Page 17 - DemoZone Magazine Issue 003

" Did I mention the early 90s was all about SEX, DRUGS and HOUSE! "
Gordon ”whackyBacky” Lackie, managed to by-pass the secure limiter locks on the amps cabinet and take us up another 10k. Mikey B (Fantazia) comes rushing through as everyone leaving main arena where all top end Hardcore Acts were playing and headed into our more music for the masses arena which was now pumping louder than the main arena. He told him you can’t disturb us on the decks go find the sound engineer, who had conveniently disappeared. Sorry Mikey B, but you were outshining us on our patch he! he!. Hardcore v Hard House that night, we won hands down and funny enough Fantazia kept us on LOL. That said a lot about our nights then, we mere great at interacting with the crowd.
1994 we co-hosted an event with Fantazia. It sold out - 1600 tickets. The police decided to bust the event at tea time prior to opening. They took the place apart and found nothing. They were determined to stop the event, making us phone bus companies and DJ's to stop them coming. Fortunately we only got a few buses in time and most the crowd turned up. The police eventually had to let us go ahead but by now most DJ's were led to believe it was cancelled. I ended up playing b-sides to fill a three hour set. Charlie Fantazia (founder) got 2 weeks in Perth Jail for possession of certain illegal substances, welcome to Scotland eh! Sorry about that, but hey, coincidently the same year the Criminal Justice Bill was introduced.
To some I will always be remembered for throwing the lead singer of the then famous Ultimate Buzz four or five rows into a crowd at an all nighter in the North of Scotland. I arrived early, having been on a bill that included Trevor Rockliffe and several other hard techno DJ's. I was a Hard House DJ and
was lead to believe I would be on near the start. I turned up early only to be told I was not playing till 5am. By then I was gone, the heuchter teuchters of the north are great hosts. Anyhow I am somehow on the decks and these mad northerners are still there like it was just starting and the place was rocking, as now I was giving something they could dance to. I had them in my hands and then I see this band setting up next to me. I told my agent to find out what’s happening as there is no time for this band going on- I’m ending the night. The lead singer comes over and tells me that they are ready to start. In typical MikeC fashion I told them “fuck off! I’m on till the end.” I turn to get my next record and he just hits the Stop button. OMG. In one swoop I leapt over the decks, him now running, I catch him by his belt, I grab him, somehow I lift him over my head for some strange reason, the huge crowd are now baying for blood as the music stopped, I look at them and say ”you want him, you fucking want him, well fucking catch and threw him as far as I could. He was wee and I 15 stone at the time. All the Scottish magazines at the time killed me, telling the readers I was a hooligan and telling promoters not to hire me or they wouldn’t do spreads on their clubs. That was when I first retired. To that guy, I am truly sorry and not being cheeky, the local hosts had to keep me going for 8 hours before I went on. On the good side I played a blinder or so I was told and I’ve now had more comebacks than the rolling stones.
I also played at an illegal outdoor event where the back drop was a derelict asylum. There was only the front facing part of the hospital left and the lighting crew lit this up as the back drop. Scottish ravers’ are the maddest. They were climbing up three stories high and dancing in the remains of
windows. The police arrived and due to the size of the crowd decided to back off on the condition these nut jobs got down.
I also played at Core in Aberdeen and I swear, this mental all nighter attended by over 1000 crazed Northerner’s, was in a chicken shed. They had thrown pallets down for the DJ's to stand on as below our feet was years of chicken Shit, that was the thing with illegal raves, Health & Safety was nonexistent then. God if you got a toilet that was sailing in rivers of drug induced wee, then that was seen as a professional event. To say the early days of the rave scene were mad, mental, dangerous and completely illegal was an understatement.
What has kept you interested in the music scene over the last 25 year?
Quite simply, I love music, especially House music. House music is exhilarating, euphoric, energetic, and inspirational. I could use a lot more adjectives to describe the power it has on us. There is no better feeling than mixing in front of an up-for-it crowd and in my case, promoting club nights. Digital technology, both in what the DJ's use to mix and lighting technology has advanced remarkably over the last 20 years and hence my renewed interest in returning to the scene. I want to embrace these technologies, especially the mediums we play, the PA and lighting. We were good then, But there’s oceans of goodies out there still to be seen and heard.
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