Private suites, silver service and plenty of sake - has karaoke grown up?
There are some things that you literally cannot contemplate when sober. One of them is rifling through the stickies in the drinks cabinet. Another is ringing your ex to tell him exactly what you think of him. Cossack dancing is a third (the crouched-down, kicking-out variety). And then there's the big one - karaoke. Karaoke is probably the ultimate drunk person's activity. You simply cannot grasp its appeal until you are three sheets to the wind and in that specific stage of inebriation whose symptoms include singing, reminiscing and suddenly craving Peking duck. When sober, you'd rather stick needles in your eyes than volunteer for singing along to a screen. But then, come 11pm, after some drinks and nuts and more drinks, you are deliriously grateful to have a two-hour slot booked at Martha Lane Fox's latest venture, the Lucky Voice Private Karaoke. This is exactly, spookily, what you are in the mood for.
If Carlsberg did karaoke clubs they would probably be a lot like Lucky Voice. The rooms are private, so a) you get a lot more mike exposure, b) you get to choose who sees you in this most vulnerable of states and c) there are no people throwing bottles when you sing a little off-key. The nine suites (they vary in size from a cosy booth for four to a more hen-night-friendly space for ten) are super-deluxe, leather-upholstered, air-conditioned and come with room service. Lucky Voice has relaunched karaoke as the sophisticated person's after-dinner activity of choice. Or indeed pre- and during dinner (there is a delicious Asian-influenced menu), so perhaps the younger generation don't need to have lost their keys and forgotten their PIN before they're ready to hit those touch screens.
Even so, no one would disagree that good-quality alcohol is as integral to a top karaoke session as state-of-the-art technology. My favourite booth feature was the silver service button, with which you can summon all manner of performance-enhancing goodies, from Peking duck to Cristal and a selection of specially dreamt up cocktails featuring - besides the usual line-up - shochu and sake. Normally I'm not interested in mixologists' themed creations, but these were delicious, as was the New World Pinot Noir that came recommended as the perfect accompaniment to a plate of tiger prawns.
If you like the sound of your own voice, or if you like the sound of someone else's and want to get to know them a bit better, I recommend you get the Lucky habit without delay. And it works out at roughly £5 a head per hour. I can't think of anything you can do outside the privacy of your own home that's quite such good value. Can you?
Lucky Voice Private Karaoke, 52 Poland Street, London W1
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