61-65 Crowndale Road,
Camden,
London,
NW1 1TN

0872 148 1459 

If the relaunch party was anything to go by, the new, less-mauve-is-more look of the Purple Turtle will be a roaring success.

They have gone for an architectural interior which is somewhat urban gothic expensive scuzzy, and pleasingly so. It looks like the cool underground clubs where the underdog humans or goodies hang out in films like The Matrix and Demolition Man (you know they WILL win, even though they only have two matches and an empty baked bean tin to fight the forces of evil with.).

Metal walkways lead up to balconies which provide a perfect view of the stage and some hidden corners for private conversations. It feels like you could be in an apparently rustic space ship, but if you pressed an innocuous looking lever, you might accidentally trigger a cosmic battle by accident. This background of lazy menace is most enjoyable.

Against the solidity of aluminium and concrete, the colourful crowd stand out. I take pride in the fitting & joyous sense of the bizarre the British punter can display without any sense of self-consciousness at the drop of a feather boa. There was a medley of fluourescent 50’s looks, benevolently smiling punks and eastern promise on the dancefloor.

For some reason, there is little quite as endearing as people wearing borderline over the top slightly peculiar garb and looking good. It always enhances the atmosphere, and as my dear Mama would say, it’s nice when people make an effort. Good lighting, including a big screen projecting, on this occasion, luscious footages of buxom 1950’s wenches ‘getting changed’ also helps.

It’s a good music venue too, the stage is a nice size and the space feels quite cosy, even though the numerous nooks and crannies mean you can fit large numbers in.

So there you have it: a very cool venue with lots of atmosphere and a loyal following of people doing their thing, gambolling free, far away from style dictums of those less original than they.