Sat Night Fish Fry

Cockabilly was cool. Actual ‘filth elder’ John Waters called it THE gay rockabilly party. As a resident DJ, I got to play my limited, but cherished vinyl collection of exotica, Elvis & Dolly Parton to a discerning crowd of dreamboats at the George & Dragon. Sadly, when the legendary gay boozer closed, Paul & Mal called time on their club night. 

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So, I started a rock & roll party, Saturday Night Fish Fry. This also served as the right project to work with the illustrator Louise Z Pomeroy. 

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The club night launched as the Gossip show afterparty & continued from there, attracting a loyal crowd of bears, bez lez & Beth Ditto. It was held mostly at Birthdays (now also closed), with fish fry specials serving up beer battered fish & chips in the passage between two Evangelical churches. 

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Playing a mix of punk, lo-fi, weird records & tittyshakers, the night became a cult classic. To retain its status, it had to end. SNFF burned fast but so very, very brightly.

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Design & illustration: Louise Z Pomeroy

Photography: Justinas Vilutis / Cody Critcheloe by Vic Lentaigne