Ahead of this Friday's Britalian Job night in Nottingham, I was fortunate enough to catch-up with Simon Wainwright, one of the event's organisers, to ask him a few questions about this excellent club night and historic Mod venue.
What can we expect
from the Britalian Job night on 1st February in terms of DJs, music policy,
start/finish time, price on the door etc.?
We
start as always at 8pm at the Britannia Rowing Club, Trentside, Nottingham next
to the Nottingham Forest ground. The resident DJs for the Brit Job are Mark Shaw,
Simon Wainwright and Mark Crew....we have guest DJs each night ranging from the
up and coming DJs who are given the chance to open the night ...to more
established DJs from around the scene who are well known.
We
pride ourselves on not having a music policy as this allows a wide range of
music to be played from Mod Classics, Soul, R’n’B , Latin, Hammond and Ska. Each
DJ plays a varied music set this means you’re never far away from a tune that
you love.
We
play the music till approx 2am and for the entrance price of £4 each, give
everyone 6 hours of pure quality music in one the most renowned
venues in the country.
What other
Britalian Job dates are confirmed for 2013?
Apart
from this Friday 1st February, the dates for future Britalian nights are: -
Friday
5th April
Friday
31st May
Friday
2nd August (1st anniversary gig)
Friday
4th October
Friday
22nd November (end of year bash)
We
have a charity all-day and night event taking place on Saturday 18th May in aid
of Nottingham City Hospital cancer units
Who are the people
behind the Britalian Job and what are their backgrounds on the Mod scene?
People
behind the Britalian job are : -
Mark
Shaw (who owns The Soulville Steakhouse Company) and has been a mod on the
Nottingham scene since 1979. A regular DJ on the Nottingham circuit and an avid
collector of all things Jamaican. Mark was one of the original gang of four who
began The Britalian Job about 10 years ago, the early nights hosted some top
bands as I am sure you will remember, highlights were Long Tall Shorty and the
release event for the ‘Sorry’/’In This Town’ 7” single by The Threads. Rides a
rather camp Series 3 Lambretta!
Mark
Crew, another "79 mod” who has also been on the scene without interruption
since the early 80's, again a regular DJ on the Nottingham circuit. A self
employed painter and decorator who was another member of the original gang of
four. Our very own Silver Fox rides a spectacular series 2 Lambretta.
Simon
Wainwright - The newest and youngest member of the team, HGV driver Simon has
been a Mod for years and again is a regular on the Nottingham DJ circuit, he
joined the other 2 for the re-launch of The Britalian Job last August and can
often be seen his riding his gorgeous Series 3 Lambretta.
When did the
Britalian Job nights first start?
The
Britalian Job was first launched about 10 years ago and took a break for a few
years until August 2012 when it was re-launched to a great response.
The venue has an
incredible interior and an interesting Mod history – could you tell us more?
From
the 1960s onwards the Britannia Rowing Club has been renowned for having a big
mod connection and having bands such as The Rolling Stones, The Yardbirds, Small
Faces, The Action and Rod ‘the mod’ Stewart just to name but a few.
What’s the Mod
scene currently like in Nottingham and which other events/nights do you go
to/recommend?
The
Nottingham mod scene is without doubt the most vibrant it has been since the
early 80s...from original Mods of the sixties through 79 revival Mods and
a thriving community of young Mods keeping the scene alive.
Other
nights in Nottingham: -
Chitlin
Circuit 2nd Saturday of every month at the Thurland Hotel
Ronnie
London’s last Saturday of every month at The Grosvenor
Another
night running and attended by Nottingham Mods is Grits and Gravy in
Sheffield run by Sheffield based Nottingham Mod, Joe Tucker, who regularly
brings Sheffield Mods to Nottingham.
