Sing Inside the Box

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Everyone knows that the Japanese are the kings of karaoke: they invented it, continue to improve sound-quality technology (if not the human voice part) and introduced karaoke boxes—private singing rooms for small groups. And anyone in London can now indulge in this latest twist on the popular Asian pastime, thanks to lastminute.com entrepreneur Martha Lane Fox. Her brainchild is the Soho-based Lucky Voice, the British capital's most authentically Japanese karaoke bar featuring nine private rooms that hold up to 12 people. Once you and your fellow croonies have settled onto the semicircular benches in your snug, dimly lit lair, press a glowing button labeled "Thirsty," which summons a smiling server, and you'll be downing cocktails and nibbling on dim sum in minutes.

Our test troupe of warblers featured dead ringers for Alanis Morissette alongside nervous off-key newbies who quickly lost their inhibitions and refused to give up the microphone. But beware of karaoke's addictive quality: after such performances as a song-and-dance interpretation of Kate Bush's Wuthering Heights, a duet of Sonny and Cher's I Got You, Babe and a raucous singalong on Aha's Take on Me, our exhilarated group decided to extend the planned two-hour session to three.

As Fox, a self-confessed "terrible singer," says: "It's about the natural high you get from singing." So book way in advance, as 250 divas-by-night regularly swell the joint to capacity. If they don't have your tune, make sure to ask for the next visit: Lucky has had to bolster its five-song Neil Diamond stock to 15 since opening. And, yes, you should definitely count on a next time. tel: (44-20) 7439 3660; luckyvoice.co.uk