Hello my dear Mirror Balls News readers. I do hope that this week finds you well.

It's been a rather uneventful week here at Slippers' Towers. Although there have been a few highs along the way. Last Thursday saw us start to get into the Eurovision mood (more details later) and Saturday saw the launch of the fabulously weird Pushing Daisies. Of course our enjoyment of this has been somewhat marred by ITV's inexplicably stupid decision to skip episode two of the series and go straight to episode three to make the run finish in time for the European Cup. Am I the only one who thinks ITV must be run by a bunch of retards?

Anyway, on with the round up from last week on the scene…

On Wednesday night Munchkin Sam Giles ventured along to the RVT for Topping & Butch School Gang:

"Topping and Butch returned to the RVT two weeks ago for another run of their successful 'School Gang'. Following on from the previous term, the winning formula stays as the boys preside over proceedings both within the four walls of the Royal Tavern Comprehensive and behind the back of the bike sheds (where you certainly don't want to be caught smoking).

The RVT was packed tonight, word of this highly thought of school has circulated since my previous inspection last term, causing parents to send their kids there in droves and making OFSTED proud. I planned to kick my visit off by attending morning assembly, however, I was a little late, and narrowly managed to miss having my name chalked up on the latecomers black board hanging by the side of the stage - I'm gutted that I probably missed a sure-to-be up to date version of 'Never Mind'. The overwhelming smell of the school kitchens hit us too as we checked in our coats - sausages were definitely on the menu (only later did I find that since my last assessment, hot dogs had been replaced by an altogether improved variety of Cumberland sausage - must be the Jamie Oliver effect!)

First of our supply teachers for the evening was Janey Godley, a Scottish comedienne from Glasgow. Janey recently won best performer on the London Fringe Report Awards. Her observational comedy and ability to naturally turn the audience into fits of giggles went down a treat and got the hundred or so students warmed up ready for what, for me, was the main draw of the night. Sorry Janey, who couldn't be overshadowed by the might of Neil and Christine Hamilton?

Following the aforementioned sausage (which came in a crusty roll with mammoth amounts of fried onions) and a couple more drinks from the canteen, served by the ever-so-friendly dinner lady at the back of the hall, it was time for fun with the Hamilton's, giving their slant on good husbandry - Christine "Neil wears the trousers, but I choose what pair". They certainly got the biggest cheer of the evening as Topping and Butch instructed them to be whisked away for a makeover, in which Neil returned dressed as a half woman half baby, I think that's what it transpired to. Their 'performance' was overtly cringe worthy and while 're-grouping' outside following their display, all you could hear was people whispering "I really felt for them - it was so embarrassing to watch". My thoughts turned to David Cameron - wishing he could have been here to see what ex Conservative party members get up to these days! I'm sure his time will come!

Following a joke competition involving Karen Matthews and the Olympic Torch (yes, it was rude, crude and highly amusing in a very guilty way), it was through to the final teaching assistant of the evening, Milton Jones, and his crazy hair, who took us for a period of Inhumanities. Milton is best known for his radio show the Very World of Milton Jones, which ran on Radio 4. This provided a fitting end to the night, and in between a trip or two to the tuck shop and reminding myself that I'm good at drinking more than I remember, I was a little worse for wear and it was home time.

Topping and Butch provide perfect comperes for the evening, and the fact that they are now in their second run pays testament that they are superb at bringing top class comic talent onto the gay scene, in a very respected venue such as the RVT. Normally you would have to pay decent tickets prices to get to see these comics, so for value for money (£5 entry), it's a real stunner. It's a well thought out, comedy experience in fact - and if you wear a school tie, a free drink is yours too. This is one school you will want to return to again and again, just be careful not to be late."

"Is it THAT time of the year already?" mused Toto as I thrust a ticket for Thursday's "Douze Points Semi-Final 1" under his nose. Yep! The Eurovision Song Contest (ESC) is almost upon us but this year with a big difference. Not one, but two Semi-Finals are needed to accommodate all 43 countries this year! That's not the only change – there's a slight change in the voting which we'll try to explain nearer the time. (Once we've worked it out ourselves!).

Last Thursday was the first "mock" Semi-Final for monthly Douze Points night, held at the Retro Bar (just off of the Strand). Actually, for the first time Retro is hosting a second night this month, for the second "mock" Semi-Final (next Thursday, 24th April). To avoid over-crowding, the event was ticket only (usually it's free) with proceeds being split between Children In Need (isn't £36M enough?) and Gay Switchboard.

As usual all the promotional videos for the 19 songs were shown on the big screen in the order that they'll be performed on the night in Belgrade. (BBC Three: 8.00pm Tuesday 20th May). Nineteen not-so-carefully-selected juries then got to vote Eurovision style for their favourites, the idea being to select ten songs to go through to the mock final. Toto is always amazed that the Retro crowd of Euro-queens always seem to be at odds with how the general public across Europe actually vote, getting their predictions hopelessly wrong year after year.

Winner on this night was inexplicably Norway, with a camp schlager Euro tune from Andorra coming second, and Slovenia coming third. (I shall be publishing my review of all the songs in May, just before waving goodbye forever to our matching set of Louis Vuitton luggage at Heathrow Terminal 5, as we embark for Serbia).

Once the winner was announced and a bottle of "shampagne" was awarded to the winning jury, DJ Peter played a selection of ESC favourites, which the merry band of gays loved. Some of the crowd re-enacted what has now become a Douze Points tradition, of trying to perform last year's winning song Molitva, even dragging bemused landlord Wendy into the fray! These nights are always lively and good fun though, as copious amounts of alcohol seem to go hand-in-hand with a good Eurovision sing-a-long. It then fell to me to pour Toto into a taxi, to get him back to Slippers Towers! (Roll on next week!).

Whilst I'm on the subject of Eurosion here's a bit of a plug: for the first time ever in the U.K. the Scala at Kings Cross plays host to a Eurovision preview party with some of this year's actual artists performing the songs that they'll be singing in Belgrade. Hosted by BBC's Paddy O'Connell, with Euroclub (and ex-G-A-Y) DJ Dave Simmons, guests include Ukraine, Poland, Iceland, Malta, Romania and possibly one or two "turkeys"! Of course we will be there fighting through the TV crews, to report back on all the glitz and glamour – if you see us, then you're in the VIP area too – it's the only way to get Toto there! It all happens next Friday, 25th April, 9pm-3am and you can find more details by visiting their website.

On Friday Munchkin Debbieanne headed to Sin for Popstarz:

After recent upheaval in Vauxhall clubland and personally needing a break from the monotony of it all, I have been sampling substitutes that have previously taken a back-burner for quite some time.

Last weekend after perusing the gay rags over tea and a gossip with a friend we were inspired that the following Friday we would grab our passports to make our way north of the river to the old alternative gem Popstarz at it's new West End venue Sin.

It was apparent the venue had probably encountered a few teething problems with the night. Publicity was emphasising more entrances, cloakrooms, toilets, etc that it had quite obviously initially lacked.

It has to be said that on first arrival the issues didn't seem to be entirely overcome. The queue outside was fairly substantial but probably made to feel worse than it could have been because of the bitterly cold winds of the evening. The queue in the basement cloakroom that we quickly joined also probably took a good fifteen minutes to get to the front of but fellow friendly punters in the line did keep teach other entertained.

Virgins to the venue, we took ourselves on a little tour exploring the three rooms of music that make up the club along with it's lively outdoor smoking area. The setting is not on the whole a glamorous one, it could certainly do with a coat of paint and a bit of TLC but the slight shabbiness really quite fits with the whole ethos of the crowd that attend. There is no average punter at Popstarz although it has to be said there is a large fairly young student contingent in attendance but the rest of the revellers are a multitude of ages, size, shape and attire. There is certainly no attitude and the eclectic bunch party and mingle more than happily with one another.

The bars were kept moving with a maximum of around five minutes to wait for service which wasn't a bad effort at all considering the hoards and drinks were being sold at comparatively very reasonable prices.

If there had previously been any issues with toilet facilities at the venue they had been successfully overcome, not on a single visit was I required to queue.

As for the music - there is pretty much something for everyone. The Indie Ballroom set in a plush long bar, The Rave Room with it's blend of dance and our favourite, The Pop Lounge that offers an amalgamation of disco and pop from across the decades. We pretty much made this cosy pop lounge our little party spot for the entire night, sometimes slightly shamed to get such delight from bopping to it's array of cheesy tunes.

If there's a hint of disco snobbery about you or your evening revolves around seeking out the hottest muscle boys then Popstarz isn't the one for you. However if you are up for a good dance, laugh and a drink in an attitude-free crowd with a bit of variety then get yourself down there, early, and enjoy what must be currently one of the most popular Friday nights in town."

On Saturday night Munchkin Sam Giles was up for threesome, starting with Space:

"Space, Ibiza's premier superclub returned to Area for the second time this Saturday just gone for another amazing party. Although we arrived quite early, there was a sizable queue outside the venue, so hopes were high that Area would have a nice size crowd in tonight - and we weren't wrong. One thing to note on this visit was that it was much more 'gay' than on previous trips, which for me made a pleasant change. In fact the crowd was very friendly all night with plenty of familiar faces from right across the spectrum of the scene, not just the Europeans and Latinos that you might expect at this type of event, but a few sexy bears too!

Inside and coats quickly away, the main room was the only one open while the club filled up. The Space team had decked the club out fittingly enough with their hanging banners and props, and had made good use of the stages to make the floor feel a little more intimate than usual. It wasn't long until the main floor was full of dancers and the go-gob's had kicked in. Paul Heron played a set which really got the crowd moving, playing his trademark 'techy' sound with vocals thrown in Paul complimented the two headline DJ's well and for me produced the set of the night.

Juanjo Martin has played Fire several times in the last year and continued to prove tonight why he is such a popular choice by selecting a good number of upfront tribal and tech house for the main floor. Although we were in quite unknown territory with a number of his selections, his experience at Space, Fire and other clubs around the world have given him the exact recipe to bring any dance floor to the boil.

Later the Raw room opened and although it kept pretty busy all night, it was probably the quietest I had seen this room in a while. Although the Black Box gets a bit of stick it compliments the music well, better than the Mirror Arch in Fire I think. I'd like to see the sound system punch a bit more, not louder, just some more bass as these Raw tracks can really drive into you and make you move your feet. Most of the time it's this which makes these tracks, if anything its this I miss most from the original third room at Fire.

Back on the main floor it was still busy with the new laser and light systems in full swing. If you have not checked out Area yet since the relaunch do go and experience the new Matrix light system, imagine being surrounded by laser, with a very clear energetic sound system. It's really quite magical. Something tonight really kicked about Space, a mix of fresh music played by talented DJ's, a wide age ranged masculine crowd who were really up for it (lots of claps and whistles!), truly amazing sound and light and happy polite staff who were visibly enjoying themselves made this one of my best nights out in a while - in short it stood out. Maybe Area is not quite the same as Space in Ibiza (the trains going overhead don't quite sound like planes), but the Orange Group made a very good go of it again. I hope this night becomes a regular fixture as it's been my best party for quite some time."

Munchkin Sam Giles then headed to the Collisseum for Rain:

"Although Rain looked like a potentially amazing new after-hours from the advert, it also looked like it could be a bit of a hit and miss affair. Either it would take off big time or it would fall by the wayside pretty quick.

Unfortunately on this, the launch night, it crashed and burned for me. Being at Space earlier, and on talking to a number of the crowd there. it seemed there was a good number willing to give it a go. Considering there was no promotion outside Area (understandable given the Orange team handing out discount passes to Fire), there was no one 'on the way' either to promote the event, something which could have worked to the promoters advantage.

Still it seemed like people were willing to pay the £12/£15 entry price when chatting to them in Space. Bear in mind some top DJ's were lined up - Oliver M, the Matinee superstar, Gabriele Cutrano from DTPM fame and also Eduardo De La Torre, again from Matinee, it sounded like quiet a night. However it seemed like the atmosphere at Space was difficult to get away from, and many of the people I had spoken to earlier in the night, had changed their mind come 5am.

On getting round to the Collisseum at around 5:30am it seemed deserted although there were four people in front of us to get in. A very tall drag queen graced the door, although we didn't get a friendly welcome - let's just call her fierce for now! Upstairs the bar was pretty empty, a few familiar faces though. Rain was using the main room and the back toilet area as a chill out. The music was pretty good, we caught the end of Gabriele Cutrano's warming up set, and at this point there was about 150 people in the venue.

Those that know the Collisseum will also know that with the main floor wide open tonight, this is a very small party and people were dancing with very wide gaps in between creating very little atmosphere. These people being spread between the smoking area, toilets, front bar and main dance floor.

As the music got a bit heavier people started to drift away pretty quickly with a number of our friends heading towards the ol' faithful. The crowd was a good mix of gay and straight, although I must admit I saw a number of blokes with broken noses and facial bruising. There were times in the toilets I felt a bit uneasy (and not in a good way!). A re-think of the door policy is seriously needed. The second point is that the venues owners have invested very little money in the venue. Nothing has changed for the better with the nasty brown curtains and seating in the bar, to the toilets, which could still double as those in a run down call centre. A few small changes would make a lot of difference. Finally the sound on this occasion was really quiet and the emphasis of the music came from the back of the room, more tweaking definitely required. During my 90 minutes at the venue, the second room did not open, although it was not required.

It's a fact that no nights work at this venue with a small crowd. As a promoter you really need to plan the space, and have a good estimate as to the numbers attending your party. Along with this, the sound needs to be right to work the dance floor - MegaWoof! have this just right. Although Collisseum holds so many fond memories for people, me included, it's best left to the established parties to use it to its full potential, rather than to those new names looking to launch of the back of something that was. Although the music may have been the draw at Rain, honestly, the lack of production and preparation that had gone into the event outside this factor showed.

OK - so what now? Rain, you have a great set of DJ's willing to experiment and take the crowd on a journey. It's the wrong venue though. An intimate venue is what's required, and with a little more planning I recon you could have success."

Finally Munchkin Sam Giles rounded off his partying at Horizon:

"Arriving at Horizon later than planned is quiet a challenge. In fact you don't know what queue of people to join outside Fire. After coming to the conclusion that the people in yellow jackets drive taxis, we rule them out. Then we discover that there is another queue of people who are not actually going to be let into the club, as they look a little too worse for wear, but still wait, hoping the security will change their mind (at last the door policy returns!). Finally we find the right queue. In fact there is no one in front of us here so we go straight in - cool!

Inside and a quick search later we hit the dance floor around 7am. OK its a bit sweaty and damp in here but if you had been jumping up and down to pumping tunes for eight hours non stop then you probably would be too - ok we forgive you Fire. Although the club had emptied out a bit, the main dance floor, Mirror Arch and, now renamed, Sharp Lounge (yes, they are back!), were all still busy. The Lightbox was just winding down. Don't worry though, the toilets were still in full swing as usual!

On the main floor I had missed Dr Pitron and I think instead caught the last bit of Alan K's contribution (sorry if I'm wrong!). Who else would drop the a mash up of Klubbheads Kickin' Hard? Stevie B started off VERY cheesy, too much for my liking, but everyone seemed to be enjoying it. Think Big Love, Stay Around, Fusion, Sun Rising Up etc.. Later it got a bit harder and was much more enjoyable. If you like all the anthems and chart hits, this was the floor to be on with that big disco sound.

No particular theme tonight, just special guest Fabio White, who again I missed. Horizon continued into Later, and although the crowd thinned (just a bit!) Fire managed to do its trick of shutting three doors and opening two to keep the place feeling more than busy. Horizon provided a fun end to a hectic night, long may the sun rise."

On Sunday Munchkin nm67uk was out and about, starting with a trip to the RVT for Chill Out S.L.A.G.S.:

"In some respects the format of the RVT on a Sunday afternoon is very similar week in week out but this week things felt a little different. The first thing we noticed was DJ Simon Le Vans was taking a break and DJ Little John was filling his slot. I'm not one to gossip but Dame Edna said that Simon's slot was a large one to fill.

Little John's warm up set got us all in the mood for the show but for once the RVT wasn't rammed. It was still busy but trying to get from one side of the venue to another wasn't the usual challenge. Once the venue had filled up by 5:30 socialising was still fairly easy.

Dame Edna stumbled onto stage about 5:45 with the main topic of today's sermon being reinforcement of the RVT's drug policy which she had someone rip from the wall above the toilet door. Unfortunately it appeared to be written in Polish but I think she managed to get the key points across.

Jonathan sang some slightly alternative songs this weekend including hits from Blondie, Marc Almond and Spandau Ballet's True managed to bring back 25 year old memories of secondary school discos. He truly has an amazing vocal range and ending the show with 'I just wanna fucking dance' left us ready to dance the night away until we'd ran out of steam and left just after 11."

Then rounding off the weekend Munchkin nm67uk crossed the road to South Central for Horse Meat Disco:

"Like many, I'm not always adventurous when it comes to trying new places, but when it comes to Horse Meat Disco I'd always been intrigued - everyone I know who has been there gives it the thumbs up. I didn't have much to do on Monday morning so when we left the RVT I was easily persuaded to give Horse Meat a try.

I was expecting a different type of crowd and that's what I saw - a complete spectrum of ages, types and dress styles, including a naturist. On top of that everyone seemed very friendly.

I'm finding it hard to describe the music - yes its disco, but it was just really different to the disco I was used to.

Considering we'd just come from the RVT with its loud fast music and tops off crowd this provided a perfect end to the weekend – a chance to calm down a bit and take stock of the weekend.

Will definitely be giving it another try and hopefully soon."

And that concludes our small tour of the gay scene for last week. The partying goes on as we head into the second weekend of April, and you can find out what's hot and happening in the latest edition of scene-OUT.com's Hot Picks.

That wraps it up this edition of Mirror Balls News… The Munchkins will be out and about again over the coming week, so we'll see you soon under the mirror balls.

Love,
Ruby
XXX

Music Reviews

McKie & Taylor - Specialize In Love
'Specialize in Love' was one of my first records back in the days when needles were used for more than just stitching a hole in your pants.

I, amongst thousands of others, played this song so many times I could probably sing it backwards to you but I will spare you. This was the tune of '82 that was spilling out of every open window nationwide. If you didn't have this in your collection then you were quite frankly nobody!

So can this track have the same impact 25 years later? Many have tried and made barely a scratch on the vinyl surface over the decades. Dan Mckie made a brave decision taken this one on but I have to say, it was a risk worth taking. Dan cleverly and wisely decided that interfering with such a classic would have been futile and therefore decided to retain the core sound of the original. Yes it has its 'fluffy' elements and yes it can come across slightly dated but this is the charm of the track in its entirety. What is even more complimentary is that vocalist Andrew Taylor sticks with the original Sharon Redd melody proofing that this record was made with the sensitivity, awareness and respect that this true club classic original deserves.

So can this track have the same impact? Yes, I believe this track has the ability to slowly absorb itself on to dancefloors, it will find itself on every compilation going and most certainly radio stations will be playing this from morning till night, why? Because its funky soulful house at its best, it works and its a classic that deserves at least one more airing before being put back to rest for what maybe another lonely 25 years!

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Movie Reviews

The Blossoming of Maximo Oliveros
'In Memoria Di Me' or 'In Memory of Me' is director Saverio Costanzo's second feature film. Like 'Private', his first film, which explores concepts of emotional, spiritual and psychological space or the lack thereof, 'In Memory of Me' is equally novel. It explores claustrophobia and inner turmoil by way of a narrative that is both suspenseful and sinister.

Set in a novitiate, this is a film about a group of youngish novices on a journey of self-sacrifice and redemption. They live in a sequestered monastery somewhere in Venice, its bustling waterways a stark contrast to the silent and joyless halls within which they have chosen to live. The story is told through the character of Andreas, a determined, bright young man who at first, is to all appearances, certain of his strong religious faith. Andreas, played by Christo Jivkov, is in reality a haunted man, troubled by his own spiritual uncertainties and distrustful of his fellow seminarians. This is a gloomy novitiate, a brotherhood not of compassion and trust, but of suspicion and loathing.

The camera's long, lingering shots of men in intense prayer and deep meditation work well in the general theme of the story. One always gets the impression that things are being observed in the seminary, that a watchful eye keeps all in check, even if that was so only in the minds of these men. The cast is good and the acting suitably broody, the strained relationship between the characters are unmissable even if the film is sparse in dialogue.

Unlike Private, however, 'In Memory of Me' is made up of shots that linger to the point of stretching one's patience, shots which seem to have been calculated to provoke its viewers into feeling their own frustration. Not a fast-paced film by any means, but then it doesn't pretend to be.

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The Victoria line will close early between Mondays and Thursdays until late November 2008. Passengers using the line after 21:45 will be asked to use alternative routes while overnight work takes place on a major upgrade of the line. Valid Underground tickets will be accepted on local bus services.

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