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Recommended By
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Average Price
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Average Rating
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97% of reviewers
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£15.00
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8.8
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Description:
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Hard On is a strict members only club. Presented by Suzie Krueger who is well known for her infamous club Fist... the concept of Hard On was born out of the desire to present a club that integrated sexuality and clubbing in a unique atmosphere. Carrying on where Fist left off, being a members only club allows Hard On to be more then Fist could ever be... but be warned... a strict dress code applies: rubber, leather, uniform, skin gear or just your boots are permitted. No plain jeans or trainers. Members will be refused entry if not adhering to this dress code.
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Address:
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Union, 66 Albert Embankment, London SE11 7TP
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Nearest station & local bus routes:
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Vauxhall - Use Journey Planner to plan your route to Hard On.
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Opening times:
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Every third Saturday from 10:00pm until late
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Entry prices:
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Members £15; guests £20
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Website:
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www.hardonclub.co.uk
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Photo galleries:
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Gallery 1 - Gallery 2 - Gallery 3 - Gallery 4
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Crowd:
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LGBT
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Author
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Hazrob
Registered User
Registered: August 2011
Posts: 4
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Review Date: 19 February 13
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Would you recommend this club? Yes |
Price you paid?: None indicated
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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Polite welcome of staff, layout, atmosphere
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Cons:
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Negotiating the "steps" in the dark!
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Arriving at Hard On's current venue, "Union" along the Albert Embankment on a chilly February evening, I was delighted to see a hot, leather-clad biker who was extremely welcoming and checked what I would be wearing for the club - nice to see a dress-code check from the first point of contact! After a very thorough search from an equally polite security personnel I was directed to a "changing area". This was a great addition to the new layout of the club, since it prevents the inevitable "congestion" near the cloakroom and initial bar/dance floor area. Chairs were another good idea for getting that awkward piece of gear on and the area was well-lit. Bags were provided for those who needed them - another good idea.
One of the most noticeable differences on my visit this time was the overall layout of the club which was excellent. The initial bar area, equipped with friendly and attentive bar staff and serving good value drinks, also doubled up as the main dance floor with some good beats by the DJ. Here the atmosphere was social and welcoming and was good to see a variety of guys in different gear. Moving towards the back of the club, the well-equipped "stall" provided a wealth of goodies one may need for such a night before the more "hardcore" feel of the back room and a smaller room upstairs for more "serious action" gave a more intense feel to the venue. Good to see (or rather hear!) the same music in the back as the front (the continuity pleases my musical eardrums!)
As the night progressed the club got busier and the atmosphere changed appropriately peaking around 1am. My only criticism was that the somewhat hazardous stairs up and down could have done with a roll of that black and yellow tape stuck on the front of them as the darkness, while totally apt for such an area, did make negotiating quite difficult, especially when busier. Other than that I'd thoroughly recommend the night which was well-organised and planned and even a nice goodbye and "thank you" from the security and door staff on leaving - I will be back!
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Hazrob
Registered User
Registered: August 2011
Posts: 4
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Review Date: 23 August 12
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Would you recommend this club? Yes |
Price you paid?: None indicated
| Rating: 8
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Pros:
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Crowd, music, atmosphere, layout
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Cons:
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The Heat!!!!!
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As a Hoist regular, it was with a certain sense of excitement that I was taken along to my first Hard On by some good mates!
No queue to get in with a fast and efficient bag search, we were greeted by an efficient Suzie who was in control of the whole admission procedure with a sense of organisational and managerial flair. Changing was quick and bags were provided for those who needed them, along with a fast coat check process meaning we could get to the bar for a well-earned drink!
The bar staff were friendly, polite and efficient and the range of drinks was broadly in line with club offerings, including canned Fosters which meant I was happy! The club, Union, was well prepared for the event with a stall selling "essentials" and numerous well-equipped play areas as well as a large dance floor. The music was uplifting and suitable to the atmosphere and crowd.
The club got busier as it approached midnight and the smoking area, outside at the front of the club, was great to take a break from the action inside.
The only difficult part of the night was the extreme heat inside the club (and yes, there were lots of "hot" men too!), not helped by me wearing rubber and being the hottest night of the year! I managed to find a cooling vent close to the dance floor, but this was quickly noticed by others who congretated to get some well needed cool air! This was certainly something way out of "Hard On's" control and something maybe Union needs to look into? Understandlaby this was probably "freak British weather" and certainly didn't detract from the night.
Well done to Suzie and the Hard On team for such a well organised event and I'm sure I'll be back in the not too near future!
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bikepig
Registered User
Registered: October 2006
Location: Wellingborough, UK
Posts: 2
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Review Date: 16 June 12
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Would you recommend this club? Yes |
Price you paid?: None indicated
| Rating: 8
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April Hard On at new venue Union
Hard On! Hard On! everybody loves a good Hard On. So expectation are always high when going to the club of the same name. Tonight the levels of excitement are tinged with anxiety. The club has moved again. Will it be a disaster or a wild orgy of filth? Only one way to find out. So shiny boots head to Albert Embankment and the new venue Union.
Arriving about 11, it was good to see no long queues. It would be no fun queuing in the rain. Quick and friendly security check. Remember poppers need to be sealed because stupid people still try to take things they shouldn't to clubs. Greeted by a busy, smiling Suzie and her team. Before I know it I am though the double doors and in the club. All very quick. I like that.
Next the changing area and the cloak room something that can make or break a club as all good promoters know. The "stripping off and putting on less" area was busy with fold up chairs and places to put bags. It still had space to move. So after a quick change it was upstairs at the front bar for the cloakroom. They are two cloakrooms here neither had queues longer than a few people all night, even when leaving. I never heard anyone complaining of queues either.
So the layout of Union is still familiar having not been here for a while. Basically bar at the front and dance floor at the back. The front bar was busy with people chatting and warming up for the night. The very useful shop is there as well. Good for stocking up or replacing goodies that might have run out during the night. The men and women are looking really good tonight some very sleazy pigs, beefy bears and interestingly a few guys in tight fitting sports kit that look very sexy. Of course loads of rubber and leather. It does feel like the only club left in London where all the people still make the effort to look good for the night.
So off exploring. Let’s face it that is what most of us are here for. A series of backrooms, alcoves and slings on the ground floor lead you to the large second room with the dance floor and the DJ's The Rhythm Master, Brent Nicholls and Hugo'sland are pumping it up tonight. I catch the sex show here later on and the crowd love it and who wouldn't enjoy with the sexy men performing. At the other end of the dance floor and though the double doors and you find the toilets that act as the wet area, more toilets and cubicles are at the front bar for the more timid. The piss pigs were enjoy it all but did mention it could be warmer in there.
Back out to the dance floor and upstairs which some might know as a bar area is now another back room for the night, with seating and slings. It was busy with loads of action on hand. Back across the dance floor and towards the front bar you will find another staircase which leads you to a wide corridor that is well lit and has cubicles off it with more slings and seating, then stairs down to the front bar at the other end.
Needless to say that it did not take long before everybody was making new friends and getting to know old ones again. I think that this back room set up is the best that Hard On has had for a long time. It has loads of different areas, light, dim and dark. Slings and sitting. No bottle necks. No feeling of people pushing to get to nowhere. A wet area and I even think I saw a St Andrews Cross but don't quote me on that. It also as the possibility to change and it shows that some thought has gone into rather than just hang camouflage netting there, put bench here. It does flow.
So quickly I find myself having to leave. Again quick cloakroom. Fast staff. It has been a delight.
So everybody seems to have enjoyed it. Thanks goes to Suzie and her hard working team. If you have not been for a while or found Factory off putting, I know a few did, then come back and give it another go. It really is the best Hard On has been for a while. See you at the bar.
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SceneB.itch
Registered User
Registered: January 2010
Posts: 44
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Review Date: 24 October 11
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Would you recommend this club? Yes |
Price you paid?: £15.00
| Rating: 8
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Pros:
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admin, security, music, dancefloor, lasers, condoms, crowd
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Cons:
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bit dark in places for our taste
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Hard On @ Factory, 22 Oct 2010 (London)
It seems these B.itches are game for anything, and with an acquaintance of the deviant type inviting us to try HardOn – we thought long and hard on it ... and since we had previously attended “F*st ReUnion” – mistakenly thinking it was HardOn – then this was the time to redeem our-fetish-selves.
Latino-B.itch needed a last minute shopping trip to purchase a pair of boots – as HardOn is remarkably strict compared to the parties we have been to at Recon and The Boots in Antwerp. We are a shy pair so we travelled incognito on the tube arriving around midnight.
Coming from the non-RVT end, Goding Street feels a little deserted but thankfully there was the door and with a minimal security check, the main concern was whether we had boots – yes and they were still in their box – all gift wrapped ;-) A gentle patting down and through into the entrance hall. Here a very organised and friendly affair took place with membership cards being checked off against computers and the £15 entry fee paid to a very cute ‘cashier’ in a red harness.
The advertising had said ‘Two changing Areas’ – well if you count two rows of chairs – one in the b.itch dark and the other a bit better lit – then I suppose there were. It’s only I imagine the delights of a Virgin Active club changing room – fussy? not us. Stripping off and into our harness, jeans (sexy chaps for the perfectly ripe Latino bum!) and of course shiny boots – we immediately caused the testosterone levels to rise and we hadn’t even entered the club proper. The cloakroom was efficiently operated and nice little ‘zippable laundry/shopping bags’ were provided to stash our civilian clothes – although the cloakroom staff looked a little bemused by the people they were serving (in various states of undress) but kept smiling nevertheless.
Our two friends came to meet us looking particularly fetching, one shiny in rubber while the other all macho in this harness – so we grabbed a drink from the bar before proceeding off to find the dance floor at the end of a dark passage way – we are really scared about hitting out heads in these places – maybe we should come as miners with head torches! It was a night sponsored by invinciblerubber.com but we could see a lot of leather harness guys hanging about too so we had no worries there – plus a few “slave pigs” – really on all floors with a piggy mask on, Latino-B.itch had to be told not to stare!
The dance floor was a nice space, with a bar at the back – already full of guys – and many much hotter and younger than we had imagined – so this was a helpful sign for a good evening to come. We of course drew even more admiring stares and Latino-B.itch’s ass seemed to be the focus of attention when they weren’t fixed on our abs. Well they can all look for free, but touching by Royal appointment only. The music was being DJ’d by Brent Nicholls, Sharon O Love and Halo-Is. We could just see the Australian Brent masterminding his selection of pumped up beats although, the DJ booth was at the back of the stage - for him a bit like being in the outback! Although on the stage there was a rubber kinky sex show taking place so I guess people wanna see the action not the DJ!
But we had to move on and explore up the stairs from here was a mezzanine cruising balcony overlooking the dance floor with bench seating – quite a nice area and remind us very much of Rapido Amsterdam – although not quite a bright – just a personal preference of wanting a little more light to see who u cruising – we are VERY choosey! But there was a blonde whose eyes kept meeting mine but was already rather engaged by the status of his manhood and the guy on his knees.
Along then through a set of doors and into the main play room which was even darker! Plenty of buckets of condoms, lube and gloves as you entered – which was encouraging to see. Bench seating to the right – slings to the left – the sling area was sleazily dark – no idea who u might stumble across in there and then we did see our rubber clad friend pumping wildly away – but he had time to turn and grin. At times this was a real traffic jam having to literally slide your way through, falling over legs and feet from kneeling cock suckers up to mischief on the floor, luckily all that lube eases the way through.
Down the steps then and into the ‘back bar’ (the coat check area) and through again into the main dance floor where we engaged ourselves in one of the Fuck n suck nooks. One part of the extra fun of doing your own boyfriend in public – well those chaps just entice you to use them – especially when he bent down to tie his lace. Then a quick freshen up involved checking out the toilets, which were being well maintained by a guy whose ass also looked pretty good in chaps! But standing for a pee at the urinals was at times off putting if u not into watersports with a guy kneeling by your side but it did give me the chance for a little anglo-dutch relations and the three of us nipped into an empty cubicle to try it out for size. And as we came out who should be waiting for us but the blonde guy again – oh go on then, he asked if we had been avoiding him – with that protrusion how could we not notice him!
We did briefly join our leather friend on the smoking terrace – mainly to ogle some fresh meat in the light and were well rewarded for our smoke inhaled pain. By 4am the crowd had started to thin, have these sleazy bunch no stamina? But the dance floor was still pulling them in with excessive amounts of CO2 and laser and minimal lighting effects, as well as some progressive pumped up tracks. In fact trying to find the exit was surreal as the fog was so thick it was scary, had to hold on to those Brazilian buttocks for safety.
So declobbering we felt like continuing but in a less sexually charged intense atmosphere so a short walk around the block and we were safely installed in Charriots to continue the beats and spent the evening with a Persian and American couple’s very affectionate company at this delightful spa.
So a pleasantly fetished first appearance for SceneB.itch at HardOn, impressed by the quality of hot guys, the efficient organisation, the safe sex tools, the dance floor, lasers and quality music. We admit not to be hardcore sleaze freaks but a little dabble from time to time suits our fancy – looking hot in our gear and saying ‘no’ gives us just as much pleasure than giving it to a minger. But there was enough fun to be had – yup thumbs up and we’ll be doing it sleazy again some day soon.
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nm67uk
scene-OUT.org Team
Registered: August 2006
Location: London, UK
Posts: 464
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Review Date: 8 May 11
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Would you recommend this club? Yes |
Price you paid?: None indicated
| Rating: 8
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Pros:
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Great for people into dance and play
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Cons:
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Teething troubles to be sorted
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As a regular attendee of Hard On at Hidden, I must admit the venue didn’t work for me as much over the last year. A drop in numbers has been a factor - no doubt led by the bloody recession and massive choice people have in London of where to spend their pink pound. Hidden is a big venue to fill, and very spread out so when you factor all the people in the dark room (obviously a popular area) other parts of the club sometimes would look empty. I thought the final Hard On party at Hidden – F*** Renion was great – a perfect swan song to somewhere that has enjoyed a good run.
One of the challenges faced by any promoter of a monthly Saturday night event who wants to change venue is choice – let’s face it there are not many venues that are available, willing to cater for the Hard On crowd and located at a major transport hub (Vauxhall). When the new venue Factory 65 was announced I was very excited – although I had never been there I had some idea of what it would be like and the smaller venue would certainly make it more intimate.
So onto the opening night in question…
Factory 65’s layout is as follows - main dance area/bar, smaller bar/chillout area and mezzanine section. With all the elements that Hard On encompasses there is not much scope on what goes where. So the main area was dedicated to dance (a significant number of people attend for the music as well as the play element), but there are a lot of seating areas at the edge of the dance floor. The smaller bar/chillout area was dedicated to being the changing and cloakroom area, shop and a reasonable sized social area for people not wanting the full volume of the main room. This all seemed logical - Hard On customers do not travel light – most club cloakrooms are built for coats, not bags! Stairs in both rooms led up to the play area. So all in all, I think a good job was done in including all things people need for the Hard On experience into a much smaller venue.
The night got off to a really good start – although I’d never experienced issues with the bar staff at Hidden, it was nice to see some smiling men serving.
I really enjoyed the first DJ (Saki I think) – a hottie who played a great warm up set, less hard than what people usually experience but had people dancing and smiling early on. A perfect start before Brent took over. The one DJ at a time policy really worked for me - you know where the night is music wise and don’t spend time flitting between dance floors. The new venue makes it much easier to get from A to B with very quick access to the play area.
The play area itself was definitely too dark, and at times was very crowded. However, there were other areas people could have played in – I thought the areas to the side of the dance floor would have seen some action. When it got too busy for comfort I decided to stay clear of the area – quite simple really.
What turned (what I thought) was a great launch night at a new venue into a major frustration for most was every promoter’s nightmare – a major cloakroom fuck up. This is an almost obligatory event for some clubbing brands, but imagine the chaos when it goes wrong and people have to get changed and most the bags look the same. Why not bring your own bag that you can identify, invest in a name tag as well, then if cloakroom tickets fall off bags you can describe your bag and give them your name. Simples as they say. Unfortunately the queues for the cloakroom grew very quickly; I imagine people saw what was happening, decided to cut their losses and start queuing sooner rather than later, making an already difficult problem worse. I hate queues and made a simple decision to stay as late as I could and enjoy the night. When I eventually left around 4:15 I didn’t have to queue for more than a few minutes. The staff did what they could to make things better – at one point 8 staff were working in the cloakroom and bottled water was offered to people in the queue.
Another interesting event was the shower in one of the toilet cubicles. No blame or promoter or venue management for this – someone had forced their way into the small bar area in the mezzanine area above and managed to set water running. Why is it people are such pigs in places they shouldn’t be?
For me it worked and I made a point of saying so to Suzie and some of her staff. I’m sure that if she threw in the towel and stopped running Hard On then everyone would be bitching about not having a great monthly dance fetish party. Suzie has also announced that to make up for the coat check issues next month’s party will offer a free coat check service and free shots for everyone.
I’m looking forward to my next visit where I’m sure some of the teething troubles will be sorted.
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pyroboi
Registered User
Registered: October 2010
Posts: 3
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Review Date: 17 April 11
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Would you recommend this club? No |
Price you paid?: None indicated
| Rating: 2
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Pros:
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They sell mars bars, the people are nice
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Cons:
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Too small, overcrowded, too hot, only 1 cloakroom.
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scene-OUT has thought long and hard about posting the following review. One of our contributors was present at the event and yes there were problems which the staff and promoter did their best to deal with. Some of the comments below are borderline libellous, but in the end we pride ourselves on letting people have their say. Our own review will follow which we hope readers will find contrasting.
Well, since my last review in October last year - my sleazy flatmate and I have travelled the 62 miles to hard-on almost every month. And every month we've had a relatively fun and chilled night out. For the most part, pretty trouble free.
So we went last night to their new location just up the road from Hidden in 'The Factory'.
The usual crowd, some friendly faces and a lot of nice things to look at and perv over 
The cloakroom seemed a little overcrowded, and the bags they provided were a lot smaller (I had to use my flatmates rucksack as my jacket alone took up an entire 'hard-on' bag). The music was very loud, and in contrast to previous experiences at Hidden, you have no choice of getting away from the music churned out by just the one DJ (there were seperate dancefloors in Hidden, 2 DJ's, 2 very different styles of music, and enough space to escape to somewhere quiet if was getting a bit loud...and yes, I know that makes me sound and feel old).
The night got progressively worse. You could see the staff members and suzie running around doing their hardest to keep the night running smoothly and provide a safe environment and good night out for people.
Sadly, for us, that failed. It was just too hot, too small and the 'playroom' areas were just far too overcrowded. Had there been a fire, there would of been some serious problems getting people out. When we found each other to meet up to go for a smoke and a drink, we both had stories about how we'd spent 20-30 minutes or so STUCK in these areas. Unable to move in ANY direction. There was no way to push through the crowd, it was too dark and the floor was too slippery. We spent almost 2 hours just trying to get from point A to point B over the course of the entire night. There was no room to find any fun in the playrooms, because you were pretty much stuck having to watch or put up with whoever you happened to be stood next to.
Now, as I said, you could clearly see the staff working VERY hard, and I doubt that anything could of been done to improve or prevent our experience. It was just too hot, too crowded and altogether too small a venue for the hugely popular night that it is.
We decided to get dressed and leave. The queue for the cloakroom, at 2.30am, was leading out into the smoking area and doubling back on itself. It didn't seem to be moving. We were in that queue for almost 35 minutes, and we were dead on our feet when we joined it. The queue blocked the club's 'shop' area, so if anyone wanted to have a look around, they had to wait until they were in the queue for the cloakroom. Altho the cloakroom was 50p cheaper than Hidden, it was a ridiculous situation. When we finally got there, we were informed that the cloakroom tags had 'fallen off' a lot of the bags. They apologised, and started to hand out free bottled water. It took about 10-15 minutes to find our bags. (we were amongst the lucky ones whose tags remained sellotaped to the bag handles)
It didn't seem there was any organisation or order to the cloakroom, the bags were just strewn all over the floor. The cloakroom staff were desperately throwing them about looking for the right tags for people, and there were 4 staff in there foraging. We couldn't wait to get out.
We could clearly see the effort that was made. We can't fault the promoters or the staff. We just felt like it wasn't the right venue. And we heard dozens of comments much the same from others in the queue for the cloakroom. Eventually everyone just wanted to leave. Too small, too crowded, too hot, too loud.
If it isn't broken, don't fix it. As long as Hard-on is held at 'The Factory', we won't be returning. We'll wait until Sunday afternoons and go to The Hoist instead. 
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SceneB.itch
Registered User
Registered: January 2010
Posts: 44
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Review Date: 1 April 11
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Would you recommend this club? Yes |
Price you paid?: £15.00
| Rating: 4
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Pros:
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condoms, lube, Blue room music, some staff
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Cons:
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mens toilet, venue, lack aircon
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B.itchin @ HardOn (F... Reunion), 26 March 2011 @ Hidden (London)
You know you want to try it but will you dare. Or will people see you as a perv? or indeed get photographed and appear on the scene round ups in Boyz or QX, argh!? Well, Latin.B.itch has always worried about being seen on the fetish scene in London – we have our reputations to uphold – um, yeh! Hence we’ve done our Recon stuff in places like Antwerp. But finally we succumbed to the hype that surrounds HardOn and made a visit on actually last night at present venue Hidden.
After avoiding going into central London due to anarchists smashing the place up, we choose a sedate tube journey in our civvies to arrive just before midnight with about 10 people in the queue. The first security dude checking what we would be wearing so we had to unpack on a trestle table. The second set were more like an SAS interrogation squad, “Got any chewing gum?”, as I swallowed mine, forgetting similar scenarios at the Coronet. “Um No”, I sheepishly lied. “Got any poppers?” he barked, “Um no”, I more confidently replied. And with that and no patting down or further searches we were free to proceed with our three packs of chewing gum! Oh come on clubs 99% of us discard it respectfully in other people’s drinks!
So we joined the queue once again, just outside the entrance, witnessing stalk bullock naked man come out wearing just a venetian mask into the chilly night air – although he was still relatively proud, then a guy being pulled on a lead, a woman with her bits out and finally someone in leather gear which included a full rubber hood – we nervously glanced at each other but held our nerve as we watched them disappear towards the food van in the smoking area. Then a cute guy in green vest and leather shorts came out to apologise for the delay “we’re waiting for the cloakroom to clear”. Well maybe a 15 minute wait and as we edge forward the same young man kept bending down to get stuff in the reception desk giving everyone an eyeful, mmm. And a skin head security guy came charging round the corner from the cloaks complaining of the delay, gosh.
Anyhow finally, our turn to pay, having sign up as members we were able to quote our number for discounted entry and our card will be in the post, along with the cute guys phone number no doubt.
So we stripped and got into our leathers, harness and boots and bunged everything else into our bags and then handed the bags and coats to the cloakroom girls who definitely looked like they didn’t want to be there, cheer up it may never happen. She then mumbled I needed a bin bag, gosh my clothes aren’t that bad! But into the bin bag went my rucksack and jacket. Wow progress.
We were ready and upon opening the doors bumped into our acquaintance who was going to show us the ropes with a grand tour. Having stopped to get a drink in the red room upstairs bar – gosh so hot, and then down to watch a stage show in full production. It was described as a “Pervy performace by sex0r (don't stand close to the stage....)!” But one of those fringe arty theatre type acts that you might see in Berlin – totally unstimulating – a man pretending to be a cow and the milk-maid for us anyway humourless – what was that? I’m sure we’d heard before that the shows tend to be like porno shows hmm,
So we escaped into the play room - dark, rather! We stumbled past camouflage netting to the far end where there was a porn film on a large screen which provide some light, so standing against a wall to compose ourselves our eyes adjusted to the light and a tall rubber clad guy immediate started to show interest in me. This place was full, and it soon became apparent that this was going to be the most popular space. Everything you could imagine was happening around us (well within reason). But guys on their knees, guys in slings, you get the picture – no wonder you need to be a ‘member’. Rubber, leather, skin and military – mm that tall guy in desert cammies but did he look or not? we are shy at making the first move!
We then went to view the upstairs part of this playroom, only to immediately turn back as it was stiflingly hot up there, and with a roof that meant anyone over 6ft was struggling for sure and also too dark – we like it more duskish – the Recon Antwerp or Boots or even Rapido dark room is more our style.
So off for a drink in the Blueroom where DJ Brent Nichols was mixing up some more tasteful uplifting “progressive electro” tunes – but the bar had a low ceiling and gave this area a funny feeling – you know us and heights but it gave us a better chance to survey the mix of attendees. Which was pretty mixed but not as mixed as the promotional material was suggesting. There was every age group but as with most fetish places more 30 plus guys as you would expect. And, surprising for us a number of women. There seemed to be very few more extreme fetish types - only a couple of hoods and slave boys that we witnessed – plus a couple of nutters one of which was in the corridor just head butting the wall – jeez.
The gents toilets were unstaffed and hence had no paper while the womens seemed to be adequately looked after my a red leather clad skin guy – who always had a smiling face and kept the place spotless. But seeing women with their things out is a funny site for us poofs, and it’s hard not to stare, sorry ladies. Coming back into the Blueroom I lost my balance – now the floors all over did seem extremely slippy – could this be one of the hazards of having so much lube all over ones hands and feet!
Back out and a trip into the red room for a drink, where two very unenthusiastic bar staff didn’t seem to know what Cranberry juice was, oh back upstairs and the bubbly blonde girl served us nicely. But we couldn’t stay long as they were playing some weird hard hitting punky house (I have no idea) but a smallish crowd were jerking around to it, so we left them to it and crusied the cuter guys in the blueroom. As the evening went on people seemed to appear from no were – I guess they had been up to no good in the dark area before hand – so keeps you guessing who to cruise constantly.
The good thing was that there were buckets of condoms and lube and gloves (for some reason??) all over the place but our friend warned of barebackers, so we were on the look out for that seedy number. He also tried to get us Beyond tickets as it had been advertised for free but not this week as Black-Beyond was on but there were discount vouchers available.
Generally the venue didn’t inspire us, the space was not very alluring, the chill out bars far too hot – no aircon at all, some moody staff but maybe that is the good news that HardOn is moving to Factory on the gay vauxhall strip so perhaps that will be different kind of space that we’ll pop our head into for a peek. Fetish for us doesn’t have to be too sleazy and we’ve seen it with the hottest guys - so we are still probably on the sidelines of this scene encounters. But we are prepared to try again in a new venue and see how that fares before we totally make up our mind on HardOn – as it had a mixed set of music for a very accepting crowd, we just wish fetish could be a little more upmarket.
B.itch right back at you soon!
*UPDATE*
scene-OUT.org has received a note from the promoter confirming free Beyond entry is only available when advertised rather than every month.
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pyroboi
Registered User
Registered: October 2010
Posts: 3
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Review Date: 31 October 10
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Would you recommend this club? Yes |
Price you paid?: None indicated
| Rating: 8
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Pros:
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Relaxed atmosphere, decent musak
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Cons:
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Possible overcrowding, bottleneck in the playroom causes congestion, changing areas slightly disorganised.
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Having been to the likes of The Hoist in London and The Cellar bar in Gran Canaria and most saunas in london, brighton, manchester and the midlands, I thought I'd give this place a try and see what all the fuss was about.
I decided to invite my flatmate along for the experience, so signed up for membership, paid £10 for my years membership so I got in for £15 and my guest for £20.
Upon arrival around 11.15, we joined the short queue to be greeted by two bouncers who were firstly asking what you intended to wear (eventually asking actually, at first the one I got just stood there and pointed at my jeans and tugged on my t-shirt without saying a word and then raised his eyebrows at me, so much for the friendly staff...)
Then when I showed them my bag full of fetish gear, they searched it, did a body search and asked if we had any poppers. There were about 7 or 8 bottles on a table outside the entrance which they had clearly consficated from people going in.
*Comments regarding poppers sold at event removed by scene-OUT.org editorial team – please see promoter comments at the bottom
Once inside, I showed my membership email sent earlier in the week but noticed that someone next to us got in as a guest without being there with a member. Their own site insinuated that it's a members only club and that once you buy membership you can bring along upto 2 guests, leaving people to believe that only members and there guests can go. Not so. Anyone can walk in and claim to be a 'guest', just pay the extra £5.
Anyway, we're inside. Music thumping. Fully dressed and starting to feel the heat from inside the club. The first changing area is right next to the entrance. However, we're ushered out and told it's not open, go to the other one upstairs.
We weren't given directions and had to walk through the scantilly-clad crowd with our bags and coats on etc, feeling totally out of place and obviously looking completely lost.
We went upstairs and found a bar. No changing room. We asked the barmaid, who said it's on the other side of the club. No specific directions. So we walked around for a bit, still looking entirely lost, and eventually someone grabbed us and asked if we were looking for the cloakroom and offered to walk us there. (Thanks again guys, you're stars)
We were handed zip-up shopping bags and tried to find a space to change in. A little bit uncomfortable at first as there are a lot of female staff around, but that soon dissipates when you see you're also surrounded by dozens of guys with their bits out and in all sorts of wonderful fetish gear.
It was a bit disorganized and there wasn't anywhere to sit and change, you had to stand. There are seats, but these were all either taken or covered in empty bags. The cloakroom is £1.50 each and you get a little paper raffle ticket as your cloakroom ticket. Now the cloakroom - good idea. Paper ticket in a humid and sweaty environment? not so much. Mine got damp and as it was folded in half and stuffed in my leather wrist pouch, stuck to itself, unable to reveal the magic number that held the key to my clothes!
The club itself was nice. Very clean, good music, not too heavy but still loud enough that you have to shout a little to have a conversation, some REALLY nice guys, a very good mix of types, so something for everyone...
We'd heard drinks were expensive, but not so...there's a happy hour from 10-12, and something like a red-bull is like £3 a can. Usual club prices. Nothing out of the ordinary.
The layout is kinda disorientating at first until you get used to which end holds the entrance/way out/smoking area, and which end has the toilets. Coming down either staircase from upstairs, both look the same. (after 4 attempts we figured out the full length mirror signifies the entrance)
The playroom was awe-inspiring. I've actually not encountered much like it before. Very well equipped, heaving with guys, and very welcoming. Enormous projection screen showing some very tasty dvd's, dimly lit on one side, with a partition right down the centre, and pitch black on the other. So walking around you get a taste of both.
My pet peeve was the sheer heat in the playroom. Towards 1.30-2am, it became unbearable for some. Sweating buckets and slipping all over the tiled floors. (the stairs leading to a tiny extended playroom being particularly treacherous)
The smoking area outside has heating lamps, but is very refreshing after spending a good 30 minutes in the heat of the playroom (and not publicised anywhere that this feature exists at the club, so I wasn't sure if I was able to smoke)
We both thoroughly enjoyed our night out, and we're going back for more. Only next time, we might go without the poppers or try to sneak our own in, take something to carry our cigarettes and stuff, and will probably end up getting changed into just boots and nothing else. The fetish gear is nice, but it just gets too hot
8/10. But that's just our one-off experience so far, if we catch the bouncers in a good mood and if the first cloakroom you come to is the first to open and they get some air conditioning in the playroom (NOT just fans to move the hot air around) then it'll get a much deserved 10/10.
Will let you know if it improves over the coming months...
*UPDATE*
I just receive an email from the club owners who have explained that the thing with the poppers being consficated is due to people having smuggled in GHB etc via bottles of poppers. I completely understand why the club has to do this and any comments on my review with regards to this should be discounted. It's 4 days later and I'm still in recovery from having such a wicked night out there My thanks to the owners for getting in touch personally and for holding such a visionary club.
* Comments from promoter regarding poppers sold at event and door search policy:
Our room odorisers are totally safe and meet ALL legal requirements as laid out by EC trading standards. On another note we have a policy of not allowing ANY open or unsealed bottles of liquid into the club.
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Scooby0306
Registered User
Registered: September 2010
Posts: 1
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Review Date: 27 September 10
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Would you recommend this club? Yes |
Price you paid?: None indicated
| Rating: 10
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Pros:
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Good friendly service with a smile. Fantastic atmostphere,and pumping dance music in both the red and the blue rooms. Oh, and of course, the dark room, AWESOME!
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Cons:
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I have always thought that it's a bit cheeky of Hidden to recharge customers for the cloakroom simply because they have forgotten to take an item out of their bag! It can happen! Im not aware of any other club which follows this procedure!
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My night started off unusually early. I arrived at Hidden at Bang on Ten. On arrival i recieved my free gift to commenorate HardOn's 7th Birthday. There was a selection of different items to choose from and they were of very good quality! Needless to say i chose something that can give huge amounts of pleasure and can be used again and again and yet again!!! 
Security and staff were friendly as is always the case at HardOn and although there was a queue,everyone was dealt with quickly and efficiently.
The only complaint i had during the night was with the cloakroom,and ultimately, i wouldnt imagine HardOn has any power over this as this is probably down to the club. It's something i have been aware of for sometime,but i feel that i should mention it! I think it's very unfair to recharge clubbers to retrieve an item out of thier bag! I am not aware of any other club in Vauxhall which enforces this policy! GRRRRRRR!
Now onto the really, really good stuff! When i first arrived the club did look naturally empty as it had just opened,however,within 30-45 minutes it became packed to the rafters. HardOn is always usually busy,but tonight was something else entirely. The Music was pumping in the Red room thanks to the likes of Brent Nicholls and co and in the the Blue room Hugo Sland and co were responsible for some extremly banging sounds!!!
And finally, last but not least, there was the dark room.
Where do i start!,Hardon has probably as far as i am aware, the best playroom in London! I have never come across a playroom which has, for a start, massive amounts of space,plenty of slings, and bucketloads of lube n rubbers. The room was absolutely heaving almost non-stop throughout the night. At some points it was hard to actually move anywhere!
Towards the end of the night people did start to leave,which is quite normal for any club,however there was still a more than decent amount of guys in the club towards closing time!
I had an awesome night and intend to repeat it on a monthly basis which i have been doing for for quite some time now!
If you have never been to HardOn before, you really should check it out! You do not know what you are missing! It will warp your fragile little minds in a way you will not be able to comprehend!
In many clubbers opinions and mine too, it's safe to say that HardOn is without doubt the best fetish club in London. It leaves all the others trailing in the distance! Seriously,do yourself a favour and log on to www.hardonclub.co.uk, im certain you wont regret it!
A brilliant night, i can't wait for the next one!
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nm67uk
scene-OUT.org Team
Registered: August 2006
Location: London, UK
Posts: 464
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Review Date: 23 November 09
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Would you recommend this club? Yes |
Price you paid?: None indicated
| Rating: 9
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Having missed what was reported to be an amazing 6th Birthday party at the end of September, I couldn’t wait for October’s party which spookily took place over the Halloween weekend.
I wondered how busy it would be – it seemed every promoter had some kind of Halloween special planned. I needn’t have worried – even at 11pm the venue was filling up nicely. There seemed quite a long queue at the cloakroom so we checked our bags into the second cloakroom which is located upstairs behind the Red Room.
The atmosphere on the dance floors was amazing and Brent Nichols played a set which kept us glued to the Red Room dance floor for much of the evening. The few odd trips taken to the toilets/to look for lost souls showed the Blue Room was also rocking and recent changes to the playroom layout were providing more space and less congestion.
I’d brought a guest who hadn’t visited Hard On for a couple of years. He’s the kind of guy who’s keen on both music and cruise elements but tends to stick to a handful of events and venues. I’m certain that after a night at Hard On that he’s keen to add Hard On to his hallowed list.
Everyone appeared to be having a perfect evening until a promoter’s worst nightmare occurred – cloakroom gridlock. In hindsight, the queue on the way in indicated the venue staff were struggling with something, but by 4am they had totally screwed things up to the point the queue for people wanting to leave stretched all the way from the downstairs coat check into the play room and worse still didn’t appear to be moving. Our crowd decided to carry on dancing and wait it out rather than stand in a queue for ages and get angry.
Full credit goes to promoter Suzie Krueger who issued the following statement to all members very quickly after the event – I think some other events could learn from how seriously she treats customer service.
Hi
We would like to apologise unreservedly for the huge cock up on Saturday with the coat check. What happened was that the venue Hidden was short staffed and had hired in some very incompetent temps. What ensued was an absolute nightmare.
What Hidden has offered to make up for this fiasco is a free coat check for all at the next Hard On event Sat Nov 28th. Plus a free drink for the first 100 through the door.
Hard On is offering £5 off the entry fee to the first 200 through the door at the next Hard On event to compensate your inconvenience this past Saturday.
It is important to us to bring you the best fetish event in London.
Suzie Krueger
This is the first serious queuing problem I’ve experienced at a Hard On party, whereas other events seem to suffer this issue every month. I’m optimistic things will be back to normal for November’s party – I don’t think Hidden dare upset Suzie again
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Gingerman
Registered User
Registered: October 2009
Posts: 1
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Review Date: 24 October 09
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Would you recommend this club? Yes |
Price you paid?: None indicated
| Rating: 9
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When my friend asked me to review Hard On I jumped at the chance. This is one of my favourite nights out, but it was good to look at it in a different light. Saturday 26th September was Hard On’s 6th birthday and no expense was spared. When I got there just after 11 there was already a queue but this seemed to go down very quickly. At the door we were greeted by men bearing gifts. There were free DVDs, free items from Crack Stuffers that would make your eyes water and little black flannel towels with Hard On neatly embroidered on. Some one had obviously gone to a lot of trouble. That someone is Suzy Krueger who knows how to run a great club.
It was only my 4th time out to this club and each time it gets better for me. The music was particularly good with a set from HaLo-iS in the first bar, this was so good, that at times people were cheering and applauding. I had a nice little chat with her after her set, as I was interested in what was the type of music, she said that there were so many genres and sub sections of music these days it was hard to pinpoint and finally decided that Techno was a good name for what she played.
In the Red room HiFi Sean kept everyone dancing with some hot and heavy tracks, I was really pleased that he continued to play while the entertainment was on, as a change of pace would have defiantly not gone down too well. My only comment on the evening was the entertainment. Everyone makes such an effort with the leather, rubber and fetish dress code that the whole club is an entertainment in its self and having heard stories of pig’s heads and amputees I felt that this evening’s show was almost mundane by comparison, considering the nature of the club.
I am particularly impressed by the way everything runs so smoothly. The staff all seemed really friendly and don’t bat an eye at what people are wearing. I saw toilets being topped up with loo role and cleaners making sure that the place wasn’t getting too messy.
I know that Hard On is the envy of some of my American friends who say that for a city the size of New York it has nothing like the club scene we have here in London. As I was leaving I overheard someone asking a friend did they have a good evening, the reply was yes it’s the best club in the world, and if this is the sort of club you like then you will have a great time.
Happy Birthday Hard On - Many Happy Returns.
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Waggers
One of Ruby's Munchkins
Registered: May 2007
Location: London, UK
Posts: 59
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Review Date: 2 October 09
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Would you recommend this club? Yes |
Price you paid?: £15.00
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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The atmosphere
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Cons:
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It ends too soon
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September again, and it was Hard On's birthday. Hard to believe that it has been running for 6 years as it never seems stale.
In my view it was a really sucessful night, yes it was busy but with extra cloak rooms to hand and great efforts made to get people in through the doors the entry process didn't seem as long as it sometimes does. Very few people seemed to queue for a long.
Once inside everywhere seemed full, maybe not as packed as some other years but every room or space seem to have a lot of guys present. I have never seen the outdoor terrace as busy as it was, with people taking a break from inside to chat with each other
The music was spot on for most of the night with a succession of DJs playing very danceable tracks . The Red Room remained full until almost the very end as people were determined to stay until the last minute. The music policy may have varied in recent months but I thought last weekend really was the works.
The club did empty a little about 3.30 - I suppose there might be a limit as to how many times you can go to the Dark Room ? but one thing about Hard on is that its atmosphere remains until you are kicked out the door . I left about 4.50 when the lights came on and like the others who were left I really didn't want to go.
Crowd seemed to consist of familiar faces and lot of new guys enjoying the club for new, most of them really enjoyed it and vowed to come again. If you haven't tried it its worth a visit , for me it remains one of the friendliest, most sociable clubs in London with a plus of great music and crowd of guys in fetish gear.
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nm67uk
scene-OUT.org Team
Registered: August 2006
Location: London, UK
Posts: 464
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Review Date: 11 August 09
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Would you recommend this club? Yes |
Price you paid?: None indicated
| Rating: 9
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I’ve started to wait a week or two before writing up my thoughts on my last visit to Hard On. As a regular attendee it’s sometimes difficult to find something new or interesting to say about a well established event.
Interestingly a review from dbiker has already appeared which gave last month’s party thumbs up for the cruising/play side of things but a thumbs down for the music and live performance.
For this visit I spent 95% of the evening in the dance areas having one of my best music nights at Hard On! I had a big crowd of friends both local and from far away in tow and we all spent much of the evening socializing and dancing rather than wandering off to play. We did feel early on there wasn’t a huge difference in the sound between the 2 rooms, but by 1am things were distinctly different. Thinking back to all my visits to Hard On, for me the music definitely works better when I’m with a crowd rather than on my own.
In terms of the show, this was met with mixed reception by all accounts. With a pig’s head (real?) suspended from the ceiling above the stage we were intrigued. As the show began some pigs trotters appeared on stage, but alas they were not put to use as some of my mates had thought they would be. Definitely one of the more avant-garde performances we’ve seen for a while!
Suzie recently asked all members for feedback so I expect we’ll see some further experimentation with the Hard On format. What I do think is of fundamental importance is that Hard On provides a consistently fun and well run event - many of its guests are occasional ones travelling from afar rather than London based ones who have the option of attending every month.
A great night for me – I even lasted until closing time!
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dbiker
Registered User
Registered: April 2009
Posts: 2
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Review Date: 3 August 09
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Would you recommend this club? Yes |
Price you paid?: £25.00
| Rating: 4
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Pros:
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Really helpful & friendly staff
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Cons:
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Music
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I tried Hard On a long time ago when it had first opened and didnt like it then for lots of reasons but wanted to try it again so popped along to the end of July party.
The venue seemed smaller than I had remembered which was nice as I had thought for a long time that it was huge. It soon filled up with what can only be described as very horny guys.
Something to bear in mind if you are nervous about going to this venue - dont be. All the staff are extremely friendly and we even got escorted to the a coat check in the club as the one near the door wasnt open when we arrived.
On the whole great venue, sexy guys, little or no attitude unless you wanted it. For me the music was the thing that let it down and too much of the same thing. There are two rooms where DJ's play and there isnt much difference in either style. It gave me a real headache and certainly didnt take me on any "journey" to dance too.
The smaller dance floor / bar area emptied out when the "show" was put on next door in the larger dance floor area which to be honest was really dull like watching paint dry - very "staged" and not horny at all. This said however the crowd were certainly lapping up the action.
I give this night and club a 4 out of 10 on this occassion - yes horny venue and guys and plenty of room to play with them, but for me really crap music which doesnt lend itself well to a more social venue of trying to chat to guys before you go and have some fun with them. The only place to do this was the smoking area outside the club.
The £25 was to renew my membership and pay for entry so dont let this price put you off going if you are a member and havent been for a while. I would try this venue again but not for at least 6 months or so!
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Waggers
One of Ruby's Munchkins
Registered: May 2007
Location: London, UK
Posts: 59
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Review Date: 29 June 09
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Would you recommend this club? Yes |
Price you paid?: £15.00
| Rating: 8
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Pros:
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Efficient , friendly door and entry staff, the crowd
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Cons:
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With summer having arrived this year for a change and it being a hot night, I wasn't expecting Hard On to be as busy as normal and I was right, it wasn't heaving like it can be. This meant the queue was quite small which was good. The door and security staff were as quick, friendly and efficient as ever, despite more rigorous than ever searches being undertaken. Drinks promotions were running as they often are here and the toilets are cleaned regularly. Every month the 'Admin' of Hard On runs like clockwork.
The crowd inside was a little thinner than usual but contained lots of new faces, many of whom were enjoying their discovery of the club when I spoke to them.
Music wise the night seemed to get off to a bit of a slow start with people wandering from room to room, a lot of people did seem to be leaving early which is a shame as had they stayed a bit longer they would have heard an amazingly energetic set from Halo, in a few minutes the room was packed and the pace was frantic. Just what I want from HardOn - a crowd of guys in fetish gear enjoying themselves dancing to great sounds with a real buzz in the air. For me Halo's set saved the night, I had been thinking of leaving.
Hard On is one of the clubs I consistently go to and enjoy, even if I think its going to be 'one of the quiet nights' then I am often surprised by some aspect of it. If you haven't caught a set from Halo before its well worth going to catch one- and make sure you dress up ( or down if you do)
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