Vauxhall clubbing institution Fire turns TWELVE very soon, so to celebrate the pre-teen tearaway’s upcoming anniversary, QX and promoter Mikele Corzato took a walk down memory lane. Well, if memory lane was full of lasers, lightshows, hot boys and smoke machines. Which we really hope it is. Sunglasses on boys! And girls. And Minty. WHERE IS SHE?
2003 FIRE LAUNCHES
Lots of things happened in 2003. Buffy the Vampire Slayer ended, for one thing. But something else began. “A Vauxhall clubbing revolution” is a phrase that gets thrown about a lot these days and doesn’t mean much, but FIRE is the real deal. Could you imagine the South London scene without it?
2004 GRAVITY STARTS
This is where your almost-weekly habit of calling in sick to work on a Friday began. State of the art sounds. Breathtaking lights and visuals. Monster atmosphere. The notorious Thursday night after-hours is STILL going strong in it’s original home at Mirror Arch at Fire Club from the 6th November onwards.
2006 JUICY
For those of you who missed it, Juicy was, well, I’ll let the original 2006 event description paint you a picture: “Juicy is the place to be for party people at Fire. Rooms with juiced-up sounds: turbo charged house, funky electro, tribal and underground house. Fresh juice bars (nice with your [REDACTED]) and fresh go-go dancers”. Tasty.
2006
Mikele says, “For me, personally, my best memory must have been in 2006, walking into A:M for the first time. The club was packed to the rafters, and the music was forward thinking, unlike other gay parties I’d been to in London at the time. Ending up running that same party years later was a dream come true!”
2007 LIGHTBOX OPENS
2009 FIRST MATINEE AT FIRE
The Matinee Group, party maestros responsible for global blowouts like Circuit Festival, put on their self-named event at Fire for the first time in 2009. It’s fair to say, they haven’t looked back since. We thank them for their irreplaceable contribution to the south London scene; fresh Balearic beats and beautiful, buff boys from Barcelona.
2012 LATER
Mikele says “Sunday afternoons at Later have played as major role in so many people, I met so many friends that I’m still in touch with nowadays in the Fire garden!”
2013 – FIRE 10TH BIRTHDAY
The lady herself hit double figures. We’d tell you it was a great party, but we seem to have absolutely no recollection of the actual event, just the four week recovery period after.
April 2014 – AS ONE CLUB EDITION
Following on from their Victoria Park outdoor festival the year prior, As One hit the clubs. And boy did they hit them hard.
2014 VAUXHALL FOOD GARDEN OPENS
Mikele says, “The opening of the food garden in 2014 was also a huge step forward for the club; a transition into a more family friendly venue that will cater for the needs of Vauxhall as a community and not just for its nightlife.”
2015 – AS ONE EASTER WEEKEND FESTIVAL
“As One Easter weekend festival was a personal highlight at Fire. Every party we had at the venue was a roadblock and a huge success.”
• Get ready for the next big milestone in Fire history, as FIRE12 hits on September 19th. Details are tightly under wraps for now, except for a few tidbits. What we do know is that Orange will host the Main Room, A:M the MIrror Arch and Gravity the Lounge. Oh, and it’s going to blow your fucking socks off.
•FIRE12 is at Fire (South Lambeth Road, London, SW8 1RT) on Saturday 19th September, 11pm – 6am. Check www.orangenation.co.uk for advance ticket information.
