If anyone knows how to put on a club night, it's this girl. Amy Redmond - alongside best friend Glyn Famous, started Sink The Pink, a camp n' riotous party hosted by fashion trannies, back in 2008. In the time since then, the night has gone from being a gathering of friends to becoming one of London's most infamous parties.
But how the devil are you meant to go about starting a night like this? According to Amy, STP came from nothing more than, 'An insane desire to show off. It started as a reaction to going to really awful clubs that were expensive, aggy and full of people with attitude.' For whatever reason it started, it was definitely a gamble that worked. Since then they've hosted parties at Bestival, Horse Meat Disco and they're just about to take over XOYO for the summer alongside friends The 2 Bears.
After nearly eight years of running a club night it's still not all smooth sailing, 'Our main battle is that Glyn thinks he is Cher in Vegas and I constantly have to be the bearer of the news that we are two kids in East London with three magic beans, a sticky carpeted venue, four loo rolls for props and a broken disco light to our name.' sighs Amy.
Thinking about putting on a night of your own? Here's some tips from Amy on how to avoid trouble with cash flow, how to get the word out and the tune that, if all else fails, will still make a night.
Know Your Audience
‘Ask yourself, “Is there a gap in the market for what I want to do? Is there an audience for it?” I think the best things are created between good friends who are just doing what they love, that energy is infectious.’
Try Out Loads Of Venues
‘It depends on the kind of thing you're trying to do, but just go check out loads! Check out new spaces, talk to people, when you find the venue you'll know its right. Then charm the owner, if they're on your side you will both have an easy life!'
Create A Community
'The biggest lesson I’ve learned from Sink The Pink is that community is everything. We started small, a VIP party for our close group of mates. They invited their friends, who invited their friends and six years later we're all friends. The sense of community within the STP crew gives me so much joy that i actually have to punch myself in the ovary to calm my maternal pride!'
Don’t Worry Too Much About A Website, Facebook Is Key
'We have a website, but I don't know if anyone actually looks at it. Its all about Facebook for us. We had a Facebook group way back when there were Facebook groups called things like 'I Hate People Who Are Shit At Grammar', so a colourful, fun group called 'Sink The Pink' was a welcome distraction and people got right behind it. Because each night is themed everyone always gets involved and posts costume ideas, pictures and videos on the invite and it becomes a big deal as tickets sell out and the night approaches. Facebook and word of mouth have been our biggest friends.'
The DJ Is Key
'Theres a thin line when you're playing pop, we always choose DJs that know how to werk that line. If it's someone on our level they just know whats right, we're all 90s kids with the same bad taste anyway.'
If In Doubt, Pull Out The Secret Weapon
'Madonna Vogue will always tear apart the catwalk.'
The Artwork Is Key
'The visuals of Sink The Pink online are as important as the decor in the club, or the lipstick on a tranny. People know it’s a STP flyer; it always has our neon logo on it and its always got some kind of ridiculous situation involving a few trannies fighting over a crown, being papped like Beiber or being caught being sucked off by Santa in the snow.'
Booze And Cash Don't Mix
'Get a Door Bitch that doesn't drink, and don't drink if you are the one sorting the cash.'
You Probably Need To Charge A Bit To Get In
'We were free for years, I still wish we could be. It’s only when you do the maths that you realise we only just break even each time, then I realise why we have to charge on the door. We're not a super club, we have so many people involved that we pay, that’s the only way iId have it, and this is why it works.'
Don't Do It For The Money
'We never started with even the hint of a dollar sign in our eyes. If someone’s putting on a night for money I can sniff it a mile off and I don't want to go. We all have such busy lives and time is so precious, the time I have with my friends I want to spend at events put on by real people doing interesting things and making a positive impact on their community. We were massively out of pocket from our Christmas show, but it was so much fun and we learnt so much from it that I didn't care!'
Accept The Rubbish Stuff Is Going To Happen
'Glyn smashed his face up at Bestival falling off the stage one year, my vag lips are always hanging out my leotard, I covered the venue carpet in talc once and the owner went at me with her stick. Bestival lost our whole set one year (that one actually hurt), we put on parties with our heart and soul and then I have to run to the cash point and pay people my rent money because we didn't make enough. It's times like that it can be pretty soul destroying. But i'm doing it with my best friend, and it hasn't stopped us yet. Sometimes I stand in the club and look around at the chaos and the joy and I have what i call a life orgasm, where everything couldn't be more perfect if it tried.'
Make Friends With Good People
Link up with nice people. We've always had support from the elders in our scene, we danced for Jonny Woo for years (and still do) and he's always supported Sink The Pink, likewise with
(http://www.the2bears.co.uk/), Bestival and other friends. When The 2 Bears asked if we wanted to curate Room 2 for their XOYO takeover it felt like a natural thing to do. We love everyone on their line up and they're super excited about everyone on ours.
Follow Jess on Twitter @jess_commons
This article originally appeared on The Debrief.