East Goes Rich. Sorry: South-West.

If someone described their new club with the phrase ‘sustainable hedonism’, harassing images of beaches in full neo-hippy thrall might start to impinge. Should they then mention that the club is in King’s Cross and owned by one ‘Dr. Earth’ – a bald, softly-spoken, slightly portly millionaire in a white suit – things wouldn’t improve much.?

No doubt you’re getting as sick of hearing it as I am of saying it, and God knows I’m as guilty as the rest when it comes to bandying about such ‘tomorrow is the new yesterday’ propaganda. But such is the nature of this Beast we call London: she’s a fickle strumpet, but darn if we don’t love her dearly.

There is an oft-repeated legend about the Golden Age of Hoxton, in which its streets ran with artistic Milk and Honey (and Bars and Crack). Its willingly impoverished inhabitants were the very embodiment of Cool, and it was to their disinterested embrace that the rest of London soon scurried like leeches to bleeding flesh.

And then the (literally) poor party folks grew up and realised that there was nothing wrong with being cool and making money. Take a look at the Swaparama chaps, for example. Tonight they’re launching their new piece of Shoreditch-style debauchery, La Chaise Electrique , down in – wait for it – South Kensington. Who says you can’t have your cool cake and eat it?

La Chaise Electrique - FireHouse, 3 Cromwell Rd, SW7 2HR • 7pm-3am

by AC

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Copyright (C) 2007 Alain Georgette / Copyright (C) 2006 Frantisek Hliva. All rights reserved.