Press

At 11:30 p.m. last night, Proud Galleries in Camden, London, was packed with nearly 1,000 primped and glittered Courtney Love fans. The venue's club night Smash and Grab was set to host a last-minute appearance by the recently resurrected Hole, and at 12:40 a.m. Mairead Nash, one of the promoters (and Love's longtime friend) announced that the singer would arrive shortly and was "stuck" on Park Lane due to a "squat riot" near where Love and her companions were staying.

We continued to nurture our French-Anglo relations with our latest escapade on Friday, this time at the Tales of the Unexpected Night at Proud.

Just because we could, we scooted a couple of Parisians straight from the Eurostar and into the increasingly popular venue in the heart of Camden's stables market.

For days before our meeting, the negotiations were dogged by the tedious rock'n'roll foreplay that often happens on such occasions. Boy George, said his representatives, did not want to talk if the whole thing was going to be about "my prison hell" (their phrase). He served four months of a 15-month sentence, until May this year, in HMP Edmunds Hill, a category C prison in Suffolk, and then wore an electronic tag for a further three. He is, in a word, out, and back in the public eye, if he was ever truly away. He has product to shift, namely himself and his new moves in the entertainment business - the imminent opening of a no-booze, no-drugs club called Godspeed, the return of his West End show in December and a live performance at the fashionable Proud Camden in London.

Members of the Clash, the Foo Fighters and the MC5 have united on stage to support a campaign to teach prisoners to play guitar.

Mick Jones of the Clash, Chris Shiflett of the Foo Fighters and Wayne Kramer of the MC5 joined Billy Bragg at the gig.

There's so much to love about Proud. Such as the artistic integrity that comes from hanging early AC/DC B&W prints on the wall as the gaiety of a Saturday night trundles past in a blur of impressively straight blonde hair and entertainment variety (music, pool, theatre, comedy). Sooooo, the drinks can seem a bit pricey, but the selection is tidy and so is the entry price. Plus, ladies, the toilet queue is almost non-existent, which I'm guessing must be a good thing.

If you're wise - which, if you're planning to visit Proud, you clearly are - the time to arrive is around early o'clock. This is because it not only avoids the ignominy of queuing with the very late PM riff raff, but it also affords you the opportunity to catch one, two, maybe even three rather excellent live bands.

Overall, as iconic as the legends that adorn its walls. It should very proud of itself. A for effort and likewise for achievement.