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GAYTIMES |
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| ACCORDING
TO THE WELL-WORN FORMULA, CLUBS ARE
MEANT TO BE SO DARK YOU
can't quite see who you're looking at and so loud that there's even less
chance you
can hear them. Reflex was always the exception to this rule - with it's
rather pristine
carpets, slightly overly indulgent décor and a rather amazing Saturday
Night Fever -
style dancefloor. For it's first seven years Reflex was over in Putney and thoroughly old-fashioned in style. Then, three years ago, it upped sticks and relocated to a rather awkward corner of Kingston. Those few miles changed everything. What had been my irregular regular was no longer even that. And although it's been successfully plodding along rather nicely in it's new home ever since, I've plodded along elsewhere. But Reflex has just been rejigged, and refitted and remodelled. The venue is now twice its original size and looking rather good on it. Reflex was never what you could call a huge venue, but that was always part of it's appeal. Rather uniquely, the staff have always been genuinely friendly and, even when the place is packed, they're not afraid to have a conversation that stretches beyond telling you the price of a packet of peanuts. But it's not all business-as-usual - the once rather overcrowded club has transformed itself with the help of a sledgehammer and some creative building work. Despite the major rebuild, it's still feels the same place that it was ten years ago - just cleaned up and dragged into the 21st century. The really big change is the addition of a new bar upstairs. The Forum Bar is every- thing you'd expect from a theme pub - but without the load and annoying souls who tend to frequent them. It has, as you've probably guessed, a Roman theme, but when its packed to the rafters, and it usually is, you're more likely to appreciate the new-found space than the slightly OTT decor. Reflex has always had a loyal crowd of regulars who are here every Friday and Saturday night. Despite being in a thoroughly suburban location, surprisingly, they're not all locals. The venue's less than half-an-hour from the West End - though many come from the opposite direction. "I started going to Reflex when it was in Putney", say Simon, one of the many people who regularly drive in from out of town. "It's changed a lot, but you always know what you're getting and you can guarantee you're out with mates". Make the trek out and you can't help but be surprised at just how pleasant and unpretentious the place is. Musically, Reflex is pretty much the same as it's always been; Disco, Trash and Hi NRG abound. But the teenybop and twenty-and- thirty-something crowd clearly love it : the dancefloor is rarely anything but jammed, and - thanks to the return of that legendary glass chessboard dancefloor - The Reflex is a place where Saturday Night Fever never ends. |
