Playing with 7 inches

"I DJed at Divine for 13 years and then began Abnormals Anonymous in the CCA in 2001. I started Abnormals Anonymous because at the time nothing catered for the gay scene outside of the Polo lounge. The straight community doesn't have that issue, so Abnormals Anonymous was the antithesis of that. Once it made its point, I killed it off. There was a 'Death in Clubland' night where it ended. Abnormals Anonymous was overtly political, it was all about performance, live video, art installations, sloganeering and queer theory. It had a very specific agenda. Record Playerz was different, it began with me DJing under the name Hushpuppy along with Hi-Fi Sean. There was also the band Record Playerz which was the two of us and Rachel Graham. As a club night, Record Playerz was aimed at being a party without the strong statement of Abnormals Anonymous, instead it was just a bit quirky."

With the tongue-in-cheek flyers and ever changing playlist Record Playerz is one of the staples of Glasgow's club scene. Recently renamed to RPZ after Hi-Fi Sean moved to London, the name change was an attempt to highlight the different direction RPZ is now moving in.

"When Hi-Fi Sean left, the club night had become separated from the band. When Tom (fellow RPZ DJ Bonjour Boi) joined it changed the musical direction of the night. We had become a different thing so we abbreviated it."

"I think RPZ manages to expand the horizons of the gay scene outside of it. The Art School is this great, mixed environment. RPZ is not a gay night, but the Art School is very relaxed. People who aren't into it aren't going to stick around. Some people walk in, take one look at the projections of half naked men on the wall and you just know they're never going to come back. We used to have images of women on the walls, but there was this total feminist undercurrent in the Art School where some people would just object to any images of women being displayed. It was a very 1970s mindset. I tried explaining that a lot of the women in the club were wearing less clothing that those on the walls but people still complained. Eventually I replaced the images with ones of nearly naked men in order to play with the boundaries of what was allowed. There's never been any complaints since."

For those who do choose to stay and bask in the day-glo colours of the glowing unclothed torsos upon the walls, rewards are in store. Previous guests at RPZ have included Siriousmo, Vanshe Technologic, Bang Gang Deejays and the first ever Scottish appearance from the Scissor Sisters.

"It's always been cheap to get into RPZ, there's never been an extra charge to see bands play. There's also always been an attempt to book people from outside the UK who haven't been here before. We may begin booking DJs again in the future. We usually found that concept odd as they can be hit and miss, unlike band demos where you know what you're getting. One option is to book acts and have them play their own productions and mixes."

"As well as continuing RPZ there are plans for a new night that I'm calling Infinity. It'll mostly be italo, electric pop and foreign disco. Visuals will play a big part in it so I'm still looking for a new venue, but hopefully it'll launch around September or October."