The Mançhester music scene has always led from the underground. Bands, clubs, DJ's Labels, record shops and radio all fed off each other to produce an edge and an energy that, for me, no other city can replicate or comes close to replicating!
We lived for Wednesday night to come around when the weekend could begin with the midweek visit to hear Jon DaSilva grace the decks of the Haçienda riding high for the weekend ahead when we could bounce through those hanging industrial plastic sheets that resembled a factory entrance that met us directly after walking through those infamous '51' emblazoned doors.
I digress, but those hanging factory, almost slaughterhouse style ceiling to floor plastic strips served to dampen the relentless thump of the four to the floor house beats which sounds strange to experience when walking into a nightclub! Yet, somehow, those imposing slaughterhouse style factory sheets served only to enhance the excitement of the clubbing experience! They added yet another layer of mystery to the night as we entered our hedonistic church! They masked what was happening on the other side. They imposed dampening the sound, cloaking the atmosphere and further hiding from the world a space that changed us for ever! Picture the delight as we pushed aside the industrial plastic, the full force of heat and sweat swamping us, wrapping our physical beings in a heady, damp, hedonistic cloud of energy as the loudness of the beats lifted us, carrying us forward towards the cheers, the whistles and the excitement as we bounced towards the dance floor. We grinned from ear to ear knowing what delights lay ahead for the next few hours at least! Bring it on! How we longed for this to go on past its 2:00 am curfew! Still despite this we lived every moment to it's full!
Somehow it could! Manchester had a way of keeping this energy going, keeping the relentless beat alive, serving to make Manchester a true 24 hour party city serving its hedonistic 24 hour party people to the max! Radio stations emerged out of this underground sound, replicating our weekend, yet without compromising or losing the edge that can traditionally happen as an underground sound becomes more popular! Such was the talent of Mançhester's DJ's.
One such radio station was Sunset 102. First airing as the embers of the Second Summer of Love' flickered away in October 1989. Shows such as those from the 808 State DJ's, Mike Shaft and Colin Curtis continued to fuel our weekend experience by meeting the audiences' thirst for new music and the continuation of the previous nights party delights!
Of course pivotal to this was a show that aired for a few hours each saturday night. Haçienda FM served us with a soundtrack to warm us up for our Saturday night clubbing experience. Haçienda and Dry bar DJ's Dave Rofe and Pete Robinson took to the air building the night with tracks that delighted us, introduced forthcoming vinyl delights and aired a set from the previous weeks Haçienda DJ's taken direct from the club! The night was set...
Blog51 is pleased to be able to share one such moment with you. Enjoy as Dave and Pete take to the air and cap it off with a set from Mr McCready himself recorded live from the Gay Traitor in the Haçienda's basement .... Happy New Year !
The document demonstrates how Sunset 102 FM shows were on the cutting edge representing the music scene of the day.... Priceless - how I long for radio like this now! x
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