CLUBS
Paul Pcnhaligon checks out Club XChangc in Glasgow. LISTINGS: GLASGOW 82 EDINBURGH 83
GLASGOW Fridays
I Crash at the ('otton (‘luh. llpm—3.31)am. £4 (£3 with ticket). Popular and busy. with a wide variety of club sounds. particularly crossover. going down so well just now.
I Joy at the Sub (Tub. 11pm--5am. £3.51). Scotland's best night for house'.’ (‘ertainly a contender. Wild music in a highly charged atmosphere.
I Radio City at the Mayfair ((‘ameo Suite). l().31)pm ~ 3am. £2. Stuck in a time warp no more . . . Radio('ity will stillbe playing sortie psychedelic favourites. bttt mixed with Prince. JesusJones. S'Express. Sottl lI Sotil. Discomeets (iarage.
I Rumble at Joe Paparazzi. llpm—3.31)am. £2.51)(£1 student). Mentioned in il) as being (ilasgow‘s first indie dance club (what about llypnotonie Soundtrack on Sundays?) Never mind. it‘s about the only dance alternative toJoy and should appeal more to students.
I Shag at Fury Mtirrys. 1 1pm- 5am. £1.51). Busy. busy. busy. Popular. unpretentious disco fun.
I Swirl at the Art School. llpm -2am. £1.51). (‘olours swirl. patterns collide. sounds reverberate perfect pop. garage grunge and o1ls- <)1)s psych . . .
OTHERS
I The Alhambra Spm- midnight. Free.
I Bennets l lpm 3.31)am. £2.51).
I Bombay Bicycle Club at King Tut‘s Wah Wah Hut.
I Cleopatras l1),31)pm 2.311ant. {3.
I Xposed at ('lub Xchange.
11.31lpm -5.31)am. £2.51). Happy hour 10pm» midnight.
I Follies l().31)pm 3.31)am. £35”.
I The Future at the Warehouse. llpm—3.31)am. £4.
I Hard Rock Catfe at the Venue. lllpm until late. £3.51). I Hollywood Studios 1 lpm 3.31)am. £3.51).
I Mickey Finn‘s at 'l‘in Pan Alley. l1).3llpm 5am. £2 before midnight. £4 after.
I Mr D's l().31)pnt «2am. £4.
I Orange at The Choice. 1 lpm 5am. I Panama Jax l lpm-3.31)am. £3.
I Parade at l’ury Murrys. 7pm -1 1pm. £1.51). 'l'heShagunder-lSclub.
I Raffles l1).31)pm 3am. £3.
I Savoy l lpm -3.31)am. £4.
I Stomp at Mardi (iras. l().31)pm 3.31)am. £3.51).
I SW1 11.45pm— 5am. £1.51).
I Unity Reggae Club at Rooftops. l().31)pm 3am. £2.51).
Saturdays
IAtlantis at Sub (‘lub llpin- 5am. £5. Stuart and ()rde now have the best nights at the Sub (‘lub. and will hopefully be putting it to good use over the coming months.
I The Choice 1 lpm 5am. £1). The most exclusive venue on Saturdays has all the new fashion collections by the likes of llamnett. Basi and (iaultier on video for you to drool over. Make stire you're dressed tip to the nines as well or you could be disappointed. t'pfront dance.
I Defect at l-‘ury Murrys. llpm 3.31)am. £3. I've mentioned Defects shortcomings in the past . and w ltile it ain't a personal favourite 1 can see the appeal. the students come in their drov cs for indie. indie dance crossover. dance. Not trendy. btit good clean fun.
I Delirium7 at Rooftops(Seerels Lounge). £3. 11pm until late. (iothic. indie and psychedelic. May 5th only. from London. ( ’rcaminglcstIs and l‘very New Dead ( ihost.
I UFO at 'l'in Pan Alley. llpnt 5am. £5. liternal seriously ttplront in the house stakes on one floor; and set iously groovy on the other. with S2 playing funk. rap. soul. etc. Very popular with young people with e\ccssi\ e trouser widths.
OTHERS
I The Alhambra Spin midnight. l’ree.
' I Bennels l lpm—3.31)am. £3.
I Cleopatras 1().31)pm—2.31)am. £3.51). I Xposed at ('lub Xchange.
11)pm- 5.31)am.£3. Happy hour
11)pm -midnight.
I Cotton Club 1 lpm—3.31)am. £5 (£3.51) with ticket).
I Desire at Mardi (iras. 1().3()pm—3.31)am. £3.51).
I Energy at SW1. llpm -5am. £5.
I Follies l().31)pm—3.31)am. £4.51).
I Glam Rock at the Venue. l()pm until late. £3.51).
I Helter Skelter at the Mayfair.
l lpm—3am. £1.51).
I Hollywood Studios 1 lpm—3.31)am. £4.
£5.
IJoe Paparazzi llpm—5am. £4.
I Kes Club at Rooftops. l().31)pm—3am. £3.
I Libra at Hollywood Studios. £3.51). ()ver-25sdiseo.
I MardiGras 11pm—5am.£4.5()
I Mr D's 111.31lpm—2am. £4.
I Moi... at the Art School. (Students& guestsonly). £2.
I Raffles 11).31)pm-3am. £3.
I Savoy l lpm—3am. £4. ()ver-21snight. I 2 Hip and Mixed Up at PanamaJax. llpm-3.31)am. £3 before midnight. £4 after.
Sundays
I Boy at (‘1th Xchange. 12pm—5am. 75p. (iay all the way. with live cabaret from
I Delirium7 at Rooftops (Secrets lounge). £2. l()pm until late. (iothic. lrtdie ck Psychedelic. Playing May (uh. The Matter Babies.
I Hypnotonic Soundtrack at Fury Murrys. £2. Suffering the same problems as Brown Paper Bag did in the way of numbers. a shame as this is a really good club. (ireat upfront dance music mixed with the best indie crossover.
I Network at the Choice. 1 1pm- 3.31)am.
I Insomnia at the Warehouse. 1 lpm—5am.
London and 75p beers and spirits all night.
£3.51). Still trying toestablish itselfasTl IE
trendy venue on Sundays. Is it succeeding. gang'.’
I The Power at the Sub('lub.
11pm— 3.31)am. £2. Harri's still trying his hardest to promote reggae on the daneefloors. with degrees ofsuceess. After a slow start to the evening it really picks tip around lam. and this could be the club for the summer.
OTHERS
I Bennets 11pm—3.31)am.75p.
I Bete Noirat SW1. 11.45pm until late. £1. I Brag at the (‘otton (Tub. llpm—3.31)am. I The Dream at Scalini. 11pm—3.31)am.£2. I Follies 1 lpm—3am. £3.
I Fudtlrultkers at ('leopatras. 11).31)pm-2.31)am. £1 .
I Hollywood Studios 11pm—3am.£2.
I Mr D's l().31)pm—2am. £2 (£1 with neket)
I Panama Jax 1 lpm—3.31)am. £1 .51).
I Raffles l1).31)pm—2am. £2.51).
I Savoy l lpm—3am. £2.51).
Mondays
I The Alhambra 8pm—midnight. Free.
I Jeans 8: T-shirt Night at (‘leopatras l().31)pm—3am. £2 (£1 with ticket).
I Panama Jax midnight until 3.31)am.
I Savoy 1lpm-3am.£2.()ver-25s night.
Tuesdays
I Shimmy Club at Bennets. 11).31)pm-—3am. £1 . Rumour abounds that ('hannel 4 have made a short documentary on (‘raig Davis and his club to be screened during the Big Day celebrations. OK. so we all know ‘()ne step beyond‘ comes after ‘Too much too young'. but why else do we go‘.’ Always busy. always fun.
I The Alhambra Spm~midnight. Free.
I Jo Jo's at 'l'in Pan Alley. l().31)pm—3.3(lam. £ 1 .51). Gay night with cheap drinks.
Wednesdays
I Hardcore at The ('hoice. £3. llpm 3.31)am. Still very popular. with just about every salon in (ilasgow paying
CHA CHA CHANGE
82'l'he1.ist4-- 17 May 1991)
‘So how come they‘re all getting in?‘ came the plaintive cry from the end of the 40-strong queue as a posse of white-heeled clubettes glossed into The Choice. Hastening over, The Choice bouncer subtly informed the ardent young male that he was geographically misplaced — he was in line fora very differentclub.
Muttering obscenities, he quitthe Club Xchange queue and disappeared into The Choice. With no less enthusiasm the line discussed the lost soul as it entered Glasgow‘s latest club venue. Club Xchange abuts The Choice in Royal Exchange Place. The listings for this welcome addition name it gay Wednesday to Monday, with Tuesday and Wednesday for private functions.
Both entrance price and drinks are in line with, if not lowerthan, other style venues, as Xchange seeks to build up a regularclientele.
The lesser-seen gay scene was conspicuous this night (Easter Sunday) and we were greeted by the novel sight of an engaging design reminiscent of the Orangerie in Paris, having covered walkways in this instance. The attentive and attractively-attired staff seemed keen to be part of the night's pleasure. Although the music was predictable, the mixing was professional: Eartha Kitt, through Erasure, to Latin sounds, melted into computerised lighting with ‘blockbuster’-like neons amid the overworked smoke machine. Welcome
as the live drag act was, the set, alas, has been well-trodden (Eartha Kitt again).
There was, however, a contented buzz of conversation and excitement as new faces and old styles (hoods, denim, leather) intermingled and were commented upon. The general feeling was ‘At last, somewhere new,‘ and ‘We’ll be back.’
Whether Club Xchange can maintain the interest it has engendered, and whether it will well-serve the gay community, time will tell. Forthe moment, I saw and heard enough to believe that the change is for the better. (Paul Penhaligon)
Club Xchange, 25 Royal Exchange Square, Glasgow, 041 204 4599.