ONYX first came to our attention when Steven Geller introduced it to AREA. It wasn't until late 2009 did we gAylist the club, it proving on more than one occassion that is had the stuff of what it takes to reccomened on our site. At the close of 2009 Onyx was voted in the Seen Queen Club Poll as the Best New Club/Bar/Event and proudly carried this into 2010.

At the height of it's success, former promoter Steven Geller was replaced by newcomer on the block...promoter, DJ and journalist Jonny M. We caught up with Jonny M to find out what he was going to bring to this award winning club.

1. Can you tell us what  happened to Steven Geller, your predecessor, at Onyx?

Unfortunately I can’t tell you anything too specific about what happened with Steven, but as I understand it, he had to leave due to some personal issues which conflicted with his work responsibilities.

2. How did you first get involved with Onyx?

It was Alex Erfan who put me forward for the job as promoter for Onyx. I had interviewed Alex a few weeks before, about his Pervert Gold and Lovechild nights at Fire, and I think he liked my writing and knowledge of the scene. He’d also been listening to a couple of my mixes online, and apparently thought the combination of musical knowledge, good contacts and experience of the gay scene would be good for the night!

3. What changes (if any) can we expect to see at Onyx under your direction?

Onyx already has a really successful formula, but there are several changes I’ll be implementing over the coming weeks and months. So far I’ve introduced free entry promotions for students, new early-bird drinks promos, extended the performances from our dancers and brought in Lee Harris as a resident DJ – who rocked the place! We also have a new door host, Phillipe, who’s continuing to enforce our majority gay door policy, and I’ve managed to secure free/discount stamps for the afterparty, A:M at Fire, on many weeks.

4. What else do you do apart from promoting Onyx?

I’ve promoted several nights in Brighton, running Nik Denton’s Organic afterhours and my own night at Digital which I ran with my boyfriend. I’m also a journalist, I was Nightlife Editor for a national gay magazine for 18 months, and I now write features on a freelance basis for GaydarNation.com and QX amongst others. On top of this, I also DJ, I play regularly in London, Brighton and Manchester with gigs in the last six months including Trade, Wild Fruit and Matinee London. Promoting Onyx is another element to what I do, which essentially all revolves around the gay scene in the UK.

5. What do you currently think of the London gay scene and how does Onyx fit into this?

I think it’s a really exciting time for the London gay scene. After a slow year in 2009 with the recession, things are really picking up now, and there are some pretty incredible plans afoot to really put London back on the international gay club circuit.
Onyx is great because it caters for a really diverse selection of people. We have young, cute boys dancing with their tops off alongside regular Vauxhallites in the main room, fashionistas from Soho in the pop room, plus, the tech house room caters for the really discerning clubbers. If you haven’t been, come down and check it out!

Onyx is every Friday night from 10pm – 5am at Area, Vauxhall.