"It's All Yellow For Stylus"
Publication:
BBC Manchester
Date: 13.01.05
It's six years since Yellow celebrated its seventh birthday and rocked a dancefloor for the final time at the Boardwalk and now the well-loved night makes a return at Stylus. But why now? Yellow supremo Dave Haslam has the answers.
What gave you the idea to host a night of eclectica, compared to the house nights that were prevalent in early 90's Manchester?
"At the time I was actually doing a successful house night every Saturday at the Boardwalk so it wasn't about not liking the music. I think I've always thought one of the things about DJing should be to open peoples’ minds to different stuff, not just to follow what everyone else is playing. The fact that everyone else was doing house nights was the best reason not to do the same!"
When you opened the doors of the Boardwalk for the first Yellow night in February '92, how did you find it?
"We didn't do a big celeb launch and spend loads of money hyping it, but I knew we were playing the right music in the right venue. We weren't full from day one that's for sure; but once word spread, it was massive."
Are there any nights that spring to mind as very special during the time at the Boardwalk?
"The fact that I did both Friday and Saturday for many years is amazing really. Both nights full, 450 people. It was weekly as well; back then there were a lot of great weekly nights whereas now most good nights tend to be monthlies. All those Boardwalk gigs blur into one in the end, as you can imagine! You'd think, wow, things can't get any better; and then you'd go back the next week and it was yet another brilliant night."
Seven years is such a long time in Clubland, it must have been a bad time to find out that your venue was due to be closed down?
"It was only a rumour that the club was being sold but I didn't want to turn up one week with my records and find a sign on the door telling everyone it was all over. I wanted a proper send-off, and that's what we got."
The Yellow Reunion takes place soon. You must have thought hard and long about doing such a night?
"The main problem was I do some great gigs now and I'm just a bit too busy to go back and repeat stuff. Also, you worry about doing justice to your memory of it. I worry that we won't be able to get in touch with all the regulars; I wouldn't want anyone to miss out. But it's six years since the last Yellow, the music is still great, and we still know how to put one record on after the other, so why not?"
You'll be spinning alongside Jason Boardman, it must be some time since you last DJed together?
"In the early 90s, a lot of DJs played at my various nights at the Boardwalk and went on to carve out careers of their own, and Jason of course was one of them. We had some great times together, but to be honest, I think he probably hated me after being stuck at the Boardwalk every Friday with me playing Ain't Nobody and Unfinished Sympathy every week. He was definitely ready to go his own way."
In a nutshell, musically what can punters expect from the Yellow Reunion night?
"It was always good quality party music, very funk and disco oriented. And stuff like Let the Music Play by Shannon; what a great record that was. And still is. See what I mean; great music never dies!"
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