THE LAST EVER DISCOTEC – WORLD AIDS DAY SPECIAL
SUNDAY 30TH NOVEMBER
REVIEW FOR SEEQUEEN
Having dominated this weekend starting” slot for such a long period, in recent times, Discotec found it increasingly difficult to compete with the “free” clubs on offer, as Thursday’s were inundated with a wealth of alternative choices. It therefore soon came to the sad conclusion that it was unable to continue on a weekly basis. A sad move it was, as it had always provided the ideal warm up to the weekend, unlike any other club and for many, it was the cornerstone of Thursday’s into Fridays.
With the diversity of the crowd Discotec attracted, not to mention the same sort of mix of music, so instinctive of this pre-weekend outing, it was always going to be a sad day when it came to and end, fittingly so at the club, called “The End”, which had it’s own writing on the wall, with talks of re-development on everybody’s lips. For all this, we would have been fools to miss out on what could be the last official gay/mixed event at this cosy club in Bloomsbury.
So, with work out of the way, we descended on West Central St. and into the clutches of the End venue, being greeted by some very friendly door staff, treated us just short of royalty as we happily donated to the great cause of the fight against AIDS. The generosity of the team meant that £5 of our entry charge was being donated to The Terrence Higgins Trust, so it would have been rude not to shove a little bit more their way as we emptied our pockets, depositing the proceeds into the collection box.
Down the stairs, we entered the club to find a collecting mix of Discotec faithful’s, off-duty scene workers, mixed in with a mass of party heads, all intent on savouring this final outing. Not being regular “Discotecer” we struggled to recognise the D.J. holding court in the “funky” room space, although stepping down into the main room, found the scrumptious Fidel in charge of proceedings, churning out a glorious mix of house infused tracks, which had the collective bunch of dancers on the floor moving & grooving.
Whilst we were disappointed with the absence of our friend & compatriot, Lee Yeomans, it wasn’t long before Guy Williams (and friend) arrived to keep us company, sharing news of his week long exploits which left us aghast with what sounded like an exhausting schedule that we would have struggled to keep up. He looked good on it though and soon tucked into the refreshments we lined up, in preparation for his set a little later.
As we continued to wander around the club, more & more familiar faces appeared, including Adrian Eleftheriou, Jay Sharp Vokins, Megan Jones and the lovely Clington Forbes as well as some of the D.J’s playing, Luke Hope, Jeffrey Hinton, Slamma and Lee Harris, not to mention the enigmatic Gaetan Scott, all who were up for celebrating this mammoth end to a historic club outing. The excitement was further enhanced as the characteristic camera flashes emanating from the lens of scene non-stopper, photographer Chris Jepson’s camera lit up proceedings to ensure that everything that moved was caught for posterity. Chatting with Chris, once the stream of photo taking came to an end, we soon gathered that this rebel with a cause had been out literally all weekend, with no sleep and seemingly surviving on copious amounts of Red Bull, staggering!!
With the “funky” room well and truly kicking, due in no part to MC Brandy, we were keen to concentrate our efforts on the main floor, as Luke Hope took over the reigns, going back-to-back with Femi B, which resulted in a fabulous mix of inspiring & uplifting tracks, which saw the main room numbers swell considerably, some brave ones ascending the two podiums placed in the middle of the dance space. We were very much tempted to join them, although remained in out spot, working the crowd around us and getting major “down” to the tunes Luke & Femi B were delivering.
In reality, however, it was the maestro Guy Williams that we had really come along to see & hear, so it was with huge excitement when we saw him step behind the D.J. decks in the first room and then set about really cranking up the music mood to a much more tech-house, hard edged and chunky style that had us completely spellbound and ecstatic. We have truly come to love Guy’s music and having savoured it, admittedly in small bites over the years, recent months have seen us, once again warm to his music talents, which for us remain “cutting edge”.
Whilst Guy was honoured to fulfil the last set End’s main floor for Discotec, the numbers and crowd just weren’t there for him to justify a full set and within the hour, room one was wound right down, just leaving the funkier room two to take hold. Mind you, judging by the numbers still enjoying the more relaxing vibes, there was still legs left in this special party and we momentarily reflected what a great way it was to mark the occasion of World AIDS day, something that is close to our hearts for very personal reasons.
With the call of work, yet still buzzing from Guy’s set, we decided to head off home with thoughts a plenty in our heads and memories of parties of old flashing before our eyes. We were proud to be part of the “Last Discotec Party”
It is fair to say that whilst the event wasn’t quite as busy as we would have liked, in numbers, it certainly made up for it in both atmosphere and superb music. Its ancestral home, The End, may be closing soon, but we really hope the concept that is Discotec is able to continue, albeit, it is always difficult to find a new home to settle into. However, with so many clubs having moved venues recently or ones that are in the process of doing so, there is no reason why Laurent’s brainchild venture cannot do the same. Here’s to the survival of this legendary club brand. (DISCO MATT)
SUNDAY 30TH NOVEMBER
REVIEW FOR SEEQUEEN
Having dominated this weekend starting” slot for such a long period, in recent times, Discotec found it increasingly difficult to compete with the “free” clubs on offer, as Thursday’s were inundated with a wealth of alternative choices. It therefore soon came to the sad conclusion that it was unable to continue on a weekly basis. A sad move it was, as it had always provided the ideal warm up to the weekend, unlike any other club and for many, it was the cornerstone of Thursday’s into Fridays.
With the diversity of the crowd Discotec attracted, not to mention the same sort of mix of music, so instinctive of this pre-weekend outing, it was always going to be a sad day when it came to and end, fittingly so at the club, called “The End”, which had it’s own writing on the wall, with talks of re-development on everybody’s lips. For all this, we would have been fools to miss out on what could be the last official gay/mixed event at this cosy club in Bloomsbury.
So, with work out of the way, we descended on West Central St. and into the clutches of the End venue, being greeted by some very friendly door staff, treated us just short of royalty as we happily donated to the great cause of the fight against AIDS. The generosity of the team meant that £5 of our entry charge was being donated to The Terrence Higgins Trust, so it would have been rude not to shove a little bit more their way as we emptied our pockets, depositing the proceeds into the collection box.
Down the stairs, we entered the club to find a collecting mix of Discotec faithful’s, off-duty scene workers, mixed in with a mass of party heads, all intent on savouring this final outing. Not being regular “Discotecer” we struggled to recognise the D.J. holding court in the “funky” room space, although stepping down into the main room, found the scrumptious Fidel in charge of proceedings, churning out a glorious mix of house infused tracks, which had the collective bunch of dancers on the floor moving & grooving.
Whilst we were disappointed with the absence of our friend & compatriot, Lee Yeomans, it wasn’t long before Guy Williams (and friend) arrived to keep us company, sharing news of his week long exploits which left us aghast with what sounded like an exhausting schedule that we would have struggled to keep up. He looked good on it though and soon tucked into the refreshments we lined up, in preparation for his set a little later.
As we continued to wander around the club, more & more familiar faces appeared, including Adrian Eleftheriou, Jay Sharp Vokins, Megan Jones and the lovely Clington Forbes as well as some of the D.J’s playing, Luke Hope, Jeffrey Hinton, Slamma and Lee Harris, not to mention the enigmatic Gaetan Scott, all who were up for celebrating this mammoth end to a historic club outing. The excitement was further enhanced as the characteristic camera flashes emanating from the lens of scene non-stopper, photographer Chris Jepson’s camera lit up proceedings to ensure that everything that moved was caught for posterity. Chatting with Chris, once the stream of photo taking came to an end, we soon gathered that this rebel with a cause had been out literally all weekend, with no sleep and seemingly surviving on copious amounts of Red Bull, staggering!!
With the “funky” room well and truly kicking, due in no part to MC Brandy, we were keen to concentrate our efforts on the main floor, as Luke Hope took over the reigns, going back-to-back with Femi B, which resulted in a fabulous mix of inspiring & uplifting tracks, which saw the main room numbers swell considerably, some brave ones ascending the two podiums placed in the middle of the dance space. We were very much tempted to join them, although remained in out spot, working the crowd around us and getting major “down” to the tunes Luke & Femi B were delivering.
In reality, however, it was the maestro Guy Williams that we had really come along to see & hear, so it was with huge excitement when we saw him step behind the D.J. decks in the first room and then set about really cranking up the music mood to a much more tech-house, hard edged and chunky style that had us completely spellbound and ecstatic. We have truly come to love Guy’s music and having savoured it, admittedly in small bites over the years, recent months have seen us, once again warm to his music talents, which for us remain “cutting edge”.
Whilst Guy was honoured to fulfil the last set End’s main floor for Discotec, the numbers and crowd just weren’t there for him to justify a full set and within the hour, room one was wound right down, just leaving the funkier room two to take hold. Mind you, judging by the numbers still enjoying the more relaxing vibes, there was still legs left in this special party and we momentarily reflected what a great way it was to mark the occasion of World AIDS day, something that is close to our hearts for very personal reasons.
With the call of work, yet still buzzing from Guy’s set, we decided to head off home with thoughts a plenty in our heads and memories of parties of old flashing before our eyes. We were proud to be part of the “Last Discotec Party”
It is fair to say that whilst the event wasn’t quite as busy as we would have liked, in numbers, it certainly made up for it in both atmosphere and superb music. Its ancestral home, The End, may be closing soon, but we really hope the concept that is Discotec is able to continue, albeit, it is always difficult to find a new home to settle into. However, with so many clubs having moved venues recently or ones that are in the process of doing so, there is no reason why Laurent’s brainchild venture cannot do the same. Here’s to the survival of this legendary club brand. (DISCO MATT)
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