Mark Ronson’s Club Heartbreak ft. Miley Cyrus, Annie Mac and Jamie xx
Club Heartbreak, the love child of Mark Ronson and Miley Cyrus, took place in Soho on Friday 7th December in a bid to promote the two musicians' new song, ‘Nothing Breaks Like A Heart”.
Mark Ronson had said on Instagram that he would be DJ-ing at The Borderline at an event dubbed, ‘Club Heartbreak’ with tickets being won only through Dice. Teasing comments from Miley Cyrus, Mark Ronson’s collaborator on his newest hit, had been posted hinting that she would be putting in a surprise performance at the 300 capacity venue alongside Mark.
Doors opened at 9:30pm with hard-core Miley Cyrus fans who had been queuing for hours immediately taking the space around the stage, but somehow we managed to claim a spot.
On the small stage stood a DJ booth with a huge broken heart shaped disco ball, the same design as the single cover to Nothing Breaks Like A Heart hanging behind it. This is where things got slightly tedious with fans made to wait from 9:30pm until Midnight for Mark and Miley’s performance, with the audience whispering that doors should have opened later if it was going to be two and a half hours of just club music.
During this time two DJs, including Radio One star Annie Mac, took turns doing sets to entertain the audience, and the idea of Club Heartbreak finally came together playing a mix of upbeat songs that made you want to move, but all had the same running theme: heartbreak.
Finally it hit 12am and Mark Ronson strolled onto stage (having already been spotting at the side of the room, chatting with friends and leaning back on a wall, using his phone). It was clear from how casually he appeared in the audience and then onstage that although he’s the man behind so many top hits - including Uptown Funk and Valerie (as well as discovering Lily Allen), he doesn’t think of himself as a star.
Taking over from Annie Mac and launching straight into his own set, it was interesting to see he was playing songs from vinyl, the only DJ so far to do so and something he made himself famous for in '90s New York.
Just like that, Miley Cyrus appeared, dancing her way onto stage, sending her fans into a frenzy and leaving the rest of the audience almost laughing in disbelief that the platinum selling, controversial, and incredibly famous pop star, was appearing at The Borderline - London’s tiny, almost hidden underground gem of a venue.
The duo went onto perform 'Nothing Breaks Like A Heart' and the hit song 'Wrecking Ball' with Mark remaining behind the DJ booth and Miley dancing around the stage, interacting with the audience and bringing a new life of
energy to the room, wowing everyone with her vocals and stage presence, even going on to facetime her famous musician sister Noah Cyrus,
Pausing between songs, Miley, a notable supporter and figure in the LGBTQ+ community, took a moment to address the audience telling them that they were in a safe space, and that anybody and everybody was welcome and accepted, no matter what they identified as or who they loved, bringing about shouts of agreement, ironically filling ‘Club Heartbreak’ with love of every kind.
Even though 'Nothing Breaks Like A Heart' had already been performed, Miley Cyrus noted that a huge amount of the audience were her own fans and decided to treat them to an incredibly impressive acapella performance of the song, her vocals soaring above the noise from the audience, with Mark Ronson plugging in an acoustic guitar whilst walking round to join Miley at the front of the stage and accompany her.
"Impromptu/1st acoustic performance of Nothing Breaks Like A Heart with @MarkRonson at Club Heartbreak" @MileyCyrus
Mark went on to continue his DJ set, with Miley Cyrus telling the audience, “we’re about to get real turnt. Sad songs but turnt…” (A rather amusing sentiment I thought). They carried on together, Miley keeping the audience entertained with her dancing, occasionally singing over the songs.
Towards 1am Mark Ronson told the audience that he had a surprise for them to continue the night leaving the audience wondering, after Annie Mac, Mark Ronson and Miley Cyrus, who now was going to appear. Of course it had to be musician and DJ Jamie xx, who took over the set and from that point onwards the night started to feel like a proper club, with the audience breaking up, getting drinks from the bar and grouping together to dance to the array of club hits that Jamie was playing.
Surreal, unforgettable and amazing, it definitely was one for the memories and a night that still to this day doesn’t seem real. (And if there is any chance that someone from Mark Ronson’s team is reading, I would love the chance to interview him – unlikely but worth a shot!).
Mark Ronson - 'Nothing Breaks Like a Heart' is out now. Official Video ft. Miley Cyrus
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