IF you've never heard of Tangled then you're simply not getting out enough.
RUNNING every Saturday at the Phoenix nightclub on Oxford Road, Tangled is one of Manchester's mainstay clubbing events with DJs Phil Morse, Terry Pointon, Herbie Saccani and Steve Thorpe whipping up a storm of dancefloor classics and big-beat breaks.
Always in favour of the live vibe, tomorrow night sees the residents making way for the infamous Big C, a DJ-cum-musician whose onstage performances are anything but incidental.
I ask Big C (aka Andy Cato) how he managed to get involved with Manchester's most likely lads?
"Phil and Terry are such nice chaps," he enthuses. "I met them last year when we played at Tangled under the banner of Beat Foundation and since then we've been good mates. I play regularly at The End in London and Lakota in Bristol but Tangled is always the one I look forward to.
"It's a real good crack, the crowd are absolutely mental and I always leave Manchester with a smile on my face. There's something about this city that makes people party with a vengeance - you just don't get that atmosphere anywhere else.
"When Big C's in the house you know its going to be an extra special party. Instead of playing for an hour and then jetting home, Big C prefers to make the night his own with a four-hour marathon of DJing and live performing that leaves Phil and company redundant until the finale.
"I've always enjoyed the idea of a complete club experience," he explains. "The Phoenix is a very small, intimate place and once it's full I get a real buzz out of charging around and entertaining people."
"It's a full evening's work but it's fun work and at the end of it, when Phil and Terry take over, I like to sit back with a beer and listen to the crowd whooping and cheering - it's great.
"I'm a very serious musician, I've played in orchestras and stuff like that but I'm not a knob-twiddling purist. With Big C you get pumping tunes, my music's there to do a job at two in the morning."
To watch Big C is entertainment in itself. One minute he's on the decks, the next he's on the stage playing a trombone. In view of such frantic club performances, I ask Big C whether he's ever considered just playing records and behaving like a normal DJ?
"Nah, that's not my style," he replies. "I love it, I love being hectic and I've never had a problem with what I do. It's all about control I suppose - when I'm DJing I know exactly where to leave the music because I know exactly what I'm going to be playing next on stage.
"There's always the danger of something going wrong, but that's what makes it exciting. I've always wanted to challenge my own capabilities as a performer but I'm not interested in tinkering around.
"Live music has to be fat and rocking,. You have to make people want to dance. There's no stopping me once the floor's full."
PAUL MAHONEY