Words by Henry Delap-Smith
On 1 December, YES held an event celebrating Club Berlin, a jazz, soul, funk, and Latin music club from the 80s. You won’t find much information online about Club Berlin, but what the speakers – DJs Giles Peterson (of Radio 6 fame), Colin Curtis, and Hewan Clarke – talked about in the Q&A made it very clear that this was an instrumental place in developing Manchester’s musical identity.
Both Curtis and Clarke were also DJs at the Hacienda, a more iconic venue, and used Berlin to test out new music and expand their pallet. Curtis talks about how he was usually given a one-hour set at the Hacienda while at Club Berlin he’d be allowed to play for four hours, testing out new tracks in front of a loyal audience. Due to this opportunity, DJs could afford to be more experimental, work out what works and eventually bring it into the mainstream.
It’s clear how much these people love music. Over a more than an hour-long Q&A, they dove into the intricacies of how they put together their sets, where they bought their records, and reminisced fondly of their time playing at Berlin. Most of the people in the audience are of a similar age, many knowing the DJs or having been regulars at Berlin themselves. There was a genuine feeling of community that Berlin seemed to have developed.
Peterson comes into all of this as an outsider. From South London, he initially developed his musical pallet completely divorced from what was going on in Manchester. A friend introduced him to Club Berlin, and it expanded his musical world. He mentions that many of the tracks included on his first compilation – Jazz Juice – were ones he’d heard at Berlin. Him and Curtis in particular would go on to collaborate.
Beyond the Q&A, the event also featured DJ sets by all three speakers. Notably, unlike most modern DJs who work completely electronically, all three continue to use vinyl. Clarke’s set featured mainly Jazz and Soul. I found that his set had a very unique character, with him drawing from a personal collection. During the Q&A, Clarke talked about how he has had hearing difficulties from birth, and he loved Jazz as it relied less on vocals (which he found struggled to hear clearly). I enjoyed most of what he played, especially with its clearly varied origins, with tracks, for example, in French. Disappointingly, the crowd was quite small for the set and many people were having conversations or staying mostly still, which undermined the atmosphere.
The event also features photos taken in the club by then-art student Sarah Taylor. These are projected on walls around the venue and show vivid scenes from Berlin in its prime. Also projected were posters from events and other photos of the speakers DJing.
It is important that we give attention to overlooked venues like Club Berlin as they have played a role in defining the musical culture of Manchester. With opportunity for musical experimentation and community, they offer something bigger venues don’t.
