Things To Do In London This Weekend: June 15 - 17
Now THIS is how you do a weekend
EXHIBITION: Secret 7”
Now here’s an awesome idea: 700 top artists, designers and creatives each create special one-off 7” covers for one of seven iconic singles. They’re exhibited at a free exhibition at The Jetty at Greenwich Peninsula until 24 June, when they’ll be sold at a uniform price of £50 a pop in aid of mental health charity Mind. The catch? Who designed what is kept secret until after the sale… Of course, when the artists involved include Sir Anish Kapoor, Jake and Dinos Chapman, Sir Paul Smith, Jeremy Deller, Es Devlin and Polly Morgan, and the singles include classics by The Clash, Primal Scream, Jimi Hendrix and the Manics, they’re all bound to be brilliant. Sleeve-y wonders, if you will…
Until 24 June; free
Secret 7”,The Jetty, Greenwich Peninsula, SE10 0JF
FESTIVAL: Robert Smith’s Meltdown
If you like your arts diverse, your music marvellously morose and your rock stars wearing eyeliner (and who doesn’t?), get yourself along to the Southbank’s Meltdown festival. Now. Because this year’s 10-day music, performance, art and film fest is curated by none other than the 'gothfather' himself, Robert Smith. Big-name shows may have sold out (in mere seconds in the case of Nine Inch Nails and Placebo), but you can still get along to post-punkers 65DaysofStatic this Friday, experimental indie rockers The Notwist on Saturday and a host of emerging bands at Sunday Surprises on, well, Sunday. Not to mention a whole host parties, DJ sets, screenings and other Robert Smith-approved hijinks. Ace.
Until 24 June; prices vary
Southbank Centre, Belvedere Road, SE1 8XX
ART: Frida Kahlo: Making Herself Up
Artist, feminist, subversive and pioneer of the statement eyebrow – Frida Kahlo was our kind of woman. And as queen of the self-portrait, she sure understood the power of creating A Look. Major new V&A exhibition Making Herself Up brings together her clothes, cosmetics and personal belongings (even including her prosthetic leg, complete with painted red leather platform boot, oh yeah) to show how she fashioned her own legend. #Lifegoals.
16 June-4 November; £15
Victoria & Albert, Cromwell Road, SW7 2RL
FOOD: Taste of London
If you often find yourself torn between going to Barrafina, Smoke & Salt or The Modern Pantry for dinner, then a) we want to be you, because you know how to live; and b) your dilemma has just been solved. Because this week you can eat at them all – plus many more top London restaurants such as Roka, Bao, Yauatcha and Iyoki –plus women's collective Ladies Of Restaurants - in one place: Regent’s Park. Which can only mean that foodie fest TASTE of London is back for five days of dining (see above), demos (think Vivek Singh, Adam Gray, Neil Rankin) and drinking (Sipsmith, Pirate’s Grog, Smashing Wines). Two words of advice: elasticated. Waistband.
Pictured: Gordon's Gin, Baileys and Ketel One Vodka cocktails by Missy Flynn
13-17 June; from £17
Taste of London, Regent’s Park, NW1 4NR
NIGHTLIFE: The Karaoke Hole
It’s official: karaoke just got fierce. Because this is no ordinary screech-along-to-Gloria-Gaynor affair, oh no. This, friends, is London’s first drag queen karaoke dive bar. That’s right, the folks at Kingsland Road institution Dalston Superstore have opened a new venue where we can all tap into our inner RuPaul, in a neon-lit subterranean lounge complete with disco-ball-clad stage and wind machines. Pre 10pm we’re in for some of London’s leading drag performers, before singing gets real post-11pm with a chaotic, free-for-all karaoke session into the early hours. And should you manage to get on the mic? In the words of Queen Ru herself: DON’T F**K IT UP.
Now open
The Karaoke Hole, 95 Kingsland High Street, E8 2PB
MUSIC: Independent Label Market All-Female Vinyl Takeover
Downloads are all well and good, but can you collect rare downloads, frame beautiful downloads, or go to a market to chat with other download enthusiasts? That’d be a no, then. But happily you CAN do all these things with vinyl – and this weekend sees the return of the Independent Label Market, where the finest indies are selling their coolest 12”s at Berwick Street Market in Soho. What’s more, this edition has an all-female line-up for the first time – expect exclusive records and merch from the likes of Sarah Bolshi's Sunday Best, Cherish Kaya and Katy Partridge's Kaya Kaya Records, Hannah Holland's Batty Bass and Sarah Howells' Seahorse Music, plus DJs, drinks and general tuneful shenanigans. None too many downloads though.
16 June; free
Independent Label Market, Berwick St, Soho, W1F 8ST
AFTER-PARTY: Tonteria
Lurking in a basement under Sloane Square lies the afterparty of your dreams. Complete with dancers, a photo booth and a train that delivers you tequila, this West London haunt promises a good time.
And, if the fire dancers and the bottles of Dom aren't your style, then try the Mexican and South American-style tapas. You're in for a treat.
Tonteria, 7-12 Sloane Square, SW1W 8EG
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