The success of Boy’s Own turned Berkshire into a Balearic beat stronghold, with every available venue being booked by local enthusiastic Shoom-ers and Spectrum-goers hosting their own events. There were parties in barns, fields and equestrian centres. Danny Rampling headlined a day-time event in Upton Park (1). 

Saturday night strongholds of First Division footballers and glamour models, such as Haven Stables in Ealing, and Valbonnes in Maidenhead, were given over to Sunday night sessions that seised on the hedonism and carried the acid house abandon of Friday and Saturday through to the weekend’s close. At Valbonnes the party was called The Action and then Passion, and presided over by Tommy Mac. The club was situated on the banks of the River Thames, at Boulter’s Lock – next door to the Skindles Hotel – and boasted an indoor swimming pool – adding to its air of Ibiza / Balearic make-believe. Main floor DJs included Rocky & Diesel, while the back room was hosted by local lads Mark Cheney and Michael Sershall. This “alternative” space was named The Shrubbery and featured a soundtrack of sides such as Yellow Magic Orchestra’s Firecracker and The Waterboys’ The Whole Of The Moon. Cheney and Sershall also held parties at Windsor’s Old Trout and threw a now legendary barn party, at an equestrian centre in Winkfield, under the banner Bizarre. The latter attracted over a 1000 people, with Kevin Hurry, Kevin Swain, Rampling and Andrew Weatherall DJing. They then began a weekly Friday night at The Paradise Club in Islington (2). 

Passion (Main Room) Plays 

Cry Sisco / Afrodizziact

Malcolm McClaren / Deep In Vogue 

Richie Rich / Salsa House

Simply Red – It’s Only Love

Thrashing Doves – Sympathy For The Devil 

Bizarre Balearic Beats

Albert One / Visions

Dizzi Heights / Would I Find Love

Dub Syndicate / Ravi Shankar

Ethereal Beat / Can You Understand?

U2 / Desire (Hollywood Remix)

X-Tended / Split

In 1988 Phil Perry, together with his then partner Fiona Crawford, started holding Sunday afternoon parties at Queens, a club situated on a hill overlooking the Queen Mother Reservoir in Slough. With Phil acting as resident DJ, and bringing in guests such as Rampling, Farley, and Rocky & Diesel. There were P.A.s by people like Dizzi Heights, and Martin Passey would read his poetry. The club’s curtains would be closed between 1 and 4PM, and the place would be full of kids in dungarees and Kickers. Many of whom would then head to Passion, which ran from 9pm to 2am. When the Queens sessions finished in 1990, it was Weatherall who played the final track – a live take of The Rolling Stones’ You Can’t Always Get What You Want. 

A Few Queens Tunes 

Natalie Cole / Pink Cadillac

Will Downing / A Love Supreme

Joe Smooth / Promised Land

Westbam / Alarm Clock

Sterling Void / It’s Alright

Third World / Now That We’ve Found Love 

Perry and Crawford then moved the party down the London Road to The Greyhound, in Colnbrook, near Heathrow airport. A large, 250-capacity “country tavern”, that catered to the LGBTQ community during the week. Opening at midday and closing, initially at 4PM, and then 6, the session was a “nexus”, where folks from the Balearic scene – DJs, promoters, and punters – would gather and compare hangovers, stories and scars from the night before. The crowd was a Who’s Who of Balearic, from all over the UK. 

Conceived initially as a “wind-down” event, in another reaction to and against rave, Perry’s plan was to go back, and spin only soul. Hence the name Full Circle. However, with the arrival of a fresh batch of ecstasy into Britain – in the shape of white tablets embossed with a dove – the playlist quickly veered off into house and techno. Due to the pub’s proximity to the airport guests included visiting US DJs, such as Richie Hawtin, Danny Tenaglia, Tony Humphries, and Doc Martin, who would pop in and play before their flights home. If they weren’t playing they would simply hang out. You could share a beer in the garden with Todd Terry and David Morales. Weatherall, the local hero, was elevated to god-like status. Full Circle also became a testing ground for the next wave of UK DJs and producers, whose uptempo sampled-based tracks earned the moniker, “progressive house”. Names such as David Holmes, Fabi Paras, Peace Division’s Clive Henry, Justin Robertson, and Kevins Hurry & Swain – who by this time were recording as D.O.P. – populated the bill (3). 

A Few Full Circle Favourites 

Aftershock / Slave To The Vibe

Joey Beltram / Energy Flash

C & C Music Factory / Pride

Capricorn / 50Hz

Djaimin / Give You

DOP / Future Le Funk

DSK / What Would We Do

Hardfloor / Aceperience

Kingdom Come / Jungle Bliss

Leftfield / Song Of Life

Lemon Interrupt / Big Mouth

Mass Order / Let’s Get Happy

Robotman / Do Da Doo

R-Tyme / R-Theme

SAS / Amber Groove

Smells Like Heaven / Londres Strutt 

Sunscreem / Love U More

X-Press 2 / Musik Xpress

Also spun out of the parties at Queens was Flying. Eventually expanding into an empire, Flying began in 1989 as a Monday or Tuesday night at Queens, organised by DJs Brandon Block and Dean Thatcher. The pair having previously held a residency at ZigZag, at the Broadway Boulevard in Ealing. Thatcher brought in “Charlie” Chester to help and promote the event (4). 

Chester took the brand, Flying, secured significant financial backing, and opened a record shop. Located in the basement of Kensington Market, the shop was conceived as much as a meeting place, and HQ for their promotions company, but it became one of the go-to destinations in London for European, primarily Italian imports. Chester and Thatcher would regularly go to Italy on buying trips and ship boxes of records back. Giving them exclusives which they would sell hundreds of copies of in a week. 

Flying the party had moved to Saturday nights, and The Soho Theatre Club, on Falconberg Court. Round the back of The Astoria and a couple of hundred metres from The Milk Bar. The venue was small. Around 200 people in a single room, with an alley out back where folks could chat. Packed from the very start, everyone was quickly at the very least a nodding acquaintance. The crowd at Flying was no where near as self-consciously cool as that at The Yellow Book. The whole club would sing along to, for example, Alison Limerick’s Where Love Lives. Every word. Pointing accusing fingers as they mimed to the line, “Don’t reach out to me with an apology.” When Weatherall played his remix of Primal Scream’s Come Together, the entire dance floor held hands. This attitude crossed over to the tunes that were played. 

Flying consciously championed European dance music, when US club sounds dominated underground / pirate airwaves. Music from Italy, Germany and Spain mixed with sides from Detroit, Chicago and New York. Geography didn’t come into it. There were no distinctions between House and Techno. Raps were dodgy. All that mattered was that a track had the required energy. Compared to, say, The Yellow Book, Flying was a bit rave-y. While The Yellow Book had indie band in-crowders and NME journalists chugging around to That Petrol Emotion, The Soup Dragons, Saint Etienne, The Farm, and Foxy Brown, at Flying, the sirens of KLF`s What Time Is Love? might greet you as you walked through the door. Or A Homeboy, A Hippie & A Funki Dred`s collage of breakbeats and bleep. With no concern for genres or pigeon-holes, Seechi’s yes-to-everything “scream-up” I Say Yeah, could sit in the same set as the gospel of Terry Callier’s I Don’t Want To See Myself. When Ali Jobe, who usually manned the door, started doing Classics Nights – revisiting house by The Nightwriters, Charles B and Ten City – people would be crying. Screaming. Begging for one more. 

Flying Favourites

49th Floor / Night Passage

A Man Called Adam / Barefoot In The Head

Ariel / Rollercoaster & Sea Of Beats

Audio Deluxe / Sixty Seconds

Be Big / That’s When It’s Gold

Beautiful Ballet / Energy (Rudy’s Remix)

Blvd Mosse / Can’t Escape The Hypeness

Coco, Steel & Lovebomb / Feel It

Cola Boy / 7 Ways 2 Love

DJ H & Stefy / Think About

Double Dee / Found Love

D Rail / Bring It On Down

Ian Dury / Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick (Flying Mix)

The End / Extasy Express

Eve Gallagher / Love Come Down

James / Come Home

Frank K / Everybody

Kwanzaa Posse / Wicked Funk

La Camour / Tarantella

Loco Mia / Rumba Samba Mambo

LUPO / Hell Or Heaven

Mad Jacks / Feel The Hit

Madonna / Vogue

Mr Luthero / Rotation

MK / Decay

Moby / Go

Raimunda Navarro / Jungle Fever

Frances Nero / Footsteps Following Me

Orchestra JB / Free Spirit (FPI Project Mix)

Paradiso / Here We Go Again

Johnny Parker / Love It

Rap Delight / Back Again

Santa Esmeralda / Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood

Seechi / Flute On

Sensuround / Blind Faith

Sheertaft / Cascades

Pete Wylie / Sinful

Slam / Eterna

Sound Of Shoom / I Hate Hate

Stex / Still Feel The Rain

TC 1991 / TC 1991

The Temptations / Ain’t Too Proud To Beg

True Faith / Take Me Away

Unlimited Pleasure / Love Machine 

Flying partnered the weekly parties with a bigger monthly Friday event at the 500-capacity Dingwalls in Camden, called Gosh. These were in part hosted by Rocky and Clive Henry. The larger venue allowed for P.A.s by bands, such as New York’s Deeelite, Boy George, If? and artists signed to George’s More Protein record label. George, assuming the alias Jesus Loves You, released Bow Down Mister – a Country & Western ballad, transformed by NYC Disco legend Bruce Forest into a celebratory Hari Krishna hymn. A plea for understanding and inclusivity, it was as cheesy as fuck, but it rang with the then optimism. At Flying and Gosh they’d hand out tambourines, and chemically untied clubbers would bang in time until their fingers were swollen and bruised. Weatherall would usually play the closing set. Testing out recently completed remixes, such as Jah Wobble’s Bomba and Love Corporation’s Give Me Some Love (5). 

Gosh Gear 

(To be honest, the tunes at Flying and Gosh massively overlapped but these are a few that, in particular, remind me of the latter)

2 Mad / Thinkin’ About Your Body

The Aloof / Never Get Out The Boat

ASHA / JJ Tribute

Archie Bell & The Drells / Don’t Let Love Get You Down

Deep Joy / Fall (Let There Be Drums)

Dubweiser / How Soon Is Now

Fluke / Philly

Last Rhythm / Last Rhythm

Less Stress / Don’t Dream It’s Over

Nomad / Devotion

Ce Ce Rogers / All Join Hands

This Ragged Jack / Party’s Over (Flying Mix)

There were also invite-only Sunday afternoon / evening sessions held at El Metro, an Italian restaurant situated within Hammersmith tube station. The invites were handed out to selected dancers at the Soho Theatre Club the night before. The DJ residencies for all three parties were covered by Brandon Block, Glenn Gunner, Lofty Harper, Rocky & Diesel, and Dean Thatcher – all of whom – except Diesel – also worked in the shop. Also on the shop staff were Paul Payne and Max Mackie. Scott Braithwaite was another resident who rotated at the party. Expanding to include a record label, Cowboy Records, and a DJ management agency, assisted by Chester’s then partner, Karon Dunn, Flying consolidated their hard work by organising a holiday – a package trip to Ibiza. 

IBIZA 90 was basically a British invasion, away from the “fun pubs” of San Antonio, and instead taking over Summum, The Star Club, Pacha, KU, Es Paradis, and Amnesia. For two weeks replacing the clubs’ DJs and crowds with their own. Importing 23 DJs and further entertaining the 500 UK clubbers with gigs by the bands 808 State, A Man Called Adam and The Farm (6). The Farm’s manager, Kevin Sampson, working with director Angus Cameron and cameraman Tim Morris Jones, captured the trip for TV. Producing the documentary, A Short Film About Chilling, for Channel 4. Two and a half million people watched its broadcast, late on a Friday night.

A Short Film About Chilling Track-list 

A Man Called Adam / Barefoot In The Head

Bocca Juniors / Raise

The Grid / Floatation

L.U.P.O. / Keep It Up 

Meat Beat Manifesto / Radio Babylon

Movement 98 / Joy & Heartbreak

My Bloody Valentine / Soon (Weatherall Mix)

Primal Scream / Come Together (Weatherall Mix)

Jamie Principle / Your Love (Candi Staton Bootleg)

St. Etienne / Only Love Can Break Your Heart (Weatherall Mix)

The Shamen / Move Any Mountain

Voice Of Africa / Hoomba Hoomba

West Bam / Hold Me Back

NOTES

1. Please follow crap_in_my_loft on Instagram, where my old friend, Stuart Hogg, will provide you with an exhaustive, illustrated, anecdotal account of this scene. 

2. Weatherall put together a compilation of Italian tracks that were played at the Bizarre barn party for BCM. Sershall did something similar for FFRR. 

Cheney now DJs and produces under the alias Mark Seven and runs the label Parkway Records. 

3. Full Circle eventually moved to Studio 412, and then closed in October 1997.

4. Charlie says Monday, Brandon says Tuesday. Goodness knows which one is right.

5. It should be noted that these remixes were the work of Weatherall and engineer Hugo Nicolson.

6. The full DJ line up – I think – was as follows: Oakenfold, Rampling, Mike Pickering, Weatherall, Farley, Rocky & Diesel, Dean Thatcher, Phil Perry, Steve Lee, Kevin Hurry, Steve Bicknell, Johnny Walker, Ben & Andy Boilerhouse, Harvey, Bob Jones, Scott James, Craig Walsh, Glen Gunner….then Tony Ross from Manchester (808 State’s tour DJ – often played on the same bill as Sasha at Shelleys in Stoke, and worked at the legendary Spin Inn record shop), Gary Allen from Liverpool (who was a friend of The Farm and DJ at Macmillans on Bold Street – pre-acid house) plus Slam’s Orde Meikle from Glasgow.

REFERENCES

Conversations with Chris Galloway, Darren Rock, Dr. Sally Rodgers, Mark Seven and Kevin Swain. 

Joe Roberts’ Red Bull Full Circle article.

John Godfrey’s piece on Flying for The Face.

A Short Film About Chilling

Thank you to Martin Wason for the Flying newsletters.