Julian is one of Crossbreed’s specially trained ‘armband wearers’ / Crossbreed
(Picture: Julian is one of Crossbreed’s specially trained ‘armband wearers’ / Crossbreed )TWO sex-positive club nights are at loggerheads with Tower Hamlets council over their licence to hold events.
Queer rave and fetish party Crossbreed, which was hosted in the Colour Factory in Hackney Wick, said next month’s event would be its last at the venue, partly due to “puritanical councils trying to shut us down”.
In March, Tower Hamlets council challenged venues’ rights to hold events with nudity or semi-nudity, claiming they needed a sexual entertainment licence. This affected second event Klub Verboten, which had to become a music-led rave. Klub Verboten is leading a protest outside Tower Hamlets Town Hall this evening, accusing the council of “outdated and moralist views”.
A spokesperson for Crossbreed told us this morning: “Tower Hamlets council has certainly played a part in why the venue is no longer able to host our parties. Pressure from the council also added pressure on to our relationship with the venue.”
Starmer gets lost in music
Labour grandee Alan Johnson, left, bemoans Keir Starmer’s ‘boring’ label. “He’s like Gordon Brown... brilliant speeches on the platform but quite awkward in interviews,” Johnson told the Political Party Podcast last night. Starmer does have a hinterland, playing flute and clarinet and taking violin lessons with schoolmate Fatboy Slim. “He keeps all that very quiet,” Johnson sighs.
Playwright on working conditions ‘crunch point’
NEW PLAY Chasing Hares has opened at the Young Vic this week, exploring working conditions in an Indian factory. Writer Sonali Bhattacharyya tells us we’ve got to a “crunch point” where people are asking why “the people who kept us going in the pandemic ... aren’t being given the pay they deserve”. “Most of us are not getting paid enough and we are being asked to tighten our belts,” she said.
Sranger Things’ Joseph Quinn detained
STRANGER Things’ Joseph Quinn nearly didn’t make a US talk show last night when he got held up in immigration. Quinn, from Clapham, has shot to global fame as Eddie Munson in the show. He got held in a “dungeon” yesterday by a an official who didn’t believe Quinn was set to meet TV host Jimmy Fallon. Another official helped Quinn out, saying: “Leave Eddie alone”.
Flackstock
FRIENDS of Caroline Flack paid tribute yesterday to the late presenter at ‘Flackstock’, a festival held at the Englefield Estate near Reading in her honour. Performing were Take That’s Howard Donald, Olly Murs, Natalie Imbruglia and Tom Grennan. A standout was Louise Redknapp, who stormed the stage with her hits, while Ronan Keating attended. Organising were Flack’s family and pals Dawn O’Porter and Natalie Pinkham, who told us: “It’s been a lot of work but no door hasn’t opened when we knocked on it”. We hear Flack’s ex, Harry Styles, was asked, but he had a gig to play in Turin.
