Fun is not a dirty word," laughed club king Mark Fuller, as he sat in a bar at the newly opened second tower of the Grosvenor House Hotel in Dubai.
That's one of several edicts that were issued by the founder of numerous nightclubs, supper clubs, bars and restaurants as we chatted on a recent afternoon, but it's probably the line that gets to the bottom of what Fuller is really trying to do with his business, which now includes Embassy Club Dubai.
"It's about giving people value for money," he says, "and a great night out thanks to atmosphere, service and getting people talking again."
Fuller is a man of several intriguing faces. He's part rock-star party legend, as he excitedly shows pictures on his mobile phone of a recent jaunt with Iron Maiden on their own jet (in-flight service: mugs of tea and beans on toast) — his business partner is the rock band's manager. He's also the current manager of UK X Factor alumnus Katie Waissel.
The upside to downturn
He's part economist — he can sniff a recession on the wind, and will tell you there's a good side to the downturn: "I predict the value of money will come to pass. It's not desperately cool any more to blow money for the sake of it, in any part of the world. I think this is incredibly good for the world. It means hotels, restaurants, bars, clubs, Chinese takeaways, have got to go, ‘Come to me. Because I love you. I'm gonna show you how much I love you.'"
And he's a sociologist, which is not that surprising when you consider he's spent the best part of a couple of decades figuring out how to guarantee people have a great time, what makes them tick, what doesn't. For Fuller, yes, the food will be good, the music will be good. But there's something more, that's not so easy to quantify, but defines whether people stay in a club or turn and walk out the door.
"Atmosphere. Ambience. The social," he says. "Just because Twitter and Facebook [are] around, does not replace talking to each other. In the end, social human interaction is the most important thing in the world. It's what gets us along. It's what gives us children, it's what gives us a life. It's really sad otherwise."
Embassy Club, which opened on Wednesday night at Grosvenor House, is a top-of-the-tower, three-storey example of what Fuller calls "total entertainment".
"I always envisaged total entertainment and affordable glamour. That's what people want. But it's not your typical superclub. The dance floor is not the main focus," says Fuller.
There's food on two floors, from sit-down modern European upstairs to canapes and an Italian raw bar in the middle; the music is different and, most of all, he says, it's a place people can interact with each other.
"Go look up club in the dictionary. It says a place where like-minded people meet and talk. Which bit about the word ‘club' makes you go and stand on a guest list next to people that you won't talk to for the night for the pleasure of being pushed around? I just think the time has come for people to take stock and say, ‘I want to have some fun on my terms.'"
Embassy Club is, however, a members' club, with, says Fuller, four ways to get in. Be a member; book a table for dinner; call and ask to be put on the guest list. "We have a very basic standard thing about the criteria to get in: you've got to be nice. It's not you can't wear jeans. Be nice, people. It's not being exclusive and celebrity led. We are in the music business so that's how it goes, we know people. But we're all people and you are no better or worse than Elton John."
Big groups of guys, beware: you won't make it in without girls. And that's a fact the world over, says Fuller.
"It's simply not as enjoyable for everyone if there are large groups of guys," he says. "That's just how it is. If you really do want to get in with 10 guys, you've got to know somebody at Embassy. That's the fourth way of getting in. I think it's kind of cool. It's not what you know, it's not what you've got in your pocket, it's who you know."
