I am fortunate to have a very close friend who has been prominent in the night club scene in London for many years now. Through him, as we grew up together, I got to discover a world that not many people get to see. I saw how the nightclubs ran, what it took to make them successful, I saw the glamour, and the grime behind them. I met some very odd, very scary, and very successful people. While we may all think we could run a successful night spot, there’s a reason why so few last, and even fewer are worth mentioning.

This past week, in conjunction with Mirrorball and Perrier, plans have been put into motion to create an online Nightlife Hall of Fame. The committee that has been assembled to choose the nominees for the first round of entrants is as impressive a repertoire of talents as any possible nominations. Sadly, there names will mean nothing to any but a select few people. Carmen d’Alessio, possibly the most successful party thrower and party goer of her generation is on the committee, along with Steve Lewis (manager of the Limelight in its hey-day and today's final world on all things nightlife), Nikki Camp, and a handful of other names that you won’t remember.

That’s not the point. The idea is to celebrate, or mourn (depending who you speak to) the great days-gone-by of the club world; how sex, drugs & rock & roll changed… but invariably stayed the same too, with different names.

The motivation for this hall of fame must undoubtedly be a self-congratulatory pat on the back for these people – most of whom are aging now beyond repair, but I personally feel they deserve it. I know I wish I was around during the glory days of 21, Tropicalia, Studio 54. Across the pond in my native hometown of London, fabled stories from the Rainbow Room in the 70’s and Café de Paris as far back as the 60’s have always enticed me.

The first entries into the NLHF will be people who had an impact pre 1980’s. I can’t wait to see it launch. Let’s not forget that these people were the gate-keepers of our happiness for decades, many of them have been to jail or have since passed on. It’s a cruel world, but I bet they lived it well.