This page is really just for ever decreasing memory to help me remember the places I have played at.

Basingstoke : Martines - This was Basingstoke's very first Alternative Night and you would think that with it being on a Monday Night it wouldn't be very popular but it was far from it! It was about 1988/89 and I was in actually going off on holiday when I was approached by the promoter who knew I was in a band. He wanted to use my name to pull in the people as we had quite a big following. I don't know whether it was so busy just because I was djing but the night worked really well. Monday night was the only night that we were given but it was cool. It was hard work playing until 2am and having to get up for work at 7am but I loved it and it was the beginning of a long career in djing for me. I had help from a guy called Dave Coppin who would warm up for me. Bands played around this time were The Cure, The Mission, Sisters of Mercy, Wedding Present, Sugarcubes etc etc. I was at Martines for around 3 years before leaving to go to Ziggys.
Basingstoke : Ziggys - I still quite can't believe how I managed to get into this club and get a peak saturday night slot off them. Ziggys was previous known as the Altis Leisure Centre which everyone called The Snooker Centre. It had a part of the club that was set up as a nightclub. I was actually djing at Martines on mondays and working for a double glazing company. The company moved premises and we moved opposite Ziggys nightclub. One day in my lunch break I was reading the local paper and there was an advert for the club who were looking for dj's. As we were opposite and I was in my lunch break I nipped over the road. I was too late for the auditions but I asked if I could come back after work. I rode my bike home after work, got some singles and went along to the club. I said that I would do something different to everyone else and I think I remember playing something like Nirvana. To my surprise the manager was looking for something different and I was that something. I named the night Novelty Island as I was (still am) a big Vic Reeves fan. The night was an instant success with over 250 people attending. It closed for about a month for a refurbishment which doubled it's size. To both mine and the club's amazement the night just continued to get bigger and bigger and was soon to replace Martines as THE alternative night to go to. I actually did both clubs for a while and then finishd with Martines to concentrate on Ziggys. To my surprise (and everyone elses) the manager(s) had a crackpot idea to move the night to a thursday. Not sure why but at a guess I would say that they thought that if people were that interested in the night they wouldn't mind what night it was on. To me, they were just greedy. Thursday nights were popular but the numbers more or less halved. The manager(s) then decided to move it to a monday and it killed it off but before that they got me in the office after a great night and said "Sorry, we're letting you go!". That's nightclub management for you! You live and learn and although I had some great nights there, Ziggys leaves a very sour taste in my mouth when mentioned.
Basingstoke : Premiers/Cozy's - Premiers or Cozy's as it was later known was a small snooker centre situated on a housing estate in Basingstoke. I was there on a friday night. It was without a doubt the worst venue that I ever had the misfortune to dj at. The management weren't interested in what was going on as long as they had their money for hiring the place. I did a lot of promotion for it and was really up for it but people did not want to venture out to the venue simply because of where it was situated. It was a dodgy area and after 4 weeks I decided to call it a day.
Basingstoke : The Ice Rink - I moved from Premiers straight to Blades which was upstairs at Basingstoke Ice Rink. It was a massive place and the night was a friday night.There were actually 3 of us, myself, Colin and Kevin. The other 2 guys were in a band togeather and were always looking to start up something djing wise. Because I had been at Premiers and was busy, Dave the promoter from Martines on a monday approached the guys and got them to start the night off. As soon as I became available I was drafted in and before long the night was mine and I dj'd alone. I actually remember the moment the tv screens reported that Kurt Cobain had killed himself and sppokily enough I was playing a Nirvana track!! The nights at the Ice Rink were very popular and there would also be live bands too. I can't quite remember why it finished but I think I left to go on to other things before it did end.
Basingstoke : Royal Naval Club - Again, this was a friday night and what a venue this was!! The Royal Naval club was not exactly the ideal venue for me to start my Indie/Alternative nights at. I was approached by a guy called Ian who was a promoter. He wanted to work with me and had arranged for us to use the venue. The funny thing is, is that the regulars / members were all in their late 60s/70s. You should have seen their faces when we walked in with our big speakers etc and the place was full of 'wierdos'. We never had a late license so the night ran from 7.30pm to 11.30pm. It ran for about 4 months before we decided that it was the wrong venue. It was too small and we couldn't really crank up the volume as the regulars couldn't hack it. It was a popular night and could've been really good despite the venue if only we had a late license. It was also quite small and some people couldn't get in.
Basingstoke : Magnums/Bang Bar - When I finished at the Royal Naval Club, it was almost an instant change of venue. It was only a few weeks when I got my foot in the door at Magnums courtesy of Ian again. It was an intimate venue (200 capacity) just outside the centre of town. It was a bit of a trek to get there and was almost in the middle of nowhere but without a doubt it was the most popular and well supported night that I had done. The managers, Andy and Kim were awesome and loved the music I played, the Indie followers supported it every time it was on and the atmosphere was amazing at times. A lot of good things happened at magnums in my time there and after a while they decided to change the name to the Bang Bar (not sure why?). In the daytime it was a restaurant and did nice food for the office workers that worked nearby but then in the evening it changed into a nightclub. My nights continued to go from strength to strength and after a while Andy & Kim sold the venue. I stayed in place and continued my nights and then out of the blue the capacity was halved to 110 for legal reasons. This really didn't do me any favours as we were so busy anyway that we were having to turn people away, when it halved in capacity it meant that sometimes there were more people outside who couldn't get in than there were actually inside. I decided that I couldn't go on for much longer like that and was paranoid as I felt like I was letting people down. I was approached my a guy called Paul who was running a venue in the centre of town and decided there and then that my next date would be my last one. I was at this venue for 10 years and really enjoyed it. Shortly after I stopped djing there, the capacity went back up to 220. (maybe they just didn't like me!??).
Basingstoke : Silks Bar - I moved from Bang Bar almost instantly to Silks Bar which was situated in the centre of town. It was in the high street and near cashpoints, food and taxis so it was ideal and was always going to work. It was the best move I made as I did have my doubts moving from Bang Bar because I had been there so long and my nights were so successful. Silks Bar seemed to be what all the alternative crowd were looking for. From the word go, every friday night was at capcity (250). Because it was a high street venue it was free to get in and had a lot of passing trade that would pop in for a drink, hang around for a while and then go. Some stayed, some came back later but there was a hardcore crowd of around 150 regulars that would be there week in, week out. The only problem with the venue was that it's other nights were not working so my night was almost keeping the venue alive. Before I went to Silks, friday nights were RnB and Dance and there were always fights. I was on a mission to change that. I was told to get rid of that crowd and within weeks they were gone. There was the odd problem with idiots that couldn't read the posters or flyers and still asked for RnB and Hip Hop but that wasn't very often. Unfortunately Silks finished because it could not stay alive with just my night being popular. It was very sad when I had to do my last night there. It was a great venue with a great crowd but best of all, it had a brilliant atmosphere and was something that Basingstoke needed.
Basingstoke : Yates/Litten Tree/White Hart/QMC/Tech College/White Hart - Over the years I have played allover Basingstoke. I have played at venues where I have had to play what the management THINK the punters want and that has mainly been Dance and RnB etc in places like The Litten Tree and Yates. I didn't enjoy playing that music back then as a lot of it came with bad attitude both from the guys and the girls. I played with a certain Brandon Block at the Litten Tree one night and was told afterwards that I was much better than him!! That's a true story and I only wish I was earning what he earns. I am quite versatile and can do quite a lot when djing as I don't see it as being that difficult yet other dj's don't seem to be able to do what I do. I have also dj'd at a number of college functions and regular nights in local pubs too and the best ones are the pub ones in my opinion.
Reading : The After Dark Club - This club is situated down an alleyway. At the end of the alleyway is a door and that's it. When you go through the door you are greeted by a rather dark and dingey club that is on two levels and gets very, very hot!! At times there is water running down the walls and the floors are covered in beer BUT the atmosphere was great when I was there. I was djing at the After Dark for a couple of years early on in my dj career when I was also djing at Martines and Ziggys and also working at a double glazing firm. I stopped doing it as I was knackered to be blunt. I was also still relatively young and it seemed all I was doing was working all the time. It was great there though and I enjoyed it.
Reading : 21 South Street / Nue Valbonnes / University / Royal Berkshire Hospital / RG1 / Purple Turtle / Fez Club - I also did various other nights in Reading at different venues. They were generally one-offs and I played alongside bands etc... It was a good experience and Reading was a great place to dj in. There was a lot of competition though.
Bournemouth : Club Xtreme - Club Xtreme used to be called The Hot House so I am told. I actually received a phonecall from the venue one day more or less saying "Come and save our night!" Apparently, the dj that was there was getting stale, playing the same tunes in the same order every week, being rude to people and playing what HE wanted and not what the clubbers wanted. I made the rather long journey every thursday after work down to Bournemouth and was an instant hit. The people of Bournemouth took to me and were very friendly....Some of the girls were too friendly!! (But I didn't feel the need to complain being a gentleman of course!). The club got very hot and was similar to the After Dark club in Reading as by the end of the night the walls would be dripping wet and the floors full of beer. My nights ended because the club was sold.
Bournemouth : The Villa - It wasn't long after I finished at Club Xtreme that I was called again, this time about a new club called The Villa. My details had been passed on from Club Xtreme's management. I went down one day, met the management and promoter and decided to give it a go. Club Xtreme was dark and dingey whereas The Villa was all brand new and shiney and it didn't feel like the right venue at first but I decided to go for it. It went well at first and I really enjoyed it. A lot of the regulars who I had got to know at Xtreme followed me to The Villa and it was great. Unfortunately, the management and promoter interferred too much at times. They would tell me what to play sometimes with the classic lines like "This will fill the floor, play this!" - If there is one thing you don't do, it's interfere with me when I am working or tell me what to play. I also was getting a bit tired of driving all the way to Bournemouth and back too just to be told what to do or having management fiddle about with the volume or mixer etc. I decided to call it a day as it was doing my head in and told the management on my way out that night that it was my last one. I know that's bad but I had it done to me in the early days so it works both ways. It was funny though as a fortnight later I received a call from the club to say that they didn't want me back as I hadn't turned up the week before!! I told them that I had already left and they thought I was joking!!
Winchester : The North pole - What a complete waste of time this was! I was asked to dj at this venue alongside bands to start off with and they liked what I did so they offered me a wednesday night slot. The venue was situated down a back road in the centre of Winchester and if you blinked, you missed it. It was a decent venue, nicely sized and laid out but the venue obviously knew nothing about promotion as there wasn't any!! This showed aswell because in the 5 weeks I was there, at the most there were probably 50 people there. I decided that it wasn't for me and I wasn't going to waste any more time on it. I was djing 3 nights a week already and it was too much to do when it wasn't working. Shame really.
Woking : Piranhas - This venue was a great looking place. It was laid out really plush and the manager loved his alternative music. I was actually booked through a company to go down there and dj at a fancy dress 80s night. The night went down really well and a lot of alternative music was also requested. I didn't play any but told the manager about it and he suggested that I come back every week and play Indie/Alternative. It went really well at first and was a great night. It was a nightmare for parking the car though!! I finished there because I felt that it wasn't going to improve. It started off well but didn't get any better and never grew. I think it was because it wasn't really a venue that people wanted to go into because it was too NICE. The manager was a great bloke and the staff were really cool and friendly too. I liked my time at Piranhas.
Farnham : The Art College - I did a number of one-off Indie Nights at the Art College and they always went down really well. The guy who ran the student union had been to my nighst in Basingstoke so got me in to do my stuff. When he was replaced, the new guy was a dance head and didn't like Indie so I stopped doing my one-offs. One thing I do remember about Farnham Art College was, at that time I had never seen so many gorgeous women!!!!!!
Guildford : Surrey University - Surrey University was on par with Farnham Art College when it came to gorgeous women! The atmosphere was great at these nights and again it was because I knew someone there from when I played there when I was in the band. I had some great nights in the SU Bar there playing Indie tunes etc and everyone was up for it.
Camberley : Yates / Litten Tree / The Cube - No disrespect to anyone in Camberley but the 3 venues I played at, at various times in Camberley were hard work. There was almost a snob mentality where you had to prove something to them. It was also always full with guys who were in the forces and who had attitude. Whenever they got to the point where the beer was taking it's toll, they would get violent and it just wasn't funny. I was at Camberley Yates one night doing a karaoke night and it was a wednesday. Two rival groups of Paratroopers came in and it all went mad. The equipment was smashed up and I was threatened and there was a massive brawl involving about 50 people. Quite scary and no fun at all.
London : Camden Palace - The only ever time I have ventured to London to dj and it was very early on in my career. It was quite daunting being in charge of the music in such a big venue but I was there to cover someone. I knew the guy who was djing there at the time and he was going away on holiday for a week. It was a wednesday night and I got the train up with a couple of cases of cd's. I was worried that they would get nicked off me and I also forgot my headphones!! The night was stunning and I couldn't do much wrong. I was stuck in a booth that was quite high up and not very accessible to the punters and I was a bit nervous but it was a great experience. I would love to do that now!
Yateley : The Royal Oak - The Royal Oak in Yateley was a venue that I did many things at over a period of about 4 years. I originally went in on a friday to play party music and chart stuff but after a while it ended up being more RnB and Hip Hop. I was playing what the punters were requesting but it was attracting attitude so I went back to the party stuff and the attitude went. I would do whatever I could to get the Indie tunes in there too and they were popular so I ended up doing one-off Indie nights there aswell. I also did retro nights and quizzes. The venue changed hands twice while I was there. The first time it was great and the new couple really liked their Alternative stuff so I was ok but they left after a year to go to another venue and a new guy came in who ditested it so I went back to playing party and chart stuff for the masses. He also interferred a lot and started to dictate to me what I could and couldn't play. In the end I decided that 4 years was enough and I left. I heard later on that he was gutted that I had left because a lot of the people went to see me!!

Other venues in Hook, Farnborough, Aldershot and Fleet. I've dj'd at 100's of places over the years and luckily, most of it has been good. I am always looking for places to spread the sounds to and will no doubt find lots more before I hang up my headphones...but hey!...that won't be for a long, long time!!

Phew..I never realised I was so busy.

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