Darrell Berry is a freelance photographer who lives in London. We stumbled across his work via his Flickr account, but he has had shots published in a wide range of publications, from L’Umo Vogue to Time Out. Basically, if you see a cool photo of some hedonistic metrosexuals, chances are he’s behind it.

As a photographer you are renowned for photographing London’s alternative club scene. What made you decide to focus on that subject matter?

I hadn’t taken photos for years, and hadn’t been out much in the 90s — commercial house music is NOT my thing, but then my partner foolishly bought me a little Leica digital camera for Christmas a few years back. Around the same time we started going out more in the East End — to cabaret and performance at Bistrotheque, to nights like Nuke Them All at Images strip club and illegal basement afterhours nights in Shacklewell… I started taking pictures, people liked the pictures, I bought a Nikon DSLR, it all just went from there! I’ve been lucky to be in the right place at the right time, and have had nothing but support from promoters and clubbers. They’re amazing people.

What London clubnights do you currently recommend?

Most everything at Dalston Superstore. Disco Bloodbath. One-offs that don’t even have names. Horse Meat Disco still rules!

What was/is your favourite ever club night?

Maniac Love, Tokyo 1993/4. Amazing after hours party in a tiny basement. Big name international DJs would drop by after their official gigs and play. Fantastic crowd, and energy unlike anything I’ve felt before or after. Maniac was home.

Do you think the London club scene has changed much, now we are in the throes of a recession?

I don’t know that it has made that much difference to the East End club nights themselves, but the collapse in retail has opened up new spaces — like Digiteria in the West End — for people to run one-off events in. If you keep your ear to the ground, there’s always something popping up for a few days, somewhere… still waiting for ‘the next punk’ music movement though!

What are your favourite London haunts?

Very East-End-centric…

Viet Grill on Kingsland Road for the £5 lunch special or a big dinner (try the grilled mackerel!). Rivington Grill to celebrate. Bocca di Lupo for the best food I’ve tasted in London for years. Moshi Moshi sushi at Liverpool Street station for sustainable kaiten sushi without rip-off prices. Nude Espresso on Hanbury Street for hangover brunch. A walk along the Union Canal for fish and chips at the Island Queen pub, or the other way out to Victoria Park on a summer day.

You also co-edit the website BigShinyThing...

We cover ‘edge culture’ — basically anything we’re interested in, from club culture, street art, digital… we’re non-commercial so we can say what we want. According to Google, we’re a top authority on New Rave fashion. Not true.

We’ve featured some of Darrell’s favourite shots – you can see more on his website darrell-berry.com.

The photograph at the top of the page is of Slumbarave at Metropolis 2009. A recession moment — the Metropolis lapdancing club opening its door to club promoters in the face of declining revenue. The venue is amazing. This shot is in the ‘wet room’.

The next photo is of Bistrotheque’s Drag Ball 2007 at Shoreditch Town Hall. One of my favourite shots. Says everything I’d want to say about the East End scene at its best: magic.

All photos by Darrell Berry used under a Creative Commons License