FOR a club night to survive its first year is an achievement worthy of a whopping party.
For a club night to survive its first SEVEN years... well, let's just say that deserves something a little more hardcore. Running tomorrow night at the Phoenix (Oxford Rd), Tangled is set to celebrate its seventh year as Manchester's best kept clubbing secret.
Inspired by the energy of the post-rave era, stalwart residents Phil Morse and Terry Pointon [above], Herbie Saccani and Steve Thorpe have manned the decks throughout the club's long history, raising the roof in the absence of big name guests and big dollar hype.
Underground house and break-beat booms through the system across two floors, attracting a horde of pure party people keen to shake a leg and get sweaty. It's loud, it's lively, and it's most definitely 'avin it large - I met up with Phil and Terry to find out what's in store.
"It's going to be a typical Tangled celebration - very underground, no big names, and lots of surprises," says Phil. "TCR Records are taking over the upstairs room to promote their latest break-beat compilation, but apart from that it's just us, the residents, and a dancefloor full of music lovers."
Neither strictly cutting edge nor fiercely fashion conscious, Tangled has carved its own unique niche amid the city's turbulent club culture. Forget the who's who, the hoi polloi, the movers and shakers - simply hang your cares in the cloakroom and make a B-line for the bass bins. After all, there's nothing better than a right ol' knees up.
"It's all about understanding what makes a good night out," explains Phil. "It's not what's being written about or who's the flavour of the month - that doesn't make a good club night, it never has and it never will. For example, you can't just book a few trendy DJs, hire a nice venue and hope it works because there's much more to it than that. It's organic, it happens slowly, and it's not really a trendy thing."
'It's a passion," continues Terry. "Running a club night isn't rocket science but there's definitely an art to it, and I think it's something we've become very good at. We can make people come back week after week, we've learnt about breaking new records, how long to play them for, when to stop playing them, and we've never forgotten that it's Saturday night so it's meant to be fun. People work all week and they don't want to go out and stare at their shoes or stand with a bunch of specky lads looking at white labels, noddin' their heads. I mean, where's the fun in that?"
It's over ten years since Phil and Terry first set foot upon the dancefloor, during which time club culture has undergone all manner of shifts and slides. Hip hop has become the new "baggy" sound, house has supposedly died and been reborn, techno and trance have upped the tempo, while drum 'n' bass just keeps on rollin'.
With a younger generation of nu skool clubbers keen to reclaim the beats, I ask Tangled's "old guard" whether there's really any difference between good times past and present?
"The biggest compliment we get is people saying this is what it used to be like," says Phil. "We're the old farts now, so we're able to apply what we learnt through our misspent youth to allow other people to have an even better misspent youth.
"Over the last two years there's definitely been a new generation of clubbers coming through, but personally I don't think they're any different to how we used to be when we first started clubbing."
"Not at all," continues Terry. "They're nutters!"
PAUL MAHONEY