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Music

A Very Brief Chat with Birmingham Boys Bigger than Barry

The masterminds behind a Midlands institution reveal all ahead of a THUMP hosted party with Slimzee and Preditah.

The city of Birmingham has a rich musical history, having been the birthplace of everyone from the Black Sabbath boys to Toyah Wilcox, UB40, the bloke from Napalm Death who was on Ed Miliband's Radio 2 show last week, and three-quarters of Duran Duran.

In addition to that luminous lot, there's another Midlands institution that needs a mention. Not, as you might think, named after the larger-than-life walrus-of-love himself, but in fact the subject of a documentary about the fattest man in Britain, Bigger than Barry has become one of the regions best known, and loved, nights out.

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Known for having a healthy appetite for anything bassy, and a desire to do clubbing a little differently, the BTB boys—Bobby Barnes and Sam Bayliss—know all about throwing a proper party. Which, as anyone who's stepped foot in a club in the last few years will tell you, is rarer than it should be. Tomorrow night they'll be hosting the second of Desperados' Clubhouse events , and they've decided to pack Slimzee and Preditah on the train up to Brum for what's sure to be a seriously sweaty, stupidly fun night out. Ahead of the event, we had a very quick chat with the lads.

THUMP: Firstly, can you give us a bit of context for BTB? What was your involvement in the city's nightlife before you started the event?
Bigger than Barry: We used to hang out at the famous Panic, which was a massive indie party. We had also run smaller nights but nothing had us prepared for Bigger Than Barry.

What's Birmingham like as a nightlife destination in general?
Decent, live shows are a struggle, but if youre a Jeans & Sheux kind of guy you have loads of choice. If not, you have Digbeth.

If you had to guide me to the best pub, the best restaurant, and the best club to while away a night in the city, where are you taking me?
Nowadays, we'd go to the Old Crown to wet our whistles, then onto Digbeth Dining Club to savour a range of culinary delights and finally we'd get turnt at Moschino Hoe, Versace Hottie.

What's the BTB vibe in general?
Big fat bass for the human race. Layers of scenes coming together and not caring about how they look, just there to vibe with the Fat Man.

Finally, what can we expect from the Desperados event?
Bazza will dust off his classics for a likkle dance. Why not.