Rare & Vintage Fetish Club Fliers Pt2

Rare & Vintage Fetish Club Fliers Pt2

Continued from Pt1 here
Back in the day I was a huge fetish clubber. I went to clubs Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and weekdays! I’d go from one club to another on the same night, then to the after-party and then onto a private party afterwards. People would continually be coming up to me saying things like, “Hey, we met at a party last week, you fucked me with a strapon then pissed on me in the bath.”
I would have no recollection of any of it, too much had ensued since whenever that happened. I didn’t drink or use any drugs I just loved fetish play, the adventure of being out in the night, being outrageous and thoroughly enjoying myself. In the ’90s I was heavily involved in the running of Club Whiplash (infamously raided by the police alongside the wonderful Robin, who should be recognised as one of the godfathers of the modern Fetish scene). And I performed regularly at many fetish events. Finding the scene back then was like coming home.

Practical As Well As Beautiful
So in a world before the domination of the internet to find out about these underground fetish clubs and events you had to go into super sleazy soho sex shops to pick up a flier. Alternatively, there were a handful of fetish shops: SkinTwo in Ladbroke Grove, Little Shoebox & Zeitgeist near Highbury Corner were the London ones. Or you could get your name on their mailing list. Many of these events were technically ‘Members Clubs’ so you had to sign up and have a membership card to attend. You’d then receive a flyer with the details of the next event and usually a newsletter in the post via snail mail –  promoters had to lick a lot of envelopes!

Arresting, Incredible, Ephemeral Art
Many of the fliers are  beautiful, ephemeral pieces of art, capturing a moment in time. Torture Garden probably would win the prize for its later avant-garde fliers some of which are incredible but Wasteland also deserves a mention as does Club Rub. Kim from Club Rub designed her flyers to be used as actual, tangible postcards. They had perforations so you could tear off the bottom bit with the club details. The top parts could then be used in the post or you could collect them to pin up on your wall. She showcased the work of many alternative artists over the years who produced a multitude of wonderful & singular illustrations, photographs and artworks.

I’m featured a few times on flyers here in Pt2: Bound; ClubRub – Confessions In Uniform 2000; & Club Whiplash 1994. Plus there is also the flyer from The English Mansion’s Femdom Ball 2011 (featuring Miss Jessica Woods).

Read about Club Rub & see more Fetish Club Fliers here

Read Pt1 here

All the fetish flyers here, plus many others, & newletters, magazines etc. from the early fet scene have been passed onto @BishopsgateInst as part of their Special Collections & Archives.