Sundissential, Birmingham, New Year's Eve, 2002

[Blink]

New Year's Eve, possibly the most over-hyped night of the year. The night when you are supposed to go out and party wildly, leave behind the dross and disappointment of the old year, and pass into a new year full of possibility and potential. I have had great nights out on New Years Eve, and I have had disasterous ones, I have also wonderful nights in, with a good wine and the love of a good woman, and suicidal nights in alone. New Year's Eve, a night of introspection and reflection, full of joy and heartbreak, a night......well, I will refrain from digressing further, this is, after all Club The World, a clubber's website, and this is supposed to be a review, so.....what would New Year's Eve 2002 bring?

 

The line-up was one of the strongest I had seen at SS-HQ, and although £25 for a members ticket did seem a bit steep (£29 for non-members), bearing in mind it was New Year's Eve, an all-nighter, and a strong line-up, it seemed fairly reasonable.

 

We arrived at about 8.50pm for a 9.00 opening, to find long queues for both ticket-holders and non-ticket holders alike. Everyone was in a high spirits, despite the cold, and the threat of rain, and there were always more people you knew turning up. Suprisingly for Sundissential, the doors opened about on time, and the queue quickly moved, so with everyone laughing and joking, we were inside in what seemed like a very short time. (Our humour was only dented slightly on discovering that the bar prices had been put up for the evening, £3.70 for a Smirnoff Ice!!) Inside there was a buzz about the place, lots of smiles, and good music. It looked set to be a great night.

 

Forgive me if I get the playing order wrong, the night did get a little a hazy, but this is what I can remember....Nick Rafferty, Eddie Halliwell, Adam Sheridan, Paul Kershaw, Strange Dave and Dangle, Charlotte Birch, Rob Tissera, Ian M and finally Andy Farley. To review every DJ would be silly, and to be honest I would be lying (I wandered up to the stage once, thinking that Ian M was playing, only to find him sitting on a his record box(?) at the front of the stage, looking out at the crowd, and Mr Farley on the decks). So I will just give a general overview, and my highlights and lowlights.

 

The music was outstanding, for the full 9 hours it was hard, it was real Hard house, I have never known Sundissential stay that hard for that length of time. The dancefloor was permenantly packed, maybe slightly overcrowded, but what else can you expect. Everything was all smiles. Madders did his usual, annoying piece, of jumping on the microphone between sets to introduce people, and slate Carl Cox and his Radio One cronies.

 

Madders managed to stop the music for the midnight count down with about 3 minutes to go, which gave him plenty of time to waffle on. Everybody joined in the count from 10 to zero, there was lots of shouting, balloons fell from the ceiling, and the speakers broadcast that famous refrain "General Quarters, General Quarters, all hands man your battlestations, all hands man your battlestations, this is a drill, this is a drill". Midnight had come and gone, we were now in 2003 and it was just a case of going round, shaking hands with random strangers and wishing them a Happy New Year, and getting back on with dancing.

 

I must mention Eddie Halliwell, he played a hard set, but it maintained plenty of energy throughout. I was slightly disappointed with Strange Dave and Dangle, as they played the softest set, and I can usually rely on them to be hard, and I found that it lowered the energy levels slightly, but that is only a small complaint on what otherwise was a great night. A special shout must go out to Nick Rafferty, I wonder if he read my review of Polysexual , because he got the night off to a flier, and it was hard enough that I didn't think everyone else would be able to keep up. (But they did )

 

This was without question one of the best nights, if not the best, I have had at Sundissential, a large crowd in a happy mood, lots of friends, and good DJ's playing hard. Would I rather have been anywhere else for New Year's Eve? Well, not having my best friend with me was a disappointment, but that aside, I can't think of another club in the country that I would have prefered to be in.

 

Getting a flier outside Sundissential afterwards, advising everyone that the Grand Re-opening on 25 January was going to be at Sanctuary (with plans for upgrading the decor and facilities (where have we heard that before) meant that it was also a goodbye party for The Academy. It was a good way to say goodbye to a venue which has some fond memories for me. To get philosophical again, just for a moment, Sundissential finished on a high (no sniggering at the back, children) and starts in a new year in a new venue, with the promise of more to come, what is it they say about New Year and new beginnings?