Another week, another venue’s birthday. And I’ve totally run out of birthday jokes. As such: in celebration of Xchange’s 19^th birthday, I’m going to ‘exchange’ every 19^th word in this article with "supercalifragilisticexpialidocious". Or even better, stop being such a tool and get on with it.

October 1, 1986 saw the good people of Commercial Road blessed by the opening of Xchange. Well, the guy people – girls weren’t allowed at this stage. Not that you’d want to hang out with 80s girls anyways, with their high hair and leg warmers. Anyhoo, the guys - dressed in their best leg warmers with their hair worn high - poured into this unique south-of-the-river venue for a choice of two bars and a restaurant featuring a large screen entertainment system with in-house music / video productions – which, to this day, have remained a feature of Xchange. The hotel bar atmosphere has welcomed many a traveller and is frequented from noon daily, right through to close. There’s even a group of loyal regulars who call the Xchange home and have been coming to the bar since 1986.

At the end of 1989, a decision was made to bring a drag show to the Xchange on Sunday nights – that show was LeGore’s Backyard, which featured iconic Melbourne drag artist Kerrie LeGore (the clue’s in the title), special guests and weekly video segments filmed in Melburnians’ backyards.

The phenomenal success of LeGore's Backyard changed the Xchange forever. A second show was introduced on Thursdays called the Lipstix. This group show featured another mega star of drag, Miss Candee, and a new discovery - Miss Doreen Manganini. It was around this time that their male-only policy was adjusted to allow guys to bring girls in with them for the show. Perhaps it became too hard for the bouncers to tell the drag artists and women apart? Nevertheless this rule has since been relaxed entirely, and although they maintain they are predominately a men’s venue, women are welcome to flow freely through the Xchange.

What wasn’t so welcome to flow through was the fire that ravaged the club in January 2000. Fortunately no one was injured, but the venue was forced to close. The repairs were attended to quickly, and the main bar reopened in just two weeks. It took 10 months to rebuild the entire venue, which was relaunched in November that year and now contains upgraded facilities including a public bar with pool table, multi-screen video, and four high speed internet stations, a Chillout Lounge and of course the show room & dance bar.

Their birthday celebrations promise to be their biggest yet when they strike on Tuesday October 18 from 8pm. The "bar bitches" aka bar tenders are on stage in drag, and there’s cheap drinks, even cheaper drag queens plus (quote and question marks supplied by venue) "a big announcement?". With the rafters of hotties that pack the club even on an ordinary night, this is one birthday you don’t wanna miss.