This September sees the 10th birthday celebrations of Circus – one of the biggest club nights in Liverpool. Having survived the turbulent UK club scene time and time again, through changes to styles and genres, the club night is still as big as ever, the 10th birthday party holding testament to that. In celebration of such a huge achievement, today’s Phestival Spotlight is on Circus and its incredible history.
Circus began in September 2002, and is the brain child of Radio 1 DJ Youself. It was originally supposed to be held and based at Liverpool’s Cream, a venue known for its roots in the party and club scene. Sadly, 2002 also saw the closure of the venue, meaning that Yousef’s circus of amps, speakers, decks and ideas had to be taken elsewhere. Mere yards away stood The Masque, an old disused theatre in the vibrant heart of Liverpool. When considering this, Yousef said:
‘I worked on the concept of Circus for a good six months. The idea came about whilst having a meeting with Cream at the WMC about my future role at the club. I decided doing my own thing, at and with Cream was the way forward (for me.) It was originally supposed to be promoted and supported by Cream, but because the club closed, Circus had to be held in Masque – still based in Liverpool.’ (Yousef, CircusClub.co.uk)
It was this twist of fate which resulted in such successes – Richard McGinnis, the man behind ‘Chibuku’ stepped forward following their blossoming friendship and paved the way for Circus @ The Masque, the logical reaction to the news that Cream was set to close. Since, the two have co-promoted the event and kept a close eye on elements such as production, sound, line ups and making sure everyone has a fantastic time. The club night has played host to some huge names across the past decade, including Carl Cox, Derrick Carter, Lewis Boardman, Tom Flynn, Sven Vath, Four Tet, Scott Lewis and many, many more.
September 29th 2012 will see the culmination of all these efforts, with the tenth birthday celebrations/party proving to everyone that the club will continue to be one of the biggest club nights in the North West.
Fancy it? We wouldn’t be surprised if you did. The night will offer some seriously good house music with a whole lot of fun – and with a line up including Sasha, Seth Troxler, Maceo Plex, Yousef, Davide Squillace, Lewis Boardman and Scott Lewis it’s got to be good. The location of the event has yet to be revealed – for the Masque has since closed its doors in the last year. But, regardless of location it’s set to be amazing. Check it out, and grab your tickets from Phestival by clicking HERE.
