Dj Huey, binni, Smokey Joe, spen, Yoz,

[mini-x2]

I knew a gareth and simma but we may not be on about same lads (im sure it was gareth who tragically died )
@mini-x2 , am i thinking of the right lad mate ?

Yes mate

Yes the same Gareth who died in Australia.

He didn’t actually die in Australia though

 

[Flea Market Trader]

Yes mate


He didn’t actually die in Australia though

I know he didn’t, however the accident happened over there is what I meant.

Wear FM was class.

I never missed a show and I too my inspiration from all these shows and also Havana down at boro where I would hardly miss a session.

They were all a massive part of my teens listening to Wear FM. Not sure they can be said that they created anything (musically that they made) special in comparison to special bands or artists but they’ll certainly have inspired quite a few people in the north east to get into music be that djing, going out or buying music.

Remember them all fondly. Really happy times and they had a huge part in introducing some great music to me.

They inspired me all of them

I think at least a couple of them helped create something good at the time. Smokey Joe was a bit of a chopper and a little smelly. Binni is a car dealer now

Wasn’t there also someone on wear fm called blaster or something. I wasn’t a fan of him like but something in the back of my head saying he was on wear fm as well. Might just be my head playing tricks on me.

Nobody else was playing house and techno at the time - radio or tv. And there was no internet. It was years before the music hit the mainstream so it was class just for that.

Great days.

Kids today can keep their iPhones and snapchat. I think we had it better

I’m guessing these were some kind of underground DJs? Never heard of them like

They were djs who played uníque music on a local radio station. I have very fond memories of them

Canny scary reading that how much i remember of it. Used to tape the blackout so i could play it me car............MK 2 Escort!
Feel owld now............

We used to gather round Ford escort cars underneath the Alexandra bridge after the blue monkey nights ha

just before my time there, so thanks for the info. i'd heard about the "Ibiza" nights, but was too young to have gone.

The Ibiza nights were an odd one really. Bit of a blur as the copious amount of free drink after your fiver entry paid their toll.

I wouldn’t say my response is angry and the dance music side of Wear Fm, it’s hay day was 91. The latter joined the radio station towards the end and weren’t instrumental in any way in regards to the rave scene or the radio station at the time.

Each to their own and all that, but I was heavily influenced by both the lads at the end of the post. I feel the músic that they played was different to what a lot of people were g at the time. But as I say each to their own.

i'd bet to differ. the first real mixtapes I got, were done by either of those 2 and i'm sure there'll have been countless others whose introduction, was via them. also, my introduction on the basics of mixing records etc, was from them. one 'happy house' I went to, early 91 had both huey and yoz dj'in.

i hear what you're saying about the shift in music, around later in 91 though. but to counter that, a lot of the "intelligent dance music" that came out on labels like warp, r&s, rising high, djax and stuff by aphex twin, first got played up here, on their show.

This is where I took my inspiration from all of these shows who had an inside track on the new releases. I would listen to the shows and mark down the tu es then head out all over the knot in the hunt for same tu es. Very often though the stuff they played would be pre release and I had and still do to this day have problem tracking the tu es down that they played.

Interesting how this became known as the 'rave scene'. The stuff I've heard (admittedly mainly from people posting on here) just sounds like that mental 200mph stuff with none of the subtlety you got in the music played in the earlier rave years.

I think as the music become more popular it also became less original and watered down with quite a lot of it sounding the same. Still that being said even to this day I’m finding real gems that had passed me by from circa 88-92 thereabouts.

we use to put buses on for the butterloggies , pick up at the Lesh steps (crowtree) .. happy days @tunstall birdman

chambers was just as popular as the Monkey mate , infact Im sure chambers was ahead of the monkey, we were throwing shapes in chambers for a while before the rest of town cottoned on and the monkey became popular

Chambers used to be great as did liberties (small room in bentlys ) which had a canny thing going. I can’t remember who the Djs were though but great.

I think the link ( from 89 or earlier in 90 "Ibiza nights" ) onwards, has been documented. first hand, I saw the music shift from around july 90 onwards and said during the interview that the xmas 90, was the major shift. I rarely missed a Saturday night there.

the music from around autumn 91, seemed to be more 'breakbeat' driven and got faster, with cheesy samples and sped up vocals. I dipped out, as it wasn't for me.

I went to a night called house of god which was in the university in Sunderland. Remember binni playing a cracking set and they had a back room on with Smokey ho, who I had not heard of at that time. The stuff he played was mid tempo breakbeat and to me quite new to me. He went on the harder side afterwards and not my cup of tea, but his early stuff,,,well early to me was inspirational.

'Red eye, never die'.
The Blue Monkey changed when the Havana put on a one off night there and people in Sunderland hot to witness what was going on in the rave scene that that was big down the Boro.
I used to knock about with Sima, Jo Lo, Gareth and the rest on the rave scene. Great times indeed!!

The Havana did put a butterloggie on at the blue monkey, however the blue monkey was already a rave club at the time. I remember it well as it came around the ti:e of the first all-nighter in there. I wouldn’t say the Havana influenced the blue monkey and would have put them down very much as a separate entity. Havana influenced me hugely.

Spen is actually playing Peterlee Moorcock this Saturday night with a few lads I and others on here will know.

Really, I’ve not seen this advertised. I know he is doing the Havana reunion ( I went to the last one ) and it was great. Was Spen on downstairs early. I got there not long after doors opened and seemed the place was bouncing early doors. A lot of hip hop on I recall. Sure this was Spen así remember him more for the bouncy upbeat stuff.

 

[OOOSH YEAH]

I know he didn’t, however the accident happened over there is what I meant.

I never missed a show and I too my inspiration from all these shows and also Havana down at boro where I would hardly miss a session.

They inspired me all of them

Wasn’t there also someone on wear fm called blaster or something. I wasn’t a fan of him like but something in the back of my head saying he was on wear fm as well. Might just be my head playing tricks on me.

Kids today can keep their iPhones and snapchat. I think we had it better

They were djs who played uníque music on a local radio station. I have very fond memories of them

We used to gather round Ford escort cars underneath the Alexandra bridge after the blue monkey nights ha

The Ibiza nights were an odd one really. Bit of a blur as the copious amount of free drink after your fiver entry paid their toll.

Each to their own and all that, but I was heavily influenced by both the lads at the end of the post. I feel the músic that they played was different to what a lot of people were g at the time. But as I say each to their own.

This is where I took my inspiration from all of these shows who had an inside track on the new releases. I would listen to the shows and mark down the tu es then head out all over the knot in the hunt for same tu es. Very often though the stuff they played would be pre release and I had and still do to this day have problem tracking the tu es down that they played.

I think as the music become more popular it also became less original and watered down with quite a lot of it sounding the same. Still that being said even to this day I’m finding real gems that had passed me by from circa 88-92 thereabouts.

Chambers used to be great as did liberties (small room in bentlys ) which had a canny thing going. I can’t remember who the Djs were though but great.

I went to a night called house of god which was in the university in Sunderland. Remember binni playing a cracking set and they had a back room on with Smokey ho, who I had not heard of at that time. The stuff he played was mid tempo breakbeat and to me quite new to me. He went on the harder side afterwards and not my cup of tea, but his early stuff,,,well early to me was inspirational.

The Havana did put a butterloggie on at the blue monkey, however the blue monkey was already a rave club at the time. I remember it well as it came around the ti:e of the first all-nighter in there. I wouldn’t say the Havana influenced the blue monkey and would have put them down very much as a separate entity. Havana influenced me hugely.

Really, I’ve not seen this advertised. I know he is doing the Havana reunion ( I went to the last one ) and it was great. Was Spen on downstairs early. I got there not long after doors opened and seemed the place was bouncing early doors. A lot of hip hop on I recall. Sure this was Spen así remember him more for the bouncy upbeat stuff.

Yep....

TGTHR With DJ SPEN (Wear FM / Havana Reunion)

Musik-Veranstaltung von Together und Lee Robinson am Samstag, Oktober 19 2019 in Peterlee, Vereinigtes Königreich

www.facebook.com

 

[1more]

I used to love Ultra Vibe, Tubes and Smoove. I still have tapes of it kicking of when I used to record the station.

 

[td586]

@Flea Market Trader

"blaster" was a fella called "bill". I think he might have worked in "trax records" in Newcastle? someone, may correct me

"house of god" at wearmouth hall, was my introduction to a 'bigger' rave. didn't think we were gonna get through from peterlee, as the snow was horrendous. binni's set that night was superb like. "jesus loves the acid", directional force, zeta 3...

@tunstall birdman I think there may have been outside promoters doing an event in there around xmas 90. I was absolutely skint at the time, so couldn't make it. deffo, the Havana crew took over a bank holiday in april 91 - unique 3 dj'd, amongst others. I've posted the flyer somewhere, online.

 

[Flea Market Trader]

@Flea Market Trader

"blaster" was a fella called "bill". I think he might have worked in "trax records" in Newcastle? someone, may correct me

"house of god" at wearmouth hall, was my introduction to a 'bigger' rave. didn't think we were gonna get through from peterlee, as the snow was horrendous. binni's set that night was superb like. "jesus loves the acid", directional force, zeta 3...

@tunstall birdman I think there may have been outside promoters doing an event in there around xmas 90. I was absolutely skint at the time, so couldn't make it. deffo, the Havana crew took over a bank holiday in april 91 - unique 3 dj'd, amongst others. I've posted the flyer somewhere, online.

I was there when Havana took over the blue monkey, however they didn’t start up the blue monkey at all. That was something that came in when blue monkey was already a rave club. This I can guarantee.

 

[td586]

I was there when Havana took over the blue monkey, however they didn’t start up the blue monkey at all. That was something that came in when blue monkey was already a rave club. This I can guarantee.

i'm not disagreeing with you. i'm just answering your questions. @tunstall birdman mentioned the Havana takeover.

 

[mini-x2]

Havana was great.
Blue Monkey was shit (in my humble opinion).

 

[Fletch]

Havana was great.
Blue Monkey was shit (in my humble opinion).

Havana was the best club in the north east by a country mile mate
Chambers never gets enough recognition IMO, Im almost certain the scene started off in chambers a few month before blue monkey changed its music , we were going chambers and I remember would get coaches turning up from other parts of the north east , within what seemed like a fortnight chambers changed from a wine bar into a warehouse rave ..
where the monkey is concerned - unfortunately it ended up going down the route of harder music (gloves/whistles/vics) which wasn't for us pioneeers , still had few good nights there in the early days mind , and the pizzas upstairs were class

 

[mini-x2]

Havana was the best club in the north east by a country mile mate
Chambers never gets enough recognition IMO, Im almost certain the scene started off in chambers a few month before blue monkey changed its music , we were going chambers and I remember would get coaches turning up from other parts of the north east , within what seemed like a fortnight chambers changed from a wine bar into a warehouse rave ..
where the monkey is concerned - unfortunately it ended up going down the route of harder music (gloves/whistles/vics) which wasn't for us pioneeers , still had few good nights there in the early days mind , and the pizzas upstairs were class

Yeah, the Blue Monkey was the first to play acid house about 88. You had a few in smiley t-shirts/bandanas etc but as you know most of the clientele were dressed in suits

Chambers changed about 89 sometime from playing soul and funk into our version of the Hacienda! It pretty much did change overnight like you say. I can remember being downstairs dressed in my er baggier style stuff shall we say and talking to a lad from work who said he felt out of place and wondering what was going on. The next week he was dressed like us

What a time it was looking back.

 

[Flea Market Trader]

Havana was the best club in the north east by a country mile mate
Chambers never gets enough recognition IMO, Im almost certain the scene started off in chambers a few month before blue monkey changed its music , we were going chambers and I remember would get coaches turning up from other parts of the north east , within what seemed like a fortnight chambers changed from a wine bar into a warehouse rave ..
where the monkey is concerned - unfortunately it ended up going down the route of harder music (gloves/whistles/vics) which wasn't for us pioneeers , still had few good nights there in the early days mind , and the pizzas upstairs were class

As were the phsychoactive drinks

i'm not disagreeing with you. i'm just answering your questions. @tunstall birdman mentioned the Havana takeover.

I meant the reply for tunstal birdman. I was just stating to him how I remember it differently. I’m all good though and if I’m incorrect then I tip my cap to the birdman, bút I think I’m correct on this one.

Yeah, the Blue Monkey was the first to play acid house about 88. You had a few in smiley t-shirts/bandanas etc but as you know most of the clientele were dressed in suits

Chambers changed about 89 sometime from playing soul and funk into our version of the Hacienda! It pretty much did change overnight like you say. I can remember being downstairs dressed in my er baggier style stuff shall we say and talking to a lad from work who said he felt out of place and wondering what was going on. The next week he was dressed like us

What a time it was looking back.

I used to go to the blue monkey quite regularly late eighties then as you say it changed overnight. Went from your usually eighties style and the odd shirt and tie kicking about to peole wearing bright shiny clobber and blowing air horns and whistles. Over night.

 

[rapscallion]

MC Intense

DJ Destroy

It was a fate worse than death getting a tape and listening only to learn it was Smokey Joe on the one'n'twos

 

[mini-x2]

When the Blue Monkey got full of bare-chested, white-gloved Hendonites dancing to music that sounded like a hairdryer being turned on and off it was time to bail out. We started going to Leeds (B2B) and Boro (The Arena) instead. The fashions were orrible about that time anarl, every fucker clad from head to toe in Destroy or Richmond gear

 

[td586]

When the Blue Monkey got full of bare-chested, white-gloved Hendonites dancing to music that sounded like a hairdryer being turned on and off it was time to bail out. We started going to Leeds (B2B) and Boro (The Arena) instead. The fashions were orrible about that time anarl, every fucker clad from head to toe in Destroy or Richmond gear

I remember getting on one of Gareth's mini buses to basics with a brand spanking pair of gazelles on and him saying summat like "are you going out like that?" or "you'll not get in with them on". was never one for getting dressed up. there didn't really appear to be any middle ground.

 

[mini-x2]

I remember getting on one of Gareth's mini buses to basics with a brand spanking pair of gazelles on and him saying summat like "are you going out like that?" or "you'll not get in with them on". was never one for getting dressed up. there didn't really appear to be any middle ground.

I might have been on that very bus! Did you get in? Can’t remember anyone who went down ever getting turned away like.

 

[tunstall birdman]

Havana was the best club in the north east by a country mile mate
Chambers never gets enough recognition IMO, Im almost certain the scene started off in chambers a few month before blue monkey changed its music , we were going chambers and I remember would get coaches turning up from other parts of the north east , within what seemed like a fortnight chambers changed from a wine bar into a warehouse rave ..
where the monkey is concerned - unfortunately it ended up going down the route of harder music (gloves/whistles/vics) which wasn't for us pioneeers , still had few good nights there in the early days mind , and the pizzas upstairs were class

It did, the Monkey followed after. Chambers does deserve more recognition, it was class as fuck but as you say, nothing touched Havana for being the best. It was special!!

As were the phsychoactive drinks

I meant the reply for tunstal birdman. I was just stating to him how I remember it differently. I’m all good though and if I’m incorrect then I tip my cap to the birdman, bút I think I’m correct on this one.

I used to go to the blue monkey quite regularly late eighties then as you say it changed overnight. Went from your usually eighties style and the odd shirt and tie kicking about to peole wearing bright shiny clobber and blowing air horns and whistles. Over night.

From what I remember, The Blue Monkey only dabbled a bit with the rave scene, but it was the Bank Holiday session by Havana that showed people up here what the full on rave scene was all about.

I read you went to the last Havana reunion, Spens set was class as fuck. Did you see me break dancing to it?

 

[Sandboy]

@Flea Market Trader

"blaster" was a fella called "bill". I think he might have worked in "trax records" in Newcastle? someone, may correct me

"house of god" at wearmouth hall, was my introduction to a 'bigger' rave. didn't think we were gonna get through from peterlee, as the snow was horrendous. binni's set that night was superb like. "jesus loves the acid", directional force, zeta 3...

@tunstall birdman I think there may have been outside promoters doing an event in there around xmas 90. I was absolutely skint at the time, so couldn't make it. deffo, the Havana crew took over a bank holiday in april 91 - unique 3 dj'd, amongst others. I've posted the flyer somewhere, online.

Bill Swift was a proper old Northern soul DJ but I couldn't imagine him calling himself blaster

 

[sick]

There was a Bill in Trax at one point, but no idea if it was Blaster.

 

[the dark one]

What is a chopper.
I remember also listening to Wear fm and the lad Howie T although wasn’t what I would say great at mixing tunes, he certainly was an entertainer and very funny on the mike. Happy times those rave days and I’m not a live in the past merchant, however happy times.

A big shout out for the low Newton massive.....

It was late 89. The blue monkey was running a night called Ibiza or something and it was a fiver in with all your drink included,,,,hence 10 cans or red stripe. Cutting to the chance the music wasn’t great and it was full of fighting. We plus others had this grand notion of putting a night on where the music would range from hip hop, piano house right through to Detroit and Belgian techno, with something in between. This was shot down and the management were having none of it. The Djs were reluctant to play this too, however I’m a little unsure if that was the management or the Djs. Any how’s this didn’t take off , therefore we went in another direction. Next thing maybe early 1990 ish, my memory I know,,,the blue monkey seemed to change into a rave club over night. The rest as they say is history.
I think pre rave night they did a night with Rozalla as a guest. Place was rammed packed and there were these gyro things with people strapped in them on stage. Very odd but fun. Not the rozalla bít.

Ibiza nights were f***ing wild. £10 in, all drinks free. Around the same time, double trouble and the rebel mc played on a Saturday night. Mental how busy it was.happy days.

 

[Flea Market Trader]

MC Intense

DJ Destroy

It was a fate worse than death getting a tape and listening only to learn it was Smokey Joe on the one'n'twos

From those later Djs to come onto the scene, well for me anyway there were 2 that I liked over the others. Destroy and Selector C were brilliant. Wasn’t a fan of the harder stuff, but these two were different. Had a few tapes by these. Loved them.

I remember getting on one of Gareth's mini buses to basics with a brand spanking pair of gazelles on and him saying summat like "are you going out like that?" or "you'll not get in with them on". was never one for getting dressed up. there didn't really appear to be any middle ground.

I never got dressed up either. I used to go to the Havana with a multi coloured t shirt on, some desert boots, and a back pack with some random dry clothes in it. The fashion side never wet my juices to be honest as I was there to rock my socks off.

It did, the Monkey followed after. Chambers does deserve more recognition, it was class as fuck but as you say, nothing touched Havana for being the best. It was special!!
From what I remember, The Blue Monkey only dabbled a bit with the rave scene, but it was the Bank Holiday session by Havana that showed people up here what the full on rave scene was all about.

I read you went to the last Havana reunion, Spens set was class as fuck. Did you see me break dancing to it?

Was Dj Spen on at the beginning g when all that hip hop and break beat stuff was on. If so I caught about half an hour of it before the music changed gears and I also thought it was awesome. I wasn’t sure it was Spen though as I didn’t know he played that type of music. Is he on the next one as I’m heading down again.