IT was the stuff of legend – an innovative music policy which featured a wide range of dance music pumping from four different rooms, a stunning, up-market setting and Glasgow’s glitterati turning out in all their finery.
The Mansion House nights injected new energy and ideas into the music-loving city’s club scene. Now, 20 years after an opening night which set new standards for Glasgow clubbing, it’s coming back.
And, just as those heady days electrified a club scene which was facing challenges, the Mansion House reunion arrives at a time when clubbing could use a shot in the arm and some new ideas.
The event, next Sunday, September 24, brings back some of the key players in the original Mansion House story to the venue which played such an important role, The Corinthian in Glasgow’s Ingram Street (above).
“That opening night 20 years ago was amazing,” recalls Darren Laurie, the promoter who put it all together. “Great music and fashion combined with a crowd willing to really put the effort in when it came to dressing up.”
Laurie came up with the idea when some DJ mates from the Chuff Chuff club at Birmingham’s wildly successful Miss Moneypenny’s club nights were playing at The Corinthian.
“I thought The Corinthian wasn’t really my sort of place but I went along to see them,” he said. “There were only 2 DJs and two couples there. No one else. The place was empty.
“But I really liked the space and thought it would be incredible to put on a party there.”
Chuff Chuff itself provided some inspiration, as it had staged parties in stately homes and grand hotels all over England.
Laurie had a background running clubs in Glasgow. He had been a promoter since he was 18 and was then running Cube and a successful night at the City’s Metropolitan Bar. He believed that clubbing in Glasgow was flagging.
“It had become an amazing city for music and clubbing and the City of Culture in 1990 had a massive impact” he said. “People were coming to the city for clubbing and fashion. But the city council began imposing curfews.”
In 1993, the local licensing board stopped entry into clubs after midnight and insisted they close by 2am. A headline in The Independent newspaper the following year suggested Glasgow’s nightlife had been “clubbed to death”. The newspaper reported “riots in the city centre on the first night of its enforcement”.
At the time Glasgow became known as Cinderella City because of the Draconian curfews.
Even today, when the restrictions have been relaxed, Laurie still believes they “single-handedly destroyed what it had taken so long to build up. The Mansion House was my response to that”.
The policy of having different music in different rooms was trailblazing at the time and the focus on fashion – which took the form of a relationship with the clothing business Cruise – hit a real nerve with Glasgow’s appetite for style. The Corinthian provided a glamorous and gorgeous setting.
From that very first night, The Mansion House was a hit and continued to be so for the next four years. For its first night, one of the biggest names on the bill was Chuff Chuff creator DJ Jim “Shaft” Ryan. Mansion House went on to attract the best DJs and a steady stream of house and disco divas and the nights were built around the performances of what Laurie describes as “these incredible artists”.
And because the Mansion House nights were held just six times a year, they became recognised as true events, still talked about fondly by those who were there.
But the Mansion House went the way of all good things, and Laurie moved on to focus on Byblos, his own venue in the Merchant City and other ventures. But he believes the time is right for a reunion.
“I believe clubbing in the city is exactly the same state of flux as it was 20 years ago,” says Laurie. “There are still successful clubs but the range of options is not there. If you are a certain age and want to go clubbing, it’s not there. If you want to go clubbing and get dressed up, there is nothing there.”
So when the doors open on the reunion next Sunday, Laurie’s fully expecting to see a diverse crowd, encompassing a wide range of age groups. What will unite them is their love of music, a passion for looking good and a fundamental belief in the all-conquering power of the dancefloor.
Mansion House reunion, The Corinthian, Ingram Street, Glasgow, Sunday, September 24, featuring (among others) Melon Bomb, MARIANNE, Danny Sharkey, Illyus & Barrientos, Jon Pleased Wimmin, DJ Zander and Lisa Littlewood
