Cruz 101
Encyclopedia
Nightclub
A nightclub is an entertainment venue which usually operates late into the night...
and music venue
Music venue
A music venue is any location used for a concert or musical performance. Music venues range in size and location, from an outdoor bandshell or bandstand or a concert hall to an indoor sports stadium. Typically, different types of venues host different genres of music...
situated in Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
's Gay Village
Gay village
A gay village is an urban geographic location with generally recognized boundaries where a large number of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people live or frequent...
which is centred around Canal Street
Canal Street (Manchester)
Canal Street, the centre of the Manchester Gay Village, is a street in Manchester city centre in North West England. The pedestrianised street, which runs along the west side of the Rochdale Canal, is lined with gay bars and restaurants...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It is one of the most popular and longest-running gay clubs in Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county in North West England, with a population of 2.6 million. It encompasses one of the largest metropolitan areas in the United Kingdom and comprises ten metropolitan boroughs: Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford, Wigan, and the...
, often boasting itself as Manchester's Favourite Gay Venue.
Creation
Before it was turned into a night club, Cruz 101 was a shipping warehouse of which contributed to Manchester's huge textiles industry and making the area the worlds largest marketplace for cotton goods. After some time derelict, a renovationRenovation
Renovation is the process of improving a structure. Two prominent types of renovations are commercial and residential.-Process:The process of a renovation, however complex, can usually be broken down into several processes...
process began lasting up to a year after which point the club was ready to open its doors for the first time on 22 May 1992. Cruz shares the building with offices which occupy the floors above and a smaller club to the rear called Satans Hollow.
History
When Cruz first opened, the licensing laws at the time insisted that membership was compulsory and punters had to wait up to 48 hours for membership to be cleared. The club owners followed up a lengthy legal battle at the high court encouraged by increased pressure from customers meant that the club was allowed to offer membership on the door, therefore eliminating the need to have a pending period before membership can be authorised. Whilst initially this legality only entitled Cruz 101 to allow membership on the door, it ultimately set a precedentPrecedent
In common law legal systems, a precedent or authority is a principle or rule established in a legal case that a court or other judicial body may apply when deciding subsequent cases with similar issues or facts...
in allowing other night clubs in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
to have this right. The new flexible membership options available at Cruz proved to be both a benefit and somewhat of a hindrance to the club owners and its regular clientele. Before the court battle the club found itself restricted by license conditions that other clubs need not meet, however, it was the strict membership policy which made customers feel the club was one of the few true safe gay venues in the area.
In 1999 the exterior lighting and signage of the club was changed from "Cruz 101" to Babylon as a backdrop for scenes of the UK series of Queer As Folk
Queer as Folk (UK TV series)
Queer as Folk is a 1999 British television series that chronicles the lives of three gay men living in Manchester's gay village around Canal Street. Both Queer as Folk and Queer as Folk 2 were written by Russell T Davies...
. Following the completion of filming, the original name and signage was returned.
In 2002, Cruz won the right to admit non-members, giving it the opportunity to raise revenue
Revenue
In business, revenue is income that a company receives from its normal business activities, usually from the sale of goods and services to customers. In many countries, such as the United Kingdom, revenue is referred to as turnover....
by admitting almost anyone. The club, however, has a door policy which remains predominantly gay. Cruz still operates a membership scheme which allows for a slightly reduced entrance fee for membership card holders.
Present
Today the club remains extremely popular among older and younger party-goers alike. It has evolved from opening just two nights a week to the present 6 nights a week, Cruz opened its doors on a Sunday on a permanent basis for the first time in 2006.Cruz often works in partnership
Partnership
A partnership is an arrangement where parties agree to cooperate to advance their mutual interests.Since humans are social beings, partnerships between individuals, businesses, interest-based organizations, schools, governments, and varied combinations thereof, have always been and remain commonplace...
with other bars, events and clubs in and around Manchester's Gay Village
Canal Street (Manchester)
Canal Street, the centre of the Manchester Gay Village, is a street in Manchester city centre in North West England. The pedestrianised street, which runs along the west side of the Rochdale Canal, is lined with gay bars and restaurants...
creating events and raising funds for lesbian and gay charities - one of the most popular being Back2Back. Cruz used to compete with Essential, a nightclub also located in the gay village owned by former Take That
Take That
Take That are a British five-piece vocal pop group comprising Gary Barlow, Howard Donald, Jason Orange, Mark Owen and Robbie Williams. Barlow acts as the lead singer and primary songwriter...
manager Nigel Martin-Smith
Nigel Martin-Smith
Nigel Martin-Smith is a Manchester-based musical band manager who formed 1990s British boy band Take That.-Biography:Martin-Smith entered the entertainment industry in the early 1980s working as a casting agent from offices in Manchester's Royal Exchange...
which has now shut down. On 28 May 2011 Cruz celebrated it's 19th Birthday with a capacity crowd and a PA by Kerry Ellis, star of West End & Brodaway shows including Wicked, We Will Rock You and Les Misérables.
Cruz 101 has had many famous singers, performers and PA's over the years including Sonia, The Weather Girls, Phil Oakey, Heaven 17
Heaven 17
Heaven 17 are an English synthpop band originating from Sheffield in the early 1980s. The trio comprises Martyn Ware , Ian Craig Marsh and Glenn Gregory...
, Hazel Dean, Margarita Pracatan, Take That
Take That
Take That are a British five-piece vocal pop group comprising Gary Barlow, Howard Donald, Jason Orange, Mark Owen and Robbie Williams. Barlow acts as the lead singer and primary songwriter...
and 70's act The Nolans
The Nolans
The Nolans are an Anglo-Irish all-female band consisting of a group of sisters. The group, best known for their song "I'm In the Mood for Dancing", gained prominence as guest performers on numerous television shows in the United Kingdom...
, among others. More recently the club has opened its doors to Kelly Llorenna
Kelly Llorenna
Kelly Llorenna is an English female dance music and Euro-trance singer, who was raised in Oldham, Greater Manchester.-1992: Debut with N-Trance:...
, Angie Brown
Angie Brown
Angie Brown born is a female singer/songwriter from Brixton, in South London.Brown, whose vocals have been featured on tracks of diverse acts ranging from Fatboy Slim to Lisa Stansfield & The Wah Brothers, is more famous as the featured vocalist on Bizarre Inc's two #1 Hot Dance Music/Club Play...
, Scooch
Scooch
Scooch are a British bubblegum dance group, comprising performers Natalie Powers, Caroline Barnes, David Ducasse and Russ Spencer.Scooch represented the United Kingdom in the Eurovision Song Contest 2007 in Helsinki with their song "Flying the Flag ", finishing 23rd out of 24 entries after...
, Steps, Graham Norton
Graham Norton
Graham William Walker, known by his stage name Graham Norton , is an Irish actor, comedian, television presenter and columnist...
and Lily Savage. On 24 May 2008 Booty Luv
Booty Luv
Booty Luv also known as Cherise & Nadia are an English dance group formed in June 2006 via the Hed Kandi label. It is fronted by two R&B vocalists Cherise Roberts and Nadia Shepherd, both of whom were in the original line-up of the successful hip hop band Big Brovaz...
performed live on stage at the 16th birthday of Cruz 101, singing 4 of their songs.
Cruz has two floors with the 'main floor' (on which the entrance to the club is located) being the busiest. This is where Cruz concentrates its efforts, with PA's taking place on this floor as well as themed events, for example, at Christmas, New Year, Holloween etc. The main floor also features more disco lights and bars. Alternatively, Cruz features a slightly smaller downstairs known as 'Sub 101', which is accessible from the main club, however on some occasions Cruz charges an entrance fee from alternative outside entrance on special promoted nights. Sub is not open as often as the main club and opening seems to be a decision made 'on the night' based on the number of punters in the club. Sub is predominantly reserved for Trance
Trance music
Trance is a genre of electronic dance music that developed in the 1990s.:251 It is generally characterized by a tempo of between 125 and 150 bpm,:252 repeating melodic synthesizer phrases, and a musical form that builds up and breaks down throughout a track...
and Bouncy House music, traditionally being open on a Saturday and Monday night, now Sub is open on Thursday,Friday and Saturdays . Sub has just one alcohol serving bar as opposed to the main floor which has three.
The longest-running weekly event at Cruz is Disco Inferno on a Monday night which started in 1993. Originally featuring disco from the 70s and 80s, the music policy has been expanded to include the 90s and now, and each week has a 'featured artist' from pop history.
A resident DJ at Cruz, Almighty Donald takes his name from the namesake Almighty Records
Almighty Records
Almighty Records is a British recording label and remix production team founded in 1989, releasing their first single in the same year. Producing mainly Dance-Pop and Hi-NRG music, the label is best known for releasing remakes and remixes of mainstream pop songs...
as he often plays and mixes music produced by the company.
Cruz is owned by three people equally, one of which also owns Napoleons, a bar club also located in the gay village. The General Manager of Cruz is currently Gerrard Woods and the Assistant Manager is Paul Tuck. John Cooper is the entertainment and bar manager, who also plays the resident drag queen known as 'Miss Cara' where at weekends, announces the DJ and welcomes any special guest PA's that may be taking place.
Incidents
During Gay PrideGay pride
LGBT pride or gay pride is the concept that lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people should be proud of their sexual orientation and gender identity...
2008 one phase of the power failed in the club leaving limited disco lighting in operation and no music playing for about 20 minutes. Staff at the club managed to bring most of the power back on-line, however several sets of disco lights and bar lights were non-functional on one of the clubs busiest nights of the year. The power failure was caused by a failure of the main supply to the building.
During New Year's Eve 2008 a small fire broke out on stage shortly after midnight which was caused by a mis-firing show pyrotechnic. Staff evacuated the club and police attended. No injuries were reported and around 20 minutes later the large group of party-goers which waited outside the main entrance were allowed back in. The club remained open well into the early hours with the capacity crowd partying until well after 7am.
DJ's
Cruz has many resident DJ's on rotation, all playing varying types of dance music, with only two of them playing regularly in Sub. Cruz rarely invites non-resident DJ's to play at the club.- Almighty Donald - Hi-NRGHi-NRGHi-NRG describes a form of high-tempo disco music as well as a genre of electronic dance music originating in the United States during the late 1970s...
, Commercial Dance. - Rob James - TranceTrance musicTrance is a genre of electronic dance music that developed in the 1990s.:251 It is generally characterized by a tempo of between 125 and 150 bpm,:252 repeating melodic synthesizer phrases, and a musical form that builds up and breaks down throughout a track...
in 'Sub' and Commercial Dance on the main floor. - DJ Spook - Hi-NRG, Commercial Dance.
- Flash Tony - Commercial Dance and Bouncy house.
- Darren Leasley - Commercial Dance.
- Little Miss Natalie - Trance and Bouncy house in 'Sub'.
- Dino - Hi-NRG, Inferno (70's, 80's, 90's and Now).
See also
- Manchester's Gay VillageCanal Street (Manchester)Canal Street, the centre of the Manchester Gay Village, is a street in Manchester city centre in North West England. The pedestrianised street, which runs along the west side of the Rochdale Canal, is lined with gay bars and restaurants...
- Queer As FolkQueer as Folk (UK TV series)Queer as Folk is a 1999 British television series that chronicles the lives of three gay men living in Manchester's gay village around Canal Street. Both Queer as Folk and Queer as Folk 2 were written by Russell T Davies...
- Almighty RecordsAlmighty RecordsAlmighty Records is a British recording label and remix production team founded in 1989, releasing their first single in the same year. Producing mainly Dance-Pop and Hi-NRG music, the label is best known for releasing remakes and remixes of mainstream pop songs...
External links
- Cruz 101 - Official website
- Real Manchester - Photos from the club