The Balham Boys - and Girls

The Dogstar, where they meet their 'raving buddies' every Thursday, is part of their South-West London routine which includes Balham (their home), Brixton, Tooting and Streatham. They occasionally stray to Fabric in Farringdon, 'But we don't like to travel,' says Alicia. 'We've got a bit of a North London phobia.'

The term, The Balham Boys, is meant in a very tongue-in-cheek way. 'They say they're the Balham Boys, but they're not really a crew. It's really a joke,' says Susannah. 'They're not little white suburban boys trying to be hard.' So they're not wannabe Ali Gs, though they have picked up Ali's love for Jamaican slang: 'Cotching' is chilling out; 'chirsping' means chatting up, and 'bare people' means lots of people.

There will be 'bare people' at the Dogstar tonight. The music is drum 'n' bass, the Balham Boys' and Girls' favourite. They're not into garage.

In the daytime, Susannah, Rachel, Alicia, Chris and James, all 18, are at St Francis Xavier Sixth Form College in Balham doing A levels. They are all pretty sure about what direction they want to go in. Rachel wants to use her classical studies: 'My ideal job would be as a film adviser, you know on Gladiator, looking out for historical inaccuracies.' As for Susannah, 'Ultimately, I want to be editor of Vogue.'

Indeed, fashion is key if you want to make it in Balham. You need the right jeans - Miss Sixty or Levi's - and the right trainers, Nike, which they call 110s because they're worth £110. Chris shows me the tongue in his Nikes which unzips to reveal a secret pocket. 'It's meant to be for keys when you go clubbing,' they all say giggling. 'Not for drugs.'

What they wear Nike, Diesel, Levi's, Miss Sixty

Where they hang out Dogstar and Mass in Brixton

Idols Adam F, Kate Moss

What's on their ringtone Shy FX's 'Shake Ur Body'