Hard On! Club Review - June 2008

HARD ON! – SATURDAY 28TH JUNE
REVIEW FOR SEENQUEEN


Having been avid fans of Fist all those years ago, with our transition to more mainstream clubs such as Crash, Action & Salvation, we had though we had hung up our leathers for good, when Hard On! emerged after Fist had waved us goodbye from those hedonistic times back in the 1990’s. However, with work colleagues continuing to tempt us back into our fetish side, we finally gave in and with a week off work, said what the hell, let’s make that adventurous, if but nervous trip to what has become THE fetish monthly event in London.

Run by the fabulous Suzi Kruger, who throughout the days of our trips to Fist, was renowned for putting on a spectacular night of entertainment, we knew we were in for a treat, even though the venue at Hidden in Vauxhall was new to us. Having been used to our age old exploits at Imperial Gardens & Sub Station South, Hard On! as a club has been running for many years, previously at Crash and now at this superb venue, we as we were to find out, truly delivers the exact feel we had come to know all those years ago.

So, on a sultry Saturday night, we made our way down to Hidden, thankfully in the hands of a friend and regular of Hard On! who lead us in the right direction towards the club. Upon arrival we had to negotiate only a small queue, although we were early birds at just before 11 p.m. the friendly door staff sent us through and having paid our dues we were greeted by a small crowd changing into the customary gear of leather, rubber and a total mix of styles and amount. Not requiring the handy uses of this changing area, we had already come prepared in chaps & boots, albeit slightly understated for our first adventure back into the sleazier side of our nature.

Moving into the club, with our friend as guide, we wandered into what is known as the Cruise Bar and found a gathering mix of scantly clad, fully garbed and a down right horny mix of men raring to go, with DJ Matt Adore in charge of the decks. As his name suggests, he had the look of a Spanish champion engaging in battle, playing uplifting electro beats to warm the crowd up.

Being newbie’s to Hidden, we wanted a full guided tour and that we got, moving into the red room where Dmak was pumping out an altogether tougher edged sound to a building crowd of enthusiasts. The tour continued, winding up stairs, along corridors past bars and cruising spots and then back down and into the Cruise Bar, where it was clear most of the early action was taking place. There we rested for a while, absorbing refreshments and bumping into faces familiar from our days back at Fist. It is clear the crowd is loyal to Suzi and with Hidden suitably decorated and presented to make the most of peoples Fetish desires, Suzi and her team had gone to extraordinary lengths to please.

Resisting the temptations of The Playroom, unlike our Friend, we stayed glued to our spot in The Cruise Bar, as Matt Adore handed over to scene favourite DJ Brent Nicholls, who after starting his set, filled with fantastic electro beats and harder edged sound choices, seemed surprised to see us in, by now, what seemed liked a packed Cruise Bar. Brent took control of the room, which heralded the arrival of some stunning international porn star go-gos, one after the other ascending the podiums, sending us wild and sometimes popping our eyes out with their erotic displays. If only we had known these were our competition when we finally succumbed to our temptations to jump on a podium too, so our stay on those dizzy heights was short lived, but by this time the atmosphere in the Cruise Bar was electric. We saw out the whole of Brent’s set out and fully immersed ourselves into the Hard On! experience, so far removed from our usual clubbing escapades.

By the time that Hifi Sean assumed his position behind the decks, our energy levels had been sapped, although we felt the need to continue to savour the unique atmosphere that is Hard On! So a trip back into the red room beckoned, where we found D.J. Halo spinning tunes in tribute to the great Tony De Vit, marking the tenth year of his death. As the music pumped out the images of this great man at work came flooding back and through the music memories of his epic sets that we were so privileged to enjoy at Trade live on.

With our feet crying out to us from within and newly purchased heavy leather boots, we said our farewells to familiar faces and limped into the peace and quiet of an early morning Vauxhall, leaving behind the vagaries of this amazing fetish night, where inhibitions are at zero and the sex fuelled atmosphere is at 100!

So, what was the verdict on our re-introduction to our fetish side? Well the club certainly didn’t fail to disappoint. Being our first visit, we had nothing much to gauge it against, but given the fact that we felt the music choices were great, the go-gos were amazing, the space to explore and have fun was wonderful and the atmosphere for us was superb, we will certainly be making the trip to Hidden again, perhaps next time being braver and more risqué with our outfits. Well done to Suzi and her team for providing a truly unique and alternative club experience. (DISCO MATT)