The older generation of revellers will remember it well – though the details will no doubt be somewhat hazy, lost in a fog of mary ann and alcopop – and jersey’s younger electroheads will no doubt have heard the name spoken of in reverence. For one weekend only, jersey’s top djs and promoters who were there in those early days of dance music are attaching the defibrillator paddles and pumping a whole bunch of volts into the heart of that fondly-remembered music scene to bring it back to life for one of the island’s most eagerly-anticipated dance music events of 2013.
Organised by former iotp resident dj and now jersey live big cheese warren le sueur, the inn on the park ‘resurrection’ reunion weekender brings together not only a raft of local djs who provided the soundtrack to many a night at the hallowed venue, but a tasty-looking line up of classic old school djs and producers, including jersey favourite, manchester dj nipper, and clubland pioneers shades of rhythm.
Day one, on saturday 12th october, takes place in the grand jersey – inn on the park’s closest neighbour before it was turned into (you guessed it) luxury flats, and features three rooms themed around inn on the park and former famous jersey nightspots: the inn on the park room’s line up includes dj nipper (aka former hacienda regular and early warp records star kid unknown), shades of rhythm, liverpool’s john kelly, a live pa set by rozalla (of ‘everybody’s free’ fame) and warren le sueur, whilst the heroes room hosts djs justin robertson (remixer of the likes of chemical brothers, stone roses and bjork), ian ossia (renaissance) and mick wilson, formerly of dj duo parks & wilson.
Finally, the boulevard offers up italo house sounds from local djs biko, simon gasston and stuart king. Day two, on sunday 13th, is closed by the reunion weekender finale at the havana, with nipper, john kelly and biko spinning piano house classics, le sueur and gasston playing progressive house anthems, and djs pip and andy manson serving up classic indie bangers galore.
For those that were there first time around, little encouragement will be needed to come and celebrate the spirit that brought countless people together at the early stages of a clubland scene which has grown to truly global proportions. To younger folks with an interest in dance music, this weekend will be worth it for the musical history lesson alone.
Gallery caught up with organiser and former inn on the park resident dj warren le sueur, to quiz him on why he’s bringing the early 90s ravers back together…
Why have you decided to celebrate the inn after all these years? What was so special about it?
It was never planned to revisit the iotp up until the beginning of this year. Approximately three years ago, i set up a closed inn on the park appreciation society facebook page and invited people that i knew from my dj residency at the inn who had a similar interest in the iotp all-nighters from the early 90s. This group grew rapidly with people from worldwide locations becoming members and sharing their fond memories of iotp with each other. Members of the group began to share photos from the all-nighters, favourite songs and so on. Members, over the course of a few years, then began to discuss the possibility of putting together an inn on the park reunion. It was directed towards me to help facilitate it, which has now happened and we are all able to look forward to what is now set to be one of the most anticipated events in jersey in years.
What are your favourite memories from inn on the park?
Some of my favourite memories include making lots of friends who i am still close with today. As a dj, the discovery of huge dance anthems on a regular basis and playing them to 1500 people very two weeks till 6am was special. The period i worked as resident dj at inn on the park, allowed me to work alongside such prolific djs and producers as sasha, laurent garnier, carl cox, paul oakenfold, to name a few, which become a great foundation to what i am involved in now; the organising and promoting of jersey live festival and the continuation of bringing world class djs to the clubs in jersey.
Will this be a one-off event or will it be part of a series?
The iotp era was a magical time for the many people who attended. I feel that this inn on the park reunion weekender should be a one-off event as it has been created for the people by the people. Many are travelling back from as far as australia to attend the weekender event to visit and reunite with old friends. To do it again would only dilute a unique occasion. This weekender will be a fond memory that people will keep for a long, long time. Let’s keep it that way.
Is this for the older generation of ravers only, or will young clubbers enjoy it too?
There is no age limit to who can attend this weekend of events, however, ticket sales appear to have been generally to people with an average age of forty years old. There are some of the younger generation that will be attending the weekender, as they’ve been told by their parents how good a time they had back in the day, and how the music back then was way better than what is now… i seem to remember my mum telling me the same about the 60s… i tend to actually agree now!
