.
Who would make the cut for your ideal guest list?
Who needs guestlists?! Turn up in something you spent the week making and you are welcomed with open arms.
Who needs guestlists?! Turn up in something you spent the week making and you are welcomed with open arms.
Follow Scottee’s advice and don your best for this limited run exhibition.
This is… Circus shows at BOND, 24 Kingly Street, London W1B 5QP. The exhibition is free and opens to the public from Thursday onwards.
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- Published:
- 30.09.11 / 4pm
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- FASHION
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