Manchester

Mint Lounge

46-50 Oldham Street

Back in early 2005, the Mint Lounge was a burlesque bar – the only venue of its type in the city. But some two years on, the showgirls have more or less vanished from the basement space. Having taken the decision to shake off its feather boa, Mint now hosts an array of house, hip hop, reggae, mix ’n’ mash and live music events, making it one of the city’s most exciting venues.

Despite the owners’ intentions to avoid all the club venue clichés, it’s hard to avoid the feeling that the transition was inevitable. In a city lacking quality spaces for dancing, there was pressure from the start for Mint to evolve. ‘We’d been interested in Mint since it opened,’ confesses Huw Morgan of local promoters the Electriks, whose fantastic Saturday-nighter Nish Nash Nosh was the first to move in. ‘It’s got the perfect basement feel, but – more importantly – it’s not your typical damp and dirty basement. It has a real warmth.’

Also quick to capitalise on Mint’s change in direction were the organisers of New York-style deep house, disco and soul-based soirée Development, which, like Nish Nash Nosh, proved perfectly suited to the space. Development’s guests have so far included Ben Watt, Danny Krivit, Hippie Torales and Phil Asher – yet the nights aren’t just about big-name visitors. ‘The guests have been strong, but hopefully people also come because they know they’ll get two rooms of quality, varied music every month’, stresses co-promoter Tom Lynch.

Perhaps the most notable arrival over the past few months has been Fat City hip hop session Friends & Family, which has landed a regular residency at Mint.

So was Mint’s journey purely serendipitous or a calculated plan? ‘Mint’s evolution was half planned, half not,’ says Miss M, one third of the venue’s management. ‘But we wanted to create a club that’s defined by good music, good vibes and a great social, rather than by which DJs are on. And I think we’ve achieved that.’

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