Vinally - A Community Of Clubbers

Remember the days, when Manchester was the capital of music, when clubs, such as the Hacienda, Number 1 Club and Danceteria, were pumping out some of the best tunes in the country?

Well, if you do, then you're just the type of mature clubber that enterprising club promoter and DJ, Jason Ford, is aiming his fledgling club night at. Slip on some practical footwear and style your hair, if there's any left, and you could join the experience, with a journey through sounds from up to ten former club nights and 20 years of classic anthems in one sitting.

With his back2back DJ partner, Mike Allan, Jason proposes to take you on a musical journey throughout the 90?s & Noughties, presenting a full seven hour Back2Back Vinyl-Only set at Club Alter Ego in Manchester's Gay Village. The night, dubbed 'VINALLY' promises to bring together a lot of the old faces from they heyday of Manchester's club culture. "You know who you are", says Jason, "...a shimmy and a sing-along with your hands in the air!"

It only seems like yesterday, when the tribe of Village clubbers were enjoying the amazing dance tunes, electric atmosphere and exhilarating feeling of belonging to something greater than a job, a mortgage and a society that was merely on the cusp of acceptance. "It is that community feel we will be trying to recreate at Vinally, where you come for the music, but leave with so much more", says Jason. Quietly reminiscing, Mike and Jason agree that in all their time on the DJ circuit, their times in Manchester's Gay Village were the most memorable indeed.

Alter Ego, their current venue, holds a lot of memories. In fact, Jason first met Mike at Equinox (now Alter Ego) on one Monday afternoon, whilst Mike was providing the music for Take That's choreographer and watching the then unknown band learn their first routines. This was long before becoming the mega stars we know and love today. Historically, Alter Ego, formerly Equinox, is the Grand Doyenne of club venues, having been a launch pad for many successful club nights, including in 1994 hosting the very first Manumission night, which went on to become one of the most globally successful club ventures ever recorded. They boys know they have some big shoes to fill, but they are passionate to emphasise that theirs is not a new concept, just a forgotten or neglected one, where a club becomes a community, rather than just a night out.

Jason, started his career in La Cage under the watchful eye of the legendary Roy Ellor (now there's a blast from the past), who helped him progress on the Manchester scene. That is, until Mike invited him to join the DJ stable of the then most exciting club night in the Village - Danceteria - the rest is history and Jason & Mike's experience at Danceteria is the prime driver behind the new venture Vinally, marketed as a 20-year reunion.

Mike and Jason are both in agreement that this 20-year celebration needs to be shared with as many of the Old Skool faces from the Village?s past as possible. Those are the very people, who will recognise every hands-in-the-air classic anthem, recreating that forgotten clubbing experience, just is as it used to be, together with an upgraded light & sound system, which is the only concession to the past 20 years gone bye.

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