LONDON super-club, Heaven, made its Manchester debut last weekend at its new northern residence on Peter Street in the former Bar 38 building.
Despite the club’s reluctance to take out a permanent lease in Manchester just yet, the launch was a statement in itself.
After the arrival of G-A-Y to Manchester’s Gay Village, it was only a matter of time before this fellow London based mega brand would grace the Northern partygoer with its glitzy presence.
Although, rather than exploding onto the Canal Street scene in a glittery and frothy PR induced hype, as G-A-Y did shortly before Manchester Pride 2011, Heaven is dipping its toe in with a weekly club night based outside of the Village walls. So, not exactly the grand coming-out oop north launch that we had in mind, Heaven is proving to be quite the tease.
Despite the club’s reluctance to take out a permanent lease in Manchester just yet, the launch was a statement in itself. Firstly, it’s outside the Village. Londoner’s don’t seem to mind a tube trip between bar rounds but Mancs have become accustomed to the short stumbling distance between our Gay bars. If Legends on Whitworth Street is classed as the edge of the village, Peter Street is a foreign country.
Lucky, then, that Heaven put on a shuttle bus from Sackville Street to the club for those unwilling to stump up the taxi fare. But, geography aside, hosting a major gay clubbing event in Manchester, outside the perimeter of the Village, says a lot about Heaven’s intentions towards its Northern invasion. It’s apparently not going to pander to the ways of the Canal Street cobbles; Heaven is a London club up North, not a missionary looking to make peace.
This philosophy became more apparent upon being let through the red velvet rope by the scantily clad drag queen on Saturday night. The Funktion One sound system boomed from the basement up through the three mezzanine floors but, wait, no Britney? No Kylie, Cher or Madonna?
Nope, the relentless inst inst inst [sic] of Sharon O Love’s house and trance repertoire spoke volumes about this bar’s approach to music and to clubbing.
Before you post your rant, yes I have heard of Federation and I know Mancs like house, trance and dance like the rest of the country, but we don’t usually mix it with a gossip over a bottle of Pinot Grigio (£11) like our southern friends do.
We Northerners leave vacant-eyed dancing to 3am after we’ve put the world to rights in Via and fell over in TriBeCa, we don’t dive in, head first, and rave from 11.30pm. It’s just not our way. Or at least, not mine.
Music aside, I needed to get the skinny on the entire club before making judgment and so up to the VIP section it was. Enticingly entitled, The Island - the third floor balcony - hosts its own bar, plush white leather seating and even your own loo.
The area has views out over Peter Street and down two flights to the main dance floor. It truly is the only way to go to Heaven because whilst the music heard is that of the dance floor, your proximity to the speakers allows for chatter before you make the plunge to the lower recesses. Access to The Island is strictly by invitation only though, apparently.
Heaven may now be a place in Manchester but for some, this place will be hell. However, one thing remains a constant, The Island is the real slice of Heaven on Peter Street.
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