CityLife

Clique says thanks a year on

PROMOTER and DJ Damien Johnstone wants to say a big thank-you to the Manchester Evening News: "You really helped us in our first six months of opening Clique.

"It defined the club to a lot of people. But since then the whole venture has gone off in a new direction that's far, far removed from our humble beginnings."

When we first hooked up with Clique residents Damien and Ian Jones, they were a relatively shy and retiring duo who had a good thing going with a night that appealed to fashion conscious clubbers whose sense of style stretched far into their musical tastes.

In fact, alongside Tramp and Up The Racket they form a new wave of the new wave of whatever - post house music clubbing for people who have grown up on various types of music. All too aware of the fickle nature of fashion, they chose to hide out of the limelight of their own night, instead letting the crowd do the talking.

Shyness

"I think part of it was shyness," agrees Damien, "but a lot of it was the fact that technically we weren't that good. We were still finding our feet. I wouldn't say we are arrogant now, but we're confident with where the night's going musically and of our own ability."

Clique has built up a formidable online community of sharply-dressed boys and girls who look like they haven't eaten in a long while and spent their money instead on make-up.

"I have a terrible memory for people's names," says Damien, "so MySpace was very handy for putting names to faces. In fact when the night first started really taking off, walking into the club was like walking into a real version of MySpace - quite a strange experience."

Of course, Clique no longer has any trouble attracting crowds to its regular monthly night. In fact, the last few months have officially been lock-outs by midnight.

"We seem to be attracting a whole set of girls that we're calling Dress Up Box Girls," comments Damien. "Girls who look like they've really been rummaging around in the box before they come up with their great looks.

"But I must point out that fashion never gets in the way of the music," he adds. "This is a night for people who really love hearing the records that we support."

Friday night's party is what Damien refers to as a cliquey version of Clique, because instead of guests, the pair are playing all night. But in this case, don't let the cliquey-ness put you off - the dancefloor will always be very welcoming.

Clique's birthday top ten

1. Basement Jaxx - Take Me Back To Your House

2. Prince - U Got The Look (Long Look Mix)

3. The Knife - Heartbeats (Rex The Dog Remix)

4. Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Cheated Hearts (Peaches Remix)

5. Bobby Orlando - How To Pick Up Girls

6. The Gossip - Listen Up! (MSTRKRFT Relick)

7. Jellybean (Featuring Madonna) - Sidewalk Talk (Ben Liebrand Remix)

8. Pulp - Babies

9. Girls Aloud - No Good Advice

10. Jean-Paul Gaultier - How To Do That (Clique Re-edit)

Clique @ Joshua Brooks, Charles Street, city centre (0161 273 7336) 10pm - 3am é4/é3 with flyer. For more information, please select the links below.