My First Club takes us back to the beginning, transporting DJs and producers back into the depths of their memory, asking them to take us on a trip to those pivotal first nights in clubland. Following entries from the likes of Michael Mayer, Herve, MK, Slimzee,and Hudson Mohawke, we caught up with UK rave overlord Mark Archer, aka one half of Altern 8, aka Trackman. He decided to give us two takes on the first club experience. Follow him into the dismal depths of a dingy high street club in Stafford, and then into the glory days of acid house in a gay club in Stoke on Trent. Archer's recently had two EPs worth of mid-90s material, recorded under his Trackman alias, released by New York Infrastructure. He'll also be appearing at Evian Christ's Trance Party events at the end of October, as part of Altern 8.THUMP: How old were you when you went to a club for the first time?
Mark Archer: I was probably 16 or 17 which doesn't sound young by today's standards but back then you'd be hard pushed to get in a club when you were younger than that.Who were you with?
Two girls from the YTS scheme I was on, can't remember the name of the one but the other was Kerry Locke and I really fancied her.Where was it?
It was the 'Top Of The World /Ritzy' (an upstairs and downstairs type of deal) in Stafford where I lived near. It's still there and has gone through many name changes but essentially it's the same place.How did you get there?
On the Gnosall to Stafford bus, I caught the 7pm(ish) bus (how on earth do I remember all this) because I was well square and didn't want to miss anything, but I had no idea what to expect and just wandered round the town until 9 as I didn't know anyone.What were you wearing?
A long blue shirt (untucked) a pair of blue Farah trousers and slip on loafers with tassels. It sounds hideous but it was the thing back then.Who was playing?
The same guy who played every week, he played all night. There wasn't a warm up DJ or a headliner, it was just this one dude and most people never knew his name. It wasn't about the DJ though.What was the crowd like?
A total mixture of people who wanted a fight or to get pissed, people into what was then 'indie music' (The Cult, The Cure etc etc) and those into dance music, 80's soul and funk and electro.What were the toilets like?
It wasn't flash, they were just toilets. Not ruined or up to the ankle in rave piss, just ok toilets.What did you do after?
Got a taxi outside and went home. I didn't know anyone in Stafford so after losing the girls pretty much as soon as I got in (their choice not mine) I was on my own.
18 or 19. That was basically my age when acid house really hit it big in the UK and I started going to acid nights.Who were you with?
I was with Dean who I was recording with at the time under the name Rhythm Mode D and later formed Bizarre Inc with, plus a few other mates from Stafford.Where was it?
It was in the basement of a gay bar in Stoke On Trent called the Excalibur. You had to wait upstairs until the DJ announced it was open downstairs and you walked into complete darkness apart from a strobe light and loads and loads of smoke.How did you get there?
I drove in my Mini, picked a few mates up and headed to Stoke, being followed by another mate with a car full, going round roundabouts like five times because we were being dicks.What were you wearing?
I was wearing a home made acid smiley t shirt (I still have it). I painted loads of different coloured smiley faces on a white t shirt and it glowed like mad when I got in there under the UV.Who was playing?
A northern soul DJ called Colin Curtis who had got into the house thing pretty early on and a young DJ from Stoke called Daz Willot. The mixing was either horrendous or none existent, but it was about the tunes and you could forgive a few bad mixes. Not that many people mixed back then.What was the crowd like?
It was really fresh, a total change from what I was used to. Everyone was there for this one type of music, everyone was mad friendly and danced all night. There were no fights, no people sitting round waiting for their kind of music to come on. Everyone wore smiley t shirts and bandana's and had little glow sticks in their mouths, it was mental.What were the toilets like?
No idea, don't think I ever went to the toilet there, was way too busy dancing.What did you do after?
Drove back to Stafford via a kebab shop near Hanley and just talked nonstop about what we'd all just experienced, totally blew us away and that was the life change that happened in 1988.Follow Mark Archer on Facebook // Bandcamp // Twitter
Advertisement
Mark Archer: I was probably 16 or 17 which doesn't sound young by today's standards but back then you'd be hard pushed to get in a club when you were younger than that.Who were you with?
Two girls from the YTS scheme I was on, can't remember the name of the one but the other was Kerry Locke and I really fancied her.Where was it?
It was the 'Top Of The World /Ritzy' (an upstairs and downstairs type of deal) in Stafford where I lived near. It's still there and has gone through many name changes but essentially it's the same place.How did you get there?
On the Gnosall to Stafford bus, I caught the 7pm(ish) bus (how on earth do I remember all this) because I was well square and didn't want to miss anything, but I had no idea what to expect and just wandered round the town until 9 as I didn't know anyone.What were you wearing?
A long blue shirt (untucked) a pair of blue Farah trousers and slip on loafers with tassels. It sounds hideous but it was the thing back then.Who was playing?
The same guy who played every week, he played all night. There wasn't a warm up DJ or a headliner, it was just this one dude and most people never knew his name. It wasn't about the DJ though.What was the crowd like?
A total mixture of people who wanted a fight or to get pissed, people into what was then 'indie music' (The Cult, The Cure etc etc) and those into dance music, 80's soul and funk and electro.
Advertisement
It wasn't flash, they were just toilets. Not ruined or up to the ankle in rave piss, just ok toilets.What did you do after?
Got a taxi outside and went home. I didn't know anyone in Stafford so after losing the girls pretty much as soon as I got in (their choice not mine) I was on my own.
How old were you when you went to a 'proper' club for the first time?
18 or 19. That was basically my age when acid house really hit it big in the UK and I started going to acid nights.Who were you with?
I was with Dean who I was recording with at the time under the name Rhythm Mode D and later formed Bizarre Inc with, plus a few other mates from Stafford.Where was it?
It was in the basement of a gay bar in Stoke On Trent called the Excalibur. You had to wait upstairs until the DJ announced it was open downstairs and you walked into complete darkness apart from a strobe light and loads and loads of smoke.How did you get there?
I drove in my Mini, picked a few mates up and headed to Stoke, being followed by another mate with a car full, going round roundabouts like five times because we were being dicks.What were you wearing?
I was wearing a home made acid smiley t shirt (I still have it). I painted loads of different coloured smiley faces on a white t shirt and it glowed like mad when I got in there under the UV.Who was playing?
A northern soul DJ called Colin Curtis who had got into the house thing pretty early on and a young DJ from Stoke called Daz Willot. The mixing was either horrendous or none existent, but it was about the tunes and you could forgive a few bad mixes. Not that many people mixed back then.What was the crowd like?
It was really fresh, a total change from what I was used to. Everyone was there for this one type of music, everyone was mad friendly and danced all night. There were no fights, no people sitting round waiting for their kind of music to come on. Everyone wore smiley t shirts and bandana's and had little glow sticks in their mouths, it was mental.What were the toilets like?
No idea, don't think I ever went to the toilet there, was way too busy dancing.What did you do after?
Drove back to Stafford via a kebab shop near Hanley and just talked nonstop about what we'd all just experienced, totally blew us away and that was the life change that happened in 1988.Follow Mark Archer on Facebook // Bandcamp // Twitter