The guide to London, due to be published in June 2010, will be distributed by leading airlines, hotels and businesses in Central London providing readers with the opportunity to discover new places to visit and things to do or see when in the capital.
The magazine is the inspiration of Forbidden London CEO James WJ Wilson who realised that London was missing a specialist free guide to help high net worth individuals enjoy the most from their time out in London.
“London is one of the top destinations in the world for visitors but there are currently no free printed guides that really highlight the high-end activities, products and services our clients seek.”
“By producing the Forbidden London Magazine we are looking at helping tourists and residents get the most out of the best London has to offer whether they have a passion for fashion, nightlife or more cultural pursuits.”
The magazine, to be published twice annually, will feature sections focused on Dining, Health & Beauty, Nightlife, Shopping, Sightseeing and Places to Stay.
Businesses in the Covent Garden, Mayfair, Soho and St James’s currently have the opportunity to apply for a listing in the forthcoming magazine by contacting Forbidden London.
New Year’s Eve in London is the biggest night of the year with millions of people flocking to the centre of the capital to enjoy the nightlife and the top night clubs hosting their most extravagant celebrity parties.
Although 2009 has been much publicised as a bad year for the economy the best London clubs are still pulling out all the stops with VIPs expected to be arriving in limousines and enjoying the events, popping Champagne bottles, as they normally would during the festive season.
These are clubs regularly frequented by A-list celebrity clubbers such as P.Diddy, JLS, Girls Aloud, Jay Z, Kate Moss and Beyonce where entry is controlled by strict guest lists and the crowd is mostly made up of elite clubbers more used to gracing the pages of Tattler than The Sun.
James WJ Wilson, Director of Forbidden London Clubs, one of the leading promotion companies in London’s club-land believes the top bars and clubs have everything to look forward to as he forecasts a great Christmas and New Year in the West End.
“London is the most fashionable city in the world and despite Gordon Brown’s best attempts to derail the economy, the nightlife – bars, night clubs and restaurants – particularly at the top end of the market, are still performing well.”
“People are perhaps not spending at the same level as they were two years ago, maybe we’ve seen the last of the bankers splurging £30,000 on bottles of Cristal Champagne for now, but overall most of our clients are wealthy and still want to enjoy themselves. In my opinion there is no better place to do that than at the best events in London which are hosted by the top clubs and promoters.”
Lord Dave West, owner of the HEYJOCLUB in St James’s is well known publicly thanks to his Cherie Blair assisted battle against the smoking ban and his penchant for bright pink suits; he echoed this view.
“I own one of the top clubs (HEYJOCLUB) and one of the best restaurants (Abracadabra Russian Restaurant) in Central London and we are finding that the high-end customers we entertain are still enjoying spending their money on fine food and fine wines”
“Many of our best clients are Russian and the government has not managed to ruin everyone’s fun yet, they’re still spending.”
With Christmas and New Year’s Eve just round the corner and most companies still planning on rewarding their staff for what could be considered a difficult year, things are looking bright for the glamorous London clubs the VIPs and celebrities love.
Leading makeup brand Rimmel London has taken on two fresh new faces, Georgia May Jagger and CoCo Rocha.
The models will appear along side Kate Moss, Lily Cole and Sophie Ellis Bextor in advertising campaigns early next year and no doubt will be partying with them at top London clubs, Boujis, Chinawhite and Maya, which celebs are often spotted at fueling gossip columns in the London papers!
Both girls are fast establishing themselves within the modeling world. Miss Rocha has previously worked with fashion brands Calvin Klein and Gap, and Miss Jagger has recently graced the cover of style magazine Vogue.
Stephen Mormoris, of Coty Beauty, said: “Georgia May Jagger & Coco Rocha were obvious choices to represent the Rimmel brand.”
“Their modern beauty & aspirational styles are complementary to the strong personalities of our existing ambassadors and will help Rimmel to continue to broaden its image and extraordinary growth worldwide.”
Miss Burke beat Robbie Williams to the top spot as the Official Charts Company confirmed her single to be the fastest-selling in the UK so far this year although it is expected to be beaten by X Factor Judge Cheryl Cole this week.
Keisha seems to have put her recent career disaster behind her as she posted herself birthday wishes on her Twitter account.
The pop-star was also modelling a new hairstyle and dressed to impress in hot fashion wearing a little black dress and killer high heels. The gossips claim Sugarbabe Amelle is still in hiding whilst Mutya Buena - from the original lineup, and the only band member to appear in Celebrity Big Brother - performed live at Vendome on Piccadilly in Mayfair.
London boy about town Calum Best was out in force last night partying at his favourite celebrity nightclub Boujis. Famous for his womanising ways it was a shock for all when he left the venue alone.
Maybe he would have had more luck if he had tagged along with Noel Fielding or fellow gossip machine Steve Jones who were both spotted out in Soho leaving nighspots with mysterious brunettes on their arms.
Is this a new, well behaved Mr Best we are seeing or has every respectable woman in London clocked his sleazy ways and moved on to the real VIPs?
London is famous for having had the world’s best club scene for more than 100 years. The wildest characters and celebrities such as Oscar Wilde, Jimi Hendrix, and the young Royals have all enjoyed participating in late-night revelry at the exciting parties and events they host. Even Jane Austen’s fiction focused around the courtship rituals her fictional debutantes played out in the club court life of the early 1800s.
James explains: “Forbidden London offers an amazing chance for new people and new faces to gain the opportunity to rub shoulders with some of the world’s most famous and glamorous people. And party with the elite. We are offering something no-one else has done before.”
“Everyone want a taste of the highlife? With much of the news at present being taken up with tales of economic woe and environmental chaos, the glamour and escapism of a night out at a VIP club or a trip to the theatre is extremely appealing to many. People are still willing to pay for a night out when a holiday is out of the question. The whole ritual of getting dressed up and arranging a night out with friends is something many can’t and won’t consider living without, even if they have to make other sacrifices.”
“This rings true particularly if there is a chance of meeting someone as special as a prince, for example.”
He elaborates: “Some of the clubs frequently have Prince Harry as a guest - anyone with their eyes on him or perhaps looking to date a young model will be delighted they can now rub shoulders with the people they dream of marrying or befriending.”
With time running out for London Fashion Week one of the top London night clubs, the award winning Boujis based in South Kensington, are poised to hold one of the parties of the season with ‘Fashion Rocks’ taking place this Wednesday.
The Champagne is sure to be flowing at the bar of this hip VIP Club which has been a long time favourite of a multitude of celebrities.
Top London clubs like Amika, Boujis, Cafe de Paris, Chinawhite, Embassy, Funky Buddha, Movida and Vendome have traditionally welcomed some of the World’s richest and most glamorous people through their doors. With sterling suffering, property prices falling and unemployment rising the economic downturn seems to be effecting the UK particularly harshly. Combined with the quieter summer months you would expect London night clubs to be suffering but with the help of a new service by entrepreneur James WJ Wilson business is booming and a whole host of new elite party-goers are being introduced to the scene.
The new website he launched in April this year with the help of his business partner Dave West - who has already achieved success and fame for making millions from cut-price booze and cigarettes in France and Belgium; employing Cherie Blair to fight the smoking ban; and of course his penchant for bright pink suits - allows non-members to register for access to the best clubs in London via the Forbidden London guest list.
James WJ Wilson expanded on the concept, “The London clubs have tended to keep a closed circle in order to maintain the quality of their crowd. The result of this is that is often difficult to find out information about events taking place in these amazing venues. These are events attracting some of the most famous names in celebrity circles such as Jay Z, Beyonce, Prince William and Prince Harry. The public can access these London parties if they know the correct people. We have made things easier for visitors to our website and subscribers to our newsletter by providing information about the top clubs online and most importantly giving them a channel for receiving invitations.”
A quick tour of the website, which is easy to navigate with a sophisticated black and gold look, shows the clubs open on a Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday may not be the same clubs open on a Thursday, Friday, Saturday or Sunday. The website clearly simplifies the process of finding out information.
James explained further, “Past experience has long shown that in times of recession and doom & gloom people love to enjoy themselves whilst the devaluation of the pound against the euro has made it a better time than in a long time for Europeans to visit London.
These new faces have fed the cosmopolitan West End nightlife scene as heightened awareness in the clubs - created by the mainstream newspapers following the movements of celebrities around Soho and Mayfair nightspots - has drawn a new pool of people keen to rub shoulders with the wealthy and celebrated.”
James has been working in the nightlife industry since 2006 when he was introduced to the high-end venues he is now a virtual resident at by his business partner Dave West.
“I am a club owner myself so that’s primarily where my interest in the business is, helping the club owners and keeping the London club scene that has existed for nearly 400 years burgeoning”, Dave, the owner of the HeyJo Members Club on Jermyn Street explained, “I think it’s a fantastic way of introducing new customers to our private clubs without compromising on the type of guests we hope to attract.”
Those interested in taking a trip to London and its exclusive clubs can do so by registering for guest list or by making club table reservations via the London based website guide to clubbing, http://www.forbiddenlondon.com
Boujis is definitely the best club that Nicklas Bendtner has been at this season following another barren year for Arsenal. The London Night Club was the scene of Premiership Footballer Bendtner’s disgrace on Tuesday following his bad behaviour widely reported in the London papers.
The player is now ‘deeply sorry’ over his youthful exuberance - nobody likes being caught with their trousers down. Saint Nic could have benefited from the following three football themed tips to better enjoy his visit to one of the top clubs in London.
1. Pass the Courvousier sure, but don’t over do the shots!
2. As Jose Mourinho learned at Chelsea offending the Club Management is liable to get you removed
3. It’s more about Gold Cards and Black Cards than Yellow Cards and Red Cards so deep pockets are a good thing providing you’re wearing the trousers!
