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[title]It’s almost time to squeeze into your body stocking and slip on your sporty wraparound shades. This bank holiday weekend, Body Movements (BM), London’s massive queer dance music festival (AKA gay Christmas) is back, taking place at Southwark Park on Sunday August 25.
Hosting its first edition in Hackney Wick in 2021 just after the pandemic, BM has grown into one of London’s most respected and highly regarded queer electronic music events – not only for its top programming, but also for the fun-loving crowd it attracts. Now with three summer editions and two winter editions under its belt, Body Movements is about to throw its biggest party yet.
Time Out caught up with the festival’s co-founder Clayton Wright to chat about what makes a quintessential body mover and what we can expect from the 2024 edition, while looking back at some of our favourite BM photos through the years.
Dubbing itself a ‘playground’, exploration is at the centre of what BM stands for. And with stage names like ‘Glory Hole’, ‘Hot Mess’ and ‘Mother’, it’s easy to see how BM doesn’t take itself too seriously. But that’s not to say its musical offering is anything less than first-class. This edition, LSDXOXO, Confidence Man DJs, Shanti Celeste, Peach, Taaliah and many more legends will be behind the decks.
‘It’s always felt like a playground to Saoirse [DJ and BM’s co-founder] and I,’ says Clayton Wright. ‘It’s a place for joy and exploration. You can find all these incredible little subcultures within queer club culture that you might not be privy to or have experienced before. The park is open to the queer community and its allies to embrace our culture and enjoy it.’
From fishnet body stockings to PVC puppy masks, kink and fetishwear is commonplace in the Body Movements playground. They say that you’re always six feet away from a rat in London – at BM, the same rule can be applied to harnesses. ‘The BM crowd is really punk, creative, and embraces self-expression,’ Wright says. ‘Everyone shows their creativity in how they dress. And some are rejecting fashion archetypes.
‘It’s not really a rainbow gay crowd, it’s more body stockings and a “give a fuck” attitude. I love anyone that pushes the boat out and comes in an outfit that is fetish-leaning. Whether that is the boy in the puppy mask, or someone wearing nipple tassles, the further you go, the wilder the outfit, that [more] person tends to lean into it and become that character. You see them having the best time of their life.’
For Wright, it’s all about feeling comfortable and being yourself. ‘Everyone can bring a small bag (up to A4), so if you’re wearing fetish gear you can come and get changed at the park and change after so you feel safe on your walk home.’
This year, BM moves from its east London site to Southwark Park for the first time. With bespoke stages, art installations and plenty of green space, it’s graduating from a multi-venue party to a proper festival.
‘Southwark park allows us to take a step up and become the festival we’ve always dreamed of being,’ says Wright. ‘There will be a queer vendors market, art installations provided by the Queer Archive. But most impressive are the stages: we’ve got five bespoke stages and incredible sound systems.
‘It’s going to feel really industrial, so it has the essence of Hackney Wick but in a green space. I don’t think there is anything like this in the UK, the production of the stages is going to blow people’s minds.’
As for the future, Wright hopes for BM to become a ‘queer music summit’, with programmed talks and workshops alongside all the DJs, dancers and debauchery. ‘We want it to feel like a community hub for knowledge, music and fun,’ Wright says.
He adds: ‘BM remains independent, it is the baby and idea of two queer people and we are not here to pinkwash or commodify our scene, we’re here to celebrate it. Body Movements will be around as long as queer people want to dance and party with us.’