Welcome to the new club

I seldom travel into Soho on a Friday night because it increasingly looks and feels like one of the dystopian urban scenes from Blade Runner, a neon city packed with people in search of god knows what. But I made an exception recently to attend a party at the Groucho Club held by an American publication that seeks to realign traditional political allegiances of left and right.

- Andrew Anthony

The Groucho, a private members' club, used to be the place to hang out in the 1990s. I spent many memorable nights there, about which I can actually recall very little, as various celebrated figures - actors, rock stars, well-known media types - misbehaved.

One night, I'd be drinking with Will Self (back when he was the bad boy of London letters), the next week with the notorious former armed robber, John McVicar, and another with the singer Lloyd Cole.

It was that sort of environment: fun and full of energy, where it was very easy to believe that London was the centre of the world. But it's a rule of fashion that very few clubs manage to stay hot or, to put it another way, cool. And the Groucho is no exception. Last year, it was closed down for a period after allegations of an alleged rape on the premises.