We talk about 'Life After Dark' with Dave Haslam

If you think about it, could there be anyone better qualified to write about the development of clubbing than Dave Haslam? The DJ and author's new book celebrates some of the greatest clubs and the best nights out that have ever been, from vice-ridden Victorian dance halls to acid house at The Hacienda and beyond. 

'Life After Dark - A History of British Nightclubs and Music Venues' is published on August 16th and get's a launch at HOME (see below), so we caught up with the affable Mr Haslam to talk about clubs, wild nights, MIF and his new book, of course! 

Yellow has become an integral part of Manchester International Festival - how did that come about?
'Yellow was a night I did every Friday Boardwalk for seven years through the 1990s, and we always attracted a very wide mix of people, and that always gave me great joy; that mix of backgrounds, all loving the music. After Yellow finished in 1999 it's very occasionally been resurrected, for very special occasions. In 2009, I suggested to MIF that it would be a useful addition to the programme and a lovely way to end the Festival, a big night with a great reputation locally that has always drawn from across the city. The MiF finale is definitely a special occasions. Plus the word 'festival' carries in it the idea of celebration doesn't it? And that's what a proper dance music night is.'

Taste in music can be cyclical - house music is in at the moment, but guitar bands are waiting around the corner. Do you follow trends or just play what you love?
'No, you don't want to be following trends if you want a long career as a DJ. You either help make trends or you ignore them. And once you've been lucky enough to have a long career as a DJ you then find stuff comes back round in vogue anyway; the kind of house music around now is very reminiscent of the early 1990s. I've always played what I love. I'm a bit old fashioned; I think a DJ should take his or her three or four hundred favourite tracks of the moment and play them as well as possible to get the best reaction possible.'

Was there a particular moment when you knew Manchester was at the heart of 'the music scene' and was there another when you knew it was no longer the case?
'Manchester's special in many ways of course, and it goes through the occasional dull period, but at the moment it feels pretty good. But generally I think you have to avoid resting on the past and also avoid being insular, music connects people round the world and I like to plug into the bigger picture. I have been lucky enough to DJ in Paris twenty times, maybe more, and when I go there I always get a bit inspired and I recently spent three days at the Liverpool Sound City festival and loved it there too. There are a number of great music cities, and Manchester will always be up there with the best of them.'

The book spans a range of music styles and ages so how did you find out about clubs and music you didn't know about? For example, the goth scene in Leeds (or maybe you DO know a lot about it)
'I'm not a goth expert, no, but years and years ago I saw the Cure supported by Bauhaus, which was goth heaven in a way, except that the idea of goth hadn't been invented really then. Researching the book involved me getting off Google and going and finding stories that aren't documented. I went to a Korean restaurant which now occupies a building where Massive Attack all started out as DJs (they were known as the Wild Bunch). I had a funny evening talking to the Korean owner, he thought I was mad. I was like "I want to look in your basement, see if I can get a sense of the Wild Bunch vibe". I couldn't, but I tried. I interviewed lots of people - from Noddy Holder to Ed Simons from the Chemical Brothers. And a gangster who used to carry a gun into the Hacienda. He told me how much money he made organising the drug trade in the club. It was a lot more than us DJs were earning that's for sure.'

Can you tell us the most surprising thing you found out in your researches?
'They built a 3000 capacity music venue in Sheffield before they built a Town Hall there, which I think shows admirable priorities. Also I discovered where Matisse went out clubbing in London in the 1920s. I found out something ace about Pete Waterman too, but you'll have to read about that when the book comes out.'

What's the wildest club you've ever been to?
'I got dragged off to some all-night backstreet club after a gig in Reykjavik and all the boys had shaggy hair and made underground films and all the girls looked like a cross between Bjork and Nico and starred in them. Everyone had bottles of something or other and pockets of homegrown something else. The DJ was playing some weird ambient rock stuff like I'd never hard before. There were a hundred people there, the room was only really big enough for fifty. It was lit by candles. I went straight from there to the airport where I fell asleep, got back to the Heathrow at ten in the morning and bumped into Ryan Giggs. I'd go back there if I could.'

'Life After Dark - A History of British Nightclubs and Music Venues' by Dave Haslam is launched at HOME on Sun August 16 and tickets include a discount on copies of the book. A panel of speakers includes Dave Haslam, Bruce Mitchell (Durutti Column), Kath McDermott (Flesh/HomoElectric), Graeme Park (Hacienda) and Pete Wylie (Wah!).

Find out more and book tickets

MANCHESTER MUSIC AND NIGHTLIFE