Behind the scenes of Body Horror – creators of Manchester’s Meat Market and much more

In the words of the Beast himself: "Every man and woman is a star"...

Queer clubbing culture meets gothic-drenched gutsiness. That’s the vibe of one of Manchester’s rawest and most rebellious collectives, Body Horror  – determined to not just push boundaries, but pound them to death.

They put on events and nights like no other. It’s all about celebrating the body – in its most grotesque forms – daring to be creative, expressive and pushed to the extreme.

Their latest ‘Meat Market’ event was held at The White Hotel – a gritty, industrial space just into Salford. It was a specially curated immersive experience, with interactive audio visuals as well as DJ sets from guest DJ Hanno Hinkelbein and resident DJs Bleaching Agent and The Niallist.

The Niallist also recently DJed at the Gothika Ball on 3 August. This was an event of Gothic glory – part of The Gothic Manchester Festival 2018 - featuring performances by the House of Decay, Cheddar Gorgeous and Liquorice Black along with DJ sets.

Ultimately, whatever party BODY HORROR put on, they create clubbing which is determined to make a mark, not just through intense dancing and immense decoration, but through innovative music with real meatiness to it, so to speak.

Their upcoming September 8 event, BODY HORROR's Stanky Place ft CHRISTEENE Live, will be kicking up a stink of celebration at The White Hotel as ‘The most important queer artist of our generation returns to Salford to anoint her followers at the launch of her brand-new album Basura’ - in the words of The Niallist.

Body Horror also featured in a recent documentary - ‘Fleshback: Queer Raving in Manchester’s Twilight Zone’, a Boiler Room and British Council film – marking 30 years since Section 28 was brought into force.

During the film, a number of people involved in Body Horror discuss how it provides something different than the pop hits and the clichés of club culture places like The Gay Village may seem to fall into.

The film also looks at Manchester’s queer clubbing history – including ‘Flesh’ at The Hacienda and the Number 1 club. A number of collectives still smashing boundaries continue to exit today – including Homo Electric, Meat Free and High Hoops.

Body Horror in particular stands out in its embrace of the gruesome, Gothic, grisly and gritty, with slogans such as ‘rump roasts’ ‘quivering giblets’ and ‘legs cut off – right in front of your salad!’ used as part of previous events. Considering that Gothic Manchester Festival 2019 is set to be on the theme of ‘The Queer Gothic’, it seems more apt than ever.

We spoke to one of the people behind it, The Niallist - aka Niall Connolly - to find out more:

What was the inspiration behind Body Horror and when did it start?

“BODY HORROR has risen from the ashes of our previous queer performance clubbing collective TRANARCHY, which ended abruptly in 2014. As I mentioned in the ‘Fleshback’ documentary, TRANARCHY was like an open, no-judgement playground for humans (and non-humans alike) who wished to experiment with their gender and its presentation. BODY HORROR is similar in a way, only this time it's not gender we are experimenting with, it is the presentation of the body itself, and the relationships between the body's corporeality and its more transcendental facets like visual and musical stimulation and carnal pleasure.”

Would you say the events embrace elements of the Gothic?

“Without a doubt. We are all massive fans of Horror (as our name would suggest) and the Gothic mode is one of the cornerstones of all Horror, from the old to the new.  We are very influenced by the nightlife of Berlin, in particular many Berlin clubs' liberating "no photography" policy. And for my money, Berlin is perhaps the most Gothic of all cities (along with Edinburgh!).

"Personally though, I tend to love works that don't necessarily adhere to the classical tenets of ‘Goth’ per se but are definitely ‘Gothic’ in their own way. So in my DJ sets you are as likely to hear some Serge Gainsbourg as you are Sisters Of Mercy and some campy Italo disco as you are industrial techno. I guess one of the most direct influences we take from the Gothic is a celebration of the grotesque."

Are the grotesque elements intended to shock, surprise, celebrate or is it up to people to interpret the night how they want to?

“I would have to say both. We put a lot of work into finding humorous (and yes, shocking and surprising) ways to celebrate the grotesque and to make the ugly seem beautiful. And while people are free to interpret our themes in any way they see fit, there is a cultish aspect to BODY HORROR.

“One of our biggest influences is Thee Temple Ov Psychick Youth, as some of the members of our ‘cvlt’ have been directly involved with (or spawned from) Thee Temple itself. Some of our regular attendees have even had the BODY HORROR sigil-logo branded into their flesh! But I would have to stress that BODY HORROR is more like a kind of autonomous cult, where there is no one true Osho-like leader. We encourage the members to ‘Be Your Own God’.”

What do you want people to get from the night - why would you encourage people to come along?

“Well from the get go we have had an understanding that BODY HORROR is not for everyone. At BODY HORROR we encourage people to be their most freakish selves and while we are open to lots of different people coming to our parties, attendees have to be aware that any form of anti-freakish hostility will not be tolerated, particularly if it's directed at other party-goers physical or gender presentation.  We aim to create a sense of true liberation at BODY HORROR and while some people can't handle that, we encourage those who can to let go and join in.

"There is only one (as far as we know) picture of a BODY HORROR party from the inside. That is because we operate a ‘no photos’ policy at the club. We are very influenced by the nightlife of Berlin, and one of the factors that makes it so great is the banning of photography in venues like Berghain and Kit Kat Club. Not allowing photos to be taken cuts down on harassment/judgement and ensures that people feel liberated in the knowledge that what happens at BODY HORROR stays at BODY HORROR."

Why is Body Horror important?

“With BODY HORROR we have set out to take everything we had been doing with TRANARCHY and our own particular brand of queer performance clubbing and to make it even more extreme than before. This is to avoid any co-option by mainstream culture of our ethos, which has happened in the past, and which sadly worked to actually re-enforce some of the negative cultural ideals we had been battling to disrupt and change.

“BODY HORROR's celebration of the body, and in particular the grotesque body, is something that mainstream culture still has not accepted (and probably never will) and sadly many so-called ‘alternative’ cultures re-enforce the kind of alienating and negative body imagery that is found in the mainstream. We want to free people from these toxic ideals and negative self-imagery. Especially as we believe humanity is entering into a new aeon. So the time is now! In the words of the Beast himself: ‘Every man and woman is a star!’.”

With thanks to Jose Juan for photographs of The Niallist