Aah man that sounds brilliant
Ha! I went here once too and it was equally grim. Would have been 2005 ish. Was sitting across the road with my then girlfriend having a meal, then decided to crack out the MDMA as one does on a random Thursday night. I was 25, so definitely old enough to know better, but in my inebriated state, thought it might be a bit of a laugh. It wasnât. Lads in rugby shirts throwing beer over each other etc. We promptly left, but the whole ordeal was quite depressing. I remember thinking it unfathomable that this was the highlight of some peopleâs week.
2 Likes
My first club night was the Sub Club in Glasgow at age 15. Would have been late 95. Iâd love to say that it was to see Harri and Dominic, but it was an under 18s happy hardcore night. Still bloody amazing to teenage me whoâd been quite obsessed with dance music from a very young age.
First over 18s night was in 98 at a notorious shit hole called Bonkers Show Bar where the DJ downstairs played a mixture of commercial house and Euro trance!
A year later I discovered the Arches and that changed everything. Then a year after that, things had gone full circle and I was back in the Sub Club where it all started.
4 Likes
1985 Tiffanyâs in Exeter. I was 13 and my older friend bought 3 of us tickets for a jazz-funk all-dayer, The Humdinger. Unbelievably, i got in, and remember in the daytime seeing a reggae toaster perform and in the evening seeing Edwin Starr fall off a chair while singing and Chad Jackson scratching with some gum on a chair leg. I wonder if it was the same chair?
4 Likes
the Bonkers compilations used to pop up on adverts and they genuinely terrified me as a kid.
1 Like
I played at a couple of those as a guest, it was run by 2 uni students, Barry and Mario. Barry Castignola is a comedian/comedy producer now. Good nights. The Old Timepiece was ace, I was resident at Cheesey Club on a Thursday, amongst others nights there.
2 Likes
Bonkers was the name of the actual venue and it was a very suitable name!
The Bonkers compilations were entirely separate as far as Iâm aware. I do remember the first one being all the rage when I was in high school around 97.
1 Like
Nothing iâm aware of. Being a local, and theirâs being a student night, i was kind of peripheral to the people/scene. I am friends with Barry on the social medias, i shall ask.
1 Like
I always thought they were connected but I was nine years old in 97 so I had no clue! Am I right in thinking Bonkers had unwritten rules about where you could sit/dance based on your local young team, and if you went to the wrong corner you would expect a battering?
I went to a night there once, was a lot of speed garage & champagne going on from what I can remember.
I donât know if thatâs true, but it wouldnât surprise me. It was a violent nightclub for sure. I was more into the peace and love vibe, so quickly moved on to pastures new.
Not sure how to post links yet, but see below.