...written and compiled by spank.
| JAN... Cream goes back to its roots and reintroduces residencies and sets the trend followed by other clubs over the year. Which young and aspiring DJ did they book? Well obviously they took a risk and picked a relatively unknown DJ by the name of Paul Oakenfold. Anyone heard of him?..... |
| FEB... The Prodigy sign Stateside to Madonna’s Maverick label... Complacent fatty Boy George allegedly gets a bit of a ruffin’ up by the Ministry of Sound’s bouncers... SpeedGarage or Underground Garage appears on the music scene. A natural evolution of garage or the clever creation of certain music magazines?... |
| MARCH... After recently finishing his ironically titled ‘Life After Death’ album Notorious BIG is shot and killed when leaving the Vibe magazine party in LA. Speculation that this was a reprisal for the earlier shooting of Tupac Shakur circulates over the following months... |
| APRIL... The Southport Weekender reached the grand old age of 10 where artists such as LTJ Bukem and Masters at Work stole the show... |
| MAY... After years of waiting and anticipating Junior Vasquez finally ventures over to old Blighty playing at Cream and the Ministry of Sound only to be met with comments along the lines of ‘Crap’ and ‘Lost it’. Whoops!... Every clubber’s favourite granddaddies Kraftwerk come out of retirement to play at the dance Mecca of Tribal Gathering ’97. In respect the Detroit tent shuts down for the duration of their set and all those crammed in the tent are numbed by Kraftwerk’s excellence... Double 99’s ‘RIP Groove’ is re-released on Satellite and became the first crossover speed garage hit... |
| JUNE... After years of whinging Ibiza had lost its way June was the month when Ibiza’s return went into full swing forcing all those who had previously criticised to munch on some humble pie... Berlin’s now historic ‘Love Parade’ carnival reports record number of crowds... |
| JULY... Old and New. Old: The once groundbreaking Hacienda closes down after 15 years. Despite financial and drug problems the club had been making a comeback. New: Fifteen year old DJ Pogo wins the prestigious Technics DJ championship... |
| AUGUST... To everyone’s surprise, no one more than the man himself, Roni Size wins the Mercury Award for Reprazent’s more than deserving debut album ‘New Forms’... |
| SEPTEMBER... A month of arguments. First up Hardfloor leave Harthouse after remixing and re-releasing the seminal ‘Acperience’ without permission... Second up KRS-One takes out his frustration on the more than a tad surprised Tim Westwood during his Radio 1 rap show. KRS-One accuses Westwood of ignoring his last two albums and “destroying hip-hop” in general... |
| OCTOBER... Judge Jules joins what appears to be turning into the mass of DJs tea-leafed from Kiss FM in order to DJ on Radio 1... |
| NOVEMBER... Oasis ban the Freestyler’s ‘B-Boy Stance’, Carl Cox parts company with Kiss and Danny Rampling is forced to take a break after collapsing after a set at the Ministry of Sound. Worst still was to come for Rob Playford. Not only did Goldie issue him a P45 relieving him from his production duties but the entire staff of his Moving Shadow record label left him a ‘Dear John’ when they walked out on him... |
| DECEMBER...The Prodigy cause uproar everywhere. Their ‘Smack My Bitch Up’ single and video is deemed by nearly every radio and TV station as unbroadcastable. Then harbouring a grudge against Chris Evans for cussing their ‘Firestarter’ single it is no surprise sparks fly when Evans presents them with ‘Q’ magazine for the Best Live Band in the World. After thanking the fans Liam turns around to the ginger bespectacled fella and adds “As for this guy, fuck you”. Where’s your Christmas spirit lads? |