The Chemical Brothers join Bugged Out for 15th birthday
IN an age when new club nights spring up at a rate of 400 every weekend, longevity is something to be respected.
So hats off to Bugged Out, which celebrates 15 years - the same amount of time as original venue Sankeys - in the game with a birthday special featuring The Chemical Brothers tonight (November 20).
Any return to Manchester is special for the globe-trotting duo, since they first got together while studying at Manchester University and had their first dalliances with DJing - under the infringement-happy moniker The Dust Brothers - in the city.
It was downstairs at Joshua Brooks, the venue which in recent years has also given birth to nights such as digital disco pop extravaganza Clique, that the Chemical Brothers' Naked Under Leather parties first took shape.
Inspired by their experiences going to watch latter-day peer Justin Robertson (whose acidic stylings would go on to inform many a reciprocal remix) down the road at Whitworth Street' Hacienda, the club allowed the fledgling pair to cut their teeth and test out techniques that would eventually form the basis for their all-conquering appearances at the London-based Heavenly Social.
Not only that, but Bugged Out itself also holds special significance for the duo, acting as it did as the scene of some of their earliest breaks.
Tom and Ed played there five months after the night launched, making one of their most memorable Sankeys (Soap) appearances playing under the name 'Very Special Guests Live And Direct From Planet Dust' (their debut LP, Exit Planet Dust, released two months later, continued the habit of referencing their lawsuit-enforced departure from the Dust Brothers tag).
The appearance was the duo's first ever live appearance at Sankeys and they certainly made the most of the opportunity. Piling on to the cramped stage with a set-up comprising five keyboards, a clutch of samplers and some second-hand strobe lights, legend has it they tore the venue up, setting the standard for a live style that was revisited to even more devastating effect a year later.
Fateful night
Speaking to the stalwart clubbing brand's website recently, Ed Simons confirmed the special place that Bugged Out will always hold his and Tom Rowlands' collective heart.
“Although you have been based in London for years it still means Manchester and Sankeys Soap to me,” he said. “Hearing those DJs play in that back street club back then. And [dance music magazine] Jockey Slut's office was upstairs at the time so it all tied together.”
Both of The Chemical Brothers' early appearances at Bugged Out saw them play alongside James Holroyd, sowing the seeds for a long-time live partnership that comes full circle tonight when the legendary resident again plays warm-up for the pair.
It was at their first Bugged Out show that, along with a certain Derrick Carter (who, they note, was “quite good”), Tom and Ed first witnessed Holroyd's skills behind the decks, sparking a love affair that would see him become a permanent part of their touring crew.
“It was very packed when we were about to play live that night and James created a real tension, playing really interesting records, really building it up,” said Simons to the Bugged Out website, recalling the fateful night.
“He's carried on doing that for us ever since. We used to warm up a lot when we started DJing, playing to the cleaner and bar staff so we understood the art of warming up.”
Holroyd and The Chemical Brothers will be joined tonight by Portland, Oregon's Nathan Detroit (nee Natron), who emerged from a self-imposed underground hiatus two years ago with a hard-edged party sound perfectly suited to complement the duo and their long-term compadre and evoke the sort of hedonistic basement party for which Bugged Out has become famous.
Whatever goes off tonight, you can rest assured that everyone involved will be itching to get back in the Sankeys saddle. For The Chemical Brothers the gig represents their first Radium Street appearance in an almost unbelievable four and a half years, something which for Simons comes not a moment too soon.
“We're really looking forward to it. We have been in the studio a lot recently and have new stuff to play. We finished something off the other day that we both said would sound good at Sankeys, it has that level of intensity. We still like it up in Manchester”
Published: Fri, 20 November, 2009
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