Inspired by his Auntie Kathleen's Dublin retirement home, the furniture fits
although Ms K's contemporaries, who could probably give the Underbelly crowd a run for their money in the mother's little helper stakes, may not take too kindly to what's described as the 'dirty seventies porn version of the Sistine Chapel' daubed across the ceiling.

Coerced by complainants bemoaning the drinks queues upstairs, Mr Daly, design guru extraordinaire and one of the Square's longest-standing residents, decided to roll out his electro-rock'n'roll-cabaret concept as an alternative to the one-born-every-day identikit bars drowning the locale.

Big promoters get shown the back door in favour of live performances and poetry readings. Longstanding buddies Pam Hogg and Princess Julia join forces for the first time for Flash; Cock Live and Mazzy Supa*, boyf of Drama's Terry, take up monthly Saturday residencies and Neon Springs has already become the definitive East London Sunday session (it seems everyone's in on the act; even my flatmate deejays here).

We're just dying to hear what Auntie Kath makes of it all.

Underbelly
11 Hoxton Square, N1 - 020 7613 3105