One of the great things about London is its diverse nightlife and
endless recreative possibilities. No doubt Samuel Johnson had visions
of the future when he famously wrote, “When a man is tired of London, he is tired of life”.  For
those 18-30 urbanites who are even remotely in touch with the “scene”,
it is almost a guarantee that the degrees of separation between you and
a DJ/promoter are going to be nominal. Everybody knows somebody who
knows someone who is having a party. Pick your genre, it doesn’t
matter, you can visit most late-license bars or expensive clothing
stores and pick up a scattering of imaginative flyers advertising the
next big upcoming event. An increasing number of rival DJs and
promoters are producing almost every one of these buffoonery bonanzas.
And in South London the competition is rife, much to the benefit of the
expectant Joe Public, as producers are spurred to greater and more
inventive heights.  Paramount in the promoter or
party-goer’s calendar is the advent of New Years Eve, the most
important night of the socialite’s year. Well before your true love
gives you your ten lords-a-leaping, the annual “what are we doing for New Years” rumours begin to quiver across nervous lips.  With
large clubs and taxis conspiring to over-inflate their prices to Big
Ben-sized proportions, much of the above mentioned crowd shy away from
the prospect of the packed dance floor and the nightmarish attempt to
get home. Intimate and cosy seem to be the more viable options. Two well known South London purveyors of all things house, PBSExpress and Supermagic, catered to this need on NYE ’04, albeit from very different angles. On the back of an evolving year, which saw “some success [over 500 people] with the ‘Detached’ party at Brixton’s Telegraph”, taking the NYE event to the next club level could have been arguably forward thinking for Supermagic.
They had emerged, with tidy credentials, from the house party scene to
club night status in relatively quick time, but yet yearned to give
something back, “to do something a little different” raved Aaron, aka el presidente, founding father and DJ of Supermagic. “In
our situation, as a small promotions outfit, you don’t have full
control over the club, the staff, the décor, so we decided to host a
party at a friend’s house, where we could have complete creative
freedom…..we needed to get all aspects of the production right, in
order to host the house party of the year. This involved everything
from the provision of printed wristbands for paying guests, to blacking
out all windows enabling a more club-like atmosphere.” From
talking to Aaron, essentially there were three rooms: the dance floor
and two themed rooms, in addition to other decorations throughout the
house. The logistics involved appear surprisingly complicated
considering that this was just a house party: doors to be taken down,
furniture to be stored, windows and flooring to be prepared, and
neighbours to be bribed. All of this concluding the foundation work
well before the first strobe or amplifier was installed. “For
the themed rooms we covered the walls in appropriately coloured
draping, plus added a few plants and camouflage netting. We also
invested in a hired 800-watt sound-system, a DJ setup, a smoke machine,
a mirror ball and some UV lighting”.Pete of PBSExpress, however, braved the challenge of the NYE club night instead. In collaboration with another DJ collective known as ChunkyMouse,
Pete put his faith in the Metropolis bar, able to sustain up to 400
people in its two separate rooms, in heart of London’s City district.
Having orchestrated New Years club events in previous years, he was
wary that the need to draw a distinguishable caliber and certain number
of punters is the key aspect to a successful night. With less design
freedom, PBSExpress focused mainly on the all-important licensing, sound system and, of course, promotion, issues.

“The
bar was a big venue, which meant, in order to create a good atmosphere
– a lot of people were needed. Promotion of the night is the hardest
part. As a ticket-only event, at £15 per head, we needed to begin
selling straight away. As well as our nearest and dearest friends,
emailing lists were used (these were collated from monthly nights).
Flyers were created and sent out to individuals promoting the night. If
people hadn’t decided what their plans were for NYE, then we always
suggested our party. We even offered a free mini bottle of Champagne at
midnight.”

After meeting once a week to run
through tickets sales and decoration ideas, Pete also had to ensure
that the venue had proper lighting rigs and adequate sound capabilities.

“We
arrived at Metropolis on the day and spent 4hrs setting up. Once the
system was built and sound checked, the decorations had to be put up.
Disco balls, lighting tubes, balloons, table clothes, posters – it all
takes a long time (especially with a large venue)”.

It
seems that after all costs were recouped both events were relatively
successful in terms of sales, door numbers and atmosphere. Allegedly
the revelers stayed longer than expected and some even left their New
Years festivities elsewhere in order to join the fun with Supermagic and/or PBSExpress.
And so, although the final direction, or theme, of both celebrations
was contrasting, the methods that were executed to attain these were
indeed very similar. Supermagic’s
piece de
resistance was the fact that all profits (close to £600) went directly
to the DEC Tsunami appeal. In the words of el presidente, “it made
people feel better about a night of excess in the face of recent
tragedy”. Supermagic and PBSEXPRESS play monthly at Living in Brixton and The Telegraph in Brixton.