DIRTY DIANA
As summer approaches and the nights begin to warm up , it ’ s totally natural to feel like we have more of an excuse to hit the party scene more often than usual . So Juicebox has chosen to dive into one of East London ’ s most upand-coming nights out .
In Dalston ’ s renowned Dalston Superstore , the sound of electro-house can be heard from each end of Kingsland Road as cross-dressers worked their street style alongside international disco queens , Hoxton chavs , and only the bravest of fashion students whilst a queue of hopefuls snaked out the door with barely a hope of getting in . Need we even tell you ? It ’ s Dirty Diana ! Juicebox meets up with Dirty Diana ’ s founder , Lee Dryer for an exclusive interview about the club .
As I enter a dim lit space in the club ’ s private staff room , it ’ s clear to see that the famous Dirty Diana is in sleep mode . I meet the founder Lee Dryer , a close friend of mine , as we exchange and update our current affairs before getting down to the questions everyone has been waiting for . As we take a seat I begin .
“ So , how is the club night going ?” I ask , expecting a positive answer from the looks of things . “ The club event has expanded on a huge scale . I ’ m so happy with it ’ s progress .” I nod , moving onto my next question . “ From an all-round point of view , would you recommend your club night for everybody ?” He replies , “ It can be a little heavy at times , but it ’ s all fun .
“ This is a club event for anybody that enjoys partying in a creative light , the costumes that can be seen are always visually amazing .”
“ Who would you consider to be Dirty Diana ’ s biggest competitors ?” He leans forward as if to talk business . “ The club event is hosted in Dalston Superstore , which is of course slap bang in the middle of Dalston Kingsland , on the strip of clubs . Obviously it ’ s main competitors would be the other events that are set to attract fashion kids , art students and the like , such as Vogue Fabrics , Ace Hotel , ect .”
“ What has been the best thing about running the event ?” I ask . “ I would say the best thing about running Dirty Diana is the familiar faces . It becomes sort of like a weekly family that comes together every fortnight and lets loose together . Other than that I love that we are making a change in London nightlife . It ’ s such a diverse event and it ’ s probably why we get so much attention .”
“ What has been the hardest thing about running the club event ?” As I ask the next question , he leans forward to silence his ever buzzing phone and I am hit with the realisation that this is an extremely busy man . “ The hardest thing would actually be the fact that it is your job to party ! It can be tiring and you don ’ t want to be putting your body though that much stress , even if it is your job . I host a few other events as well as Dirty Diana !”
“ Did you want to be a club event host when you were younger ?” He laughs . “ No , I wanted to be in a band ! Still music related , but I don ’ t think anything turns out how you plan it , it ’ s important to go with the flow and fall into what ever feels right !”
“ What have you got coming up ?” I ask out of personal interest , as this is one of my favourite events on the map . “ We ’ ve got DIRTY DIANA XIV coming up which should be really great , DJs KAMIXLO , CONNER WEST and SAMANTHA TOGNI will be playing ! I ’ ll put Juicebox on the guest list !”
As Lee and I sit and reminisce about how far the club night has come , I am able to get hold of some amazing images from the nights he has put on . Latex catsuits wrap around pale tattoo ’ d skin and neon tracksuits zipped up alongside blue dreadlocks . This is more than just clubbing , this is about club persona , and it ’ s all around us !
Written by Max Saward
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