Jonny Slut on the sounds of Nag Nag Nag, the London party that ignited the 2000s

Crack Magazine is marking Pride season with a series of specialist mixes and playlists dedicated to LGBTQ+ club nights and promoters. From the iconic parties of bygone eras through to the emerging events breaking through in 2022, we’ll be highlighting the sounds of these parties and the artists that shape them.

The year is 2002 and things are shifting within UK dance music. Wide-eyed clubbers are shying away from superclubs and pouring into intimate venues and more DIY spaces soundtracked by their favourite DJs – of course – but also rising artists with fresh takes on electronic music and its surrounding culture.

Nag Nag Nag is one such club night that sprung up in response to changing tides. Helmed by Jonny Slut (or Jonny Melton to his family), the weekly party – which took its name from the Cabaret Voltaire track – emerged from the burgeoning electroclash movement and swiftly evolved into one of London’s most revered hotspots for alternative dance music.

(Melton had previously played in the British goth band Specimen, who themselves had launched another influential weekly night two decades prior, in 1982. That night was called The Batcave.)

Nag Nag Nag was hosted at Ghetto, a cult basement venue situated on a seedy alley around the back of The Astoria, on Falconberg Court. This inauspicious but apt setting would become home to Soho’s alternative queer population until 2008, when it closed its doors to make way for the Elizabeth line’s eastern ticket hall. Throughout its lifespan, Nag Nag Nag enticed everyone from curious students through to celebrity punters and fashionable club kids. The likes of Björk, Alexander McQueen and Kate Moss – plus DJs such as Ellen Allien, Kittin, Fil OK – were regulars at the mid-week affair, which was hailed for bringing a sense of excitement and grit back to an overblown scene.

Here, 20 years on from the launch of Nag Nag Nag, we catch up with Melton and reflect on the party’s enduring legacy. We also present a special mix that digs deeper into the music that defined Nag Nag Nag. Tune in below and scroll down for the interview.

Let’s start by discussing the musical direction of Nag Nag Nag. Was there a specific focus or theme to what you were presenting sonically?

Much like what Richard X was doing with his mash-ups at the time, the ethos of Nag Nag Nag was to mix up some of my favourite electronic and post-punk music from the 70s and 80s – think Cabaret Voltaire, Bauhaus, Human League and so on – with the new, edgier electronic stuff around at the time. There was definitely something in the air where, for a brief period, dance music was getting interesting again. A lot of it was down to Larry Tee who had coined the term ‘electroclash’ for the genre of music he was championing in NYC in 2001. The whole thing was very queer and very punk.

In your opinion, is it this ethos that set Nag Nag Nag apart from other nights operating at this time?

Yeah, I think the unique music policy of Nag Nag Nag is what made it stand out and successful. At a Nag Nag Nag night everything was mixed up, so you really didn’t know what you [were going to] hear next. I never bothered trying to mix properly at the beginning, and never planned a set. I just used to turn up and play whatever felt right. I had DJed at indie clubs for years, so you do get an instinct of where to take the evening. There was always the excitement of playing something brand new that you knew the crowd hadn’t heard before.

What did you want party-goers to take away from the night?

I just wanted the evening to feel exciting – like a cross between a great punk gig and the early days of acid house. We always had a live act do a short set at midnight to mix things up even further.

What drew you to Ghetto?

Ghetto really was the perfect venue for Nag Nag Nag. It was run by Simon Hobart who I’d known from way back in the goth years of the 80s. He was happy to take a chance on the club, and even though the first few weeks only attracted 50 or so people, he knew that they were the right people. The bar staff were really lovely, young and enthusiastic, and the security were fabulous too. It did feel like one big family. 

How would you describe Nag Nag Nag in conversation with someone who didn’t get the chance to attend a party?

I think that the club is perfectly described by the musician and artist Cosey Fanni Tutti in her autobiography Art Sex Music:

“We had coordinated the book launch [for her limited edition title Confessions] with our DJ set at Nag Nag Nag. The club was run by Jonny Slut and had been described as the new Blitz, except it had a non-elitist door policy; those first in line got in. It didn’t matter if you were a frequent celebrity visitor like Boy George, Kate Moss or Björk or the guy at the supermarket checkout. There was a diverse crowd, some dressed in the style of Leigh Bowery, some in drag, some dressed down, but all hugging, dancing and laughing. A great atmosphere, the dancefloor was a riot.”

Tell me more about the tunes you’ve included in your mix?

I went through an old file of tracks labelled ‘Nag Nag Nag’ and these are the ones that jumped out at me. There’s music from Adam Sky, who was known as Adamski in the 90s. We’d actually been in a band together before that called Diskord Datkord, [and we would have] fitted in perfectly at Nag Nag Nag with our hip-hop punk rock version of X-Ray Spex’s Identity. Maybe time finally caught up with us!

Girls on Top – produced by Richard X – mash-ups were vital at the time. I think this Whitney and Kraftwerk one was his best. Elsewhere, Atomizer was my synth duo project with fellow NagNagNag DJ Fil OK. The Pet Shop Boys were always down at the club – usually with Sam Taylor-Johnson (formerly Taylor-Wood). They asked if they could remix our first single, and of course we said yes!

Then we have Vitalic – who I think was the overlord of the whole scene really; his work was and still is immense. Getting him to play Nag Nag Nag was a real highlight. Finally we have Adult’s Hand to Phone and Fischerspooner’s Emerge. Hearing these songs on Pete Tong’s BBC Radio 1 show one Friday evening was what really inspired me to start Nag Nag Nag. They just chimed with my own personal musical aesthetic.