CRASH REUNION @ UNION – SATURDAY 16TH AUGUST
REVIEW FOR SEENQUEEN
Just the mere mention of Crash gets us extremely excited, as it was this very club night that started the gay underground clubbing movement in Vauxhall, way back in 1998 and one that holds so many fabulous memories for us, right from the heady days when it began through to the emotional “finale” party last December. So much so, we treasure all the great album mixes that have come out of the club, not to mention having screensaver images on our mobiles as well as continuing to sport now rare key fobs & original T-Shirts (not quite Crash obsessive!!).
When the curtain fell on this historic Saturday night excursion, which through evolutionary changes during it’s lifetime, including the infamous (& our more favourite) switch to “Crash Afterhours” then back to it’s regular slot of 10 p.m. to 6 a.m., from mixed gender to male only and back again, all in, sometimes successful, attempts to fend off the imposing dominance of Fire & The Orange group, we thought this true phenomenon had finally laid down and died. So to hear of a sort of resurrection in the form of a reunion party became an unmissable event in our calendar. This on the back of the news that the legendary club promoter, Wayne Shires, had reassumed full control of the venue, now named Union, formerly renamed Crash, formerly known as Depot, formerly known as Crash (confused? – all will become clear), breaking amicably from his association with Craig Elder, we were even more excited that one of our most favourite venues in London was about to be given a new and better lease of life.
So, being joined by our very good friend Benoit, with whom we had warmed and revved up our evening via a short excursion to Barcode Vauxhall & the delights of DJ Faye Lanson, it was just a hop skip & jump past the clutches of Glendora at The Embankment bar and to the welcoming charm of THE door hostess to beat them all, Minty who was holding court at the entrance to Union. In true fashion, she greeted us with open arms, dressed resplendently in a smart “military uniform” jacket & customary designer black shades contrasting amazingly with her trademark blonde locks, thus immediately taking us back to all those brilliant days of her greeting us week in-week out at Crash.
Waving us through in usual fashion we entered Union (as now called – got it?) and deposited our excess clobber in the coat check, unchanged from the days of Crash. However, then entering the club and being given a guided tour, it was evident that since our last visit in December, things had changed somewhat. The “back” room as we knew it had been transformed with a brand new bar on the left-hand-side, the DJ booth elevated up high in a position never used in it’s ten year history, although a few small elements remained recognisable, the middle staircase unchanged, the escape exit to the outside area the same and the more recent refurbished toilet facilities identical. However, the entrance to the “main” room has changed, now accessed via a twisting corridor chill area which is completely new and once in, this looked different too, with imposing screens along one side, a massive video wall at one end, new lighting & new sound speakers in the form of the notorious “Avalon” system, which had been first introduced to Area by Wayne Shires over a year ago, supposedly rescued from the “skip” a second time & deservedly so as the sound pumping out from the minute we entered was incredible as well as easy on our eardrums..
Looking high up we spotted DJ San Diego in charge of the decks, delivering an enticing mix of chunky house tunes to a building crowd of familiar faces, but like the back room, the DJ booth was in a far too elevated position for our liking and therefore in our view, missing that unique feel and vibe we had been so used to at the Crash of old, where fun filled interaction with the DJ’s was possible and for us and important part of our clubbing experience. With the tour nearly over and most other character spots of the club unchanged, we popped outside to toast our arrival at the Crash Reunion party with Minty, devouring customary shots of Sambuca & Tequila, pausing briefly to have a chat over the railings to Brent Nicholls, who had arrived to take up an earlier than expected slot in the main room. This signalled our immediate return via the back room to find Wayne Shires in situ, immediately greeting us and asking us for our views on the revised club layout, which we were happy to impart. We have to say that the clear lack of a myriad of lasers and bright lights on both dancefloors is remarkably refreshing, different to so many of Union’s contemporaries, giving it a unique and, for us, truly underground feel.
Without wishing to dwell on this moment & some of the changes not to our liking, more to sink and succumb to the superb feeling of being back amongst clubbing friends & faces, also experiencing a little of the old Crash magic, we plummeted into and onto the main dance floor soaking up the whole brilliance & extent of Brent Nicholls’ set, which was only briefly interrupted by return trips to the bar in the back room where, by now, another Crash DJ legend, Tasty Tim was in charge, his selected tunes & individual look bringing memories flooding back. The promise of old Crash DJ names playing the reunion party was honoured, as complimenting Brent & Tim at this special party, were two more familiar Crash residents of old, Paul Heron & Ben Jamin, both playing out in the main room.
Being eventually joined on the dancefloor by Minty and with even more pals from the Crash days coming & going, not to mention the ever present Wayne Shires, we thoroughly enjoyed the reunion experience, but with the inevitable dawn arrival in our minds, we finally took our leave of Union, escaping the draw of Beyond in Area, which would have always been a post Crash visit when it was at Colleseum, rather slumping home to bed to reflect on a night filled with memories of old.
It is clear that the old Crash is no more, Wayne Shires determined to move the newly named Union forward rather than dwelling on the past, with more nights planned and the venue expecting to trade 7 days a week soon. However, it is also fair to say that in some small way that Crash magic does actually live on and we hear that more reunion parties are on the cards, we hope bringing back such names as Steve Pitron, Jamie Head & even Tom Stephan, to further compliment the great DJ’s who entertained us at this party. Wayne, his team and the venue, Union, gets our general thumbs up and with so much history behind them & it, with so much expectation ahead and the promise of new club nights & events to come, we will certainly be supporting and gracing the doors of this venue again & again. (DISCO MATT)
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