EVERY SATURDAY AT ST MORITZ, SOHO, LONDON
In days when people buy beer at Tesco and drink indoors, days when the Astoria is being demolished for a bigger Tube station and the Wag has been replaced by a pub franchising, Decadence celebrates its tenth birthday; “Decade of Decadence”. Club St Moritz is bursting, and a colourful crowd spills in the street, some smokers, some just trying to get some air, some happily chatting away, all having *nothing but a good fuckin’ time*... Decadence is not your traditional rock club, you won’t hear Slipknot or Rage Against the Machine here, no Metallica, Greenday or Bullet for my Valentine. Decadence is more like a cult, sacrificing sweat and booze to rock god Nikki Sixx in a mad head-banging and pole-dancing ritual.
Men can wear make up, leather and spandex, while ogling women in PVC smalls, fishnets and platform boots; nothing to do with gay or S&M, more like a fancy costume party every week, where you can relieve the Vince Neil in you. Then again, it's not just that. Most regulars are rock musicians, or connected to the music industry in some way. Then there’s groupies and strippers, and the occasional lawyer in disguise who on a Saturday night throws away the suit and turns into Lita Ford, a bit like that old Billy Idol video. Don’t get me wrong, there’s no dress code at Decadence, everyone is welcome and there’s plenty of regular rockers and curious in jeans and t-shirt; occasionally the odd group of city boys in suits gets in for a late beer, but they tend not to come back. The age range goes from late teens who got into Guns’n’Roses listening to dad’s collection to 40 and over who were actually there when it all happened. Every now and then the occasional rock star in town pops in, and throughout the years Decadence has been a favourite for Offspring, Supersuckers, Wildhearts, Antiproduct, Tigertailz to name a few, but also Robbie Williams, Justin Hawkins and more recently Steel Panther and 69 Eyes and many others.
On the dance floor, resident DJ's Shuff, Belle, Whole Lotta Toni and Vixxxen will entertain you with a mix of old and new, from Motley, Crue, Poison, Cinderella and Bon Jovi to Buckcherry, 69 Eyes, Hardcore Superstar, Steadlur, Airbourne, but also classic New York Dolls, T-Rex, Cheap Trick and Queen, a touch of punk rock with Misfits, Wildhearts and Supersuckers, and for the past three months a weekly overdose of Steel Panther, with massive singalong and raised horns.
Obviously, Decadence´s success has nothing to do with mainstream and publicity, and really, how many of you can name a Shotgun Messiah song? So, how did a club pumping through the speakers, the likes of Faster Pussycat and Pretty Boy Floyd, make it to ten years? I think the answer lies in the evil powers of rock’n’roll, but also in Decadence’ creator, DJ and promoter, nightlife rock legend Shuff.
Since the old days playing bass with Last of The Teenage Idols at the Marquee and the Astoria, Shuff developed a unique network, I wouldn’t think as a “business plan” but just for being an exquisite human being, with a fond love of music, an eternal smile, a truckload of patience and the enthusiasm of a 15 year old at his first gig. He knows everyone on the scene, and everybody likes him - seriously. In the late 90s, he joined Antiproduct again on bass, and between a gig and the other in July 99 he organised this kind of 80's reunion party named Decadence. The venue was Gossips (R.I.P.) in Dean Street, Soho, and it was supposed to be just ONE special night. Everybody showed up, somebodies and nobodies, stars and wannabes: huge success. So huge that the club proposed to repeat the experiment every Saturday for one month, and if it worked out Decadence would be a monthly Saturday club night ...but it never made it to monthly club night - instead, it kept going week after week after week since that day.
Decadence was sadly evicted from Gossips about five years ago to turn the venue into a posh R&B club, and St Moritz quickly grabbed its chance with both hands and gave Decadence a new home. For the records, Gossips posh venture failed miserably and the place is now shut. About three years ago, Decadence had the opportunity to join forces with rock club promoters Section8 to create Decadence & Disorder; together they rented Sin Club in Tottenham Court Road, a huge three floors venue, adding to the traditional sleazy madness a more mainstream room and a private area. Decadence and Disorder was a massive success, however Club Sin was also shut, caught up in that horrible Tottenham Court Road makeover operation, and after a brief transition at Trash Palace, Decadence moved back at St Moritz this year, while the “Disorder” section disappeared...until last week!
Decadence & Disorder rose back from the ashes for a one-off (hope not) reunion, the venue was The Den between Soho and Holborn (location of a recent Jane’s Addiction secret gig DJ'd by Shuff himself), open until 6 am. A Decadence floor, a mainstream rock floor, and a mainstream/alternative/anything goes floor, where we were also treated to a Fuel Girls show. What a perfect night! For those of you not familiar with the Fuel Girls, I could say they’re some kind of fire-eating strippers but it would be quite an understatement... See pictures, and if you like what you see - Google them and make sure you catch their next show, it’s totally worth it! They will shake it and light it to some awesome rock tunes, and complete the show dancing on the bar and cooling down your senses with a champagne shower. And I won’t say any more, ‘cause it’s just too difficult to do them justice with words!
Decadence is at St Moritz, 159 Wardour Street, Soho, London W1, every Saturday, from now ‘til the end of time. I’ll let you in on a secret: Shuff, just like Nikki Sixx, Steven Tyler and Mick Jagger, made a deal with Satan himself, he is immortal and will never get old, so you can count on many Decades of Decadence to come, at least until all the venues in London will turn into Starbucks.
This Saturday (September 5th) Decadence is hosting an album promo for the Used, with cds, posters and gadgets giveaway. Also, Decadence is giving four 'DJ virgins' a chance to play their tunes this month; one each week from ten to 11:00 pm, and this week Emma is opening so show her your support! Entrance is free all month until 11pm, £6 after or £5 with flyer/membership card. Double JD's and Smirnoffs + mixer are only £1 more than a single until midnight, how rock’n’roll is that...oh, and it’s open until 3.30 am, which is not bad for a rock club these days!
Check out Decadence | MySpace for more info and promotions about the club, and The official Fuel Girls Website - High octane, nitro powered chicks that rock! for our awesome sexy fire-eaters. Cya at the bar
Men can wear make up, leather and spandex, while ogling women in PVC smalls, fishnets and platform boots; nothing to do with gay or S&M, more like a fancy costume party every week, where you can relieve the Vince Neil in you. Then again, it's not just that. Most regulars are rock musicians, or connected to the music industry in some way. Then there’s groupies and strippers, and the occasional lawyer in disguise who on a Saturday night throws away the suit and turns into Lita Ford, a bit like that old Billy Idol video. Don’t get me wrong, there’s no dress code at Decadence, everyone is welcome and there’s plenty of regular rockers and curious in jeans and t-shirt; occasionally the odd group of city boys in suits gets in for a late beer, but they tend not to come back. The age range goes from late teens who got into Guns’n’Roses listening to dad’s collection to 40 and over who were actually there when it all happened. Every now and then the occasional rock star in town pops in, and throughout the years Decadence has been a favourite for Offspring, Supersuckers, Wildhearts, Antiproduct, Tigertailz to name a few, but also Robbie Williams, Justin Hawkins and more recently Steel Panther and 69 Eyes and many others.
On the dance floor, resident DJ's Shuff, Belle, Whole Lotta Toni and Vixxxen will entertain you with a mix of old and new, from Motley, Crue, Poison, Cinderella and Bon Jovi to Buckcherry, 69 Eyes, Hardcore Superstar, Steadlur, Airbourne, but also classic New York Dolls, T-Rex, Cheap Trick and Queen, a touch of punk rock with Misfits, Wildhearts and Supersuckers, and for the past three months a weekly overdose of Steel Panther, with massive singalong and raised horns.
Obviously, Decadence´s success has nothing to do with mainstream and publicity, and really, how many of you can name a Shotgun Messiah song? So, how did a club pumping through the speakers, the likes of Faster Pussycat and Pretty Boy Floyd, make it to ten years? I think the answer lies in the evil powers of rock’n’roll, but also in Decadence’ creator, DJ and promoter, nightlife rock legend Shuff.
Since the old days playing bass with Last of The Teenage Idols at the Marquee and the Astoria, Shuff developed a unique network, I wouldn’t think as a “business plan” but just for being an exquisite human being, with a fond love of music, an eternal smile, a truckload of patience and the enthusiasm of a 15 year old at his first gig. He knows everyone on the scene, and everybody likes him - seriously. In the late 90s, he joined Antiproduct again on bass, and between a gig and the other in July 99 he organised this kind of 80's reunion party named Decadence. The venue was Gossips (R.I.P.) in Dean Street, Soho, and it was supposed to be just ONE special night. Everybody showed up, somebodies and nobodies, stars and wannabes: huge success. So huge that the club proposed to repeat the experiment every Saturday for one month, and if it worked out Decadence would be a monthly Saturday club night ...but it never made it to monthly club night - instead, it kept going week after week after week since that day.
Decadence was sadly evicted from Gossips about five years ago to turn the venue into a posh R&B club, and St Moritz quickly grabbed its chance with both hands and gave Decadence a new home. For the records, Gossips posh venture failed miserably and the place is now shut. About three years ago, Decadence had the opportunity to join forces with rock club promoters Section8 to create Decadence & Disorder; together they rented Sin Club in Tottenham Court Road, a huge three floors venue, adding to the traditional sleazy madness a more mainstream room and a private area. Decadence and Disorder was a massive success, however Club Sin was also shut, caught up in that horrible Tottenham Court Road makeover operation, and after a brief transition at Trash Palace, Decadence moved back at St Moritz this year, while the “Disorder” section disappeared...until last week!
Decadence & Disorder rose back from the ashes for a one-off (hope not) reunion, the venue was The Den between Soho and Holborn (location of a recent Jane’s Addiction secret gig DJ'd by Shuff himself), open until 6 am. A Decadence floor, a mainstream rock floor, and a mainstream/alternative/anything goes floor, where we were also treated to a Fuel Girls show. What a perfect night! For those of you not familiar with the Fuel Girls, I could say they’re some kind of fire-eating strippers but it would be quite an understatement... See pictures, and if you like what you see - Google them and make sure you catch their next show, it’s totally worth it! They will shake it and light it to some awesome rock tunes, and complete the show dancing on the bar and cooling down your senses with a champagne shower. And I won’t say any more, ‘cause it’s just too difficult to do them justice with words!
Decadence is at St Moritz, 159 Wardour Street, Soho, London W1, every Saturday, from now ‘til the end of time. I’ll let you in on a secret: Shuff, just like Nikki Sixx, Steven Tyler and Mick Jagger, made a deal with Satan himself, he is immortal and will never get old, so you can count on many Decades of Decadence to come, at least until all the venues in London will turn into Starbucks.
This Saturday (September 5th) Decadence is hosting an album promo for the Used, with cds, posters and gadgets giveaway. Also, Decadence is giving four 'DJ virgins' a chance to play their tunes this month; one each week from ten to 11:00 pm, and this week Emma is opening so show her your support! Entrance is free all month until 11pm, £6 after or £5 with flyer/membership card. Double JD's and Smirnoffs + mixer are only £1 more than a single until midnight, how rock’n’roll is that...oh, and it’s open until 3.30 am, which is not bad for a rock club these days!
Check out Decadence | MySpace for more info and promotions about the club, and The official Fuel Girls Website - High octane, nitro powered chicks that rock! for our awesome sexy fire-eaters. Cya at the bar
