September 2006 marked a very special anniversary for dance music. Fifteen years ago London’s Ministry Of Sound opened its doors, turned on the lights and fired up that big system for the first time.
The Ministry Of Sound was founded by Justin Berkmann, James Palumbo and Humphrey Waterhouse, and inspired by New York’s Paradise Garage, the club that was home to legendary DJ Larry Levan. Levan was one of the first DJs to play at Ministry Of Sound, on his only UK appearance, shortly before he died. The main ingredient for Ministry’s success was “the box”; the main room with its hanging tweeter six-stack killer sound system -undoubtedly the finest in the world. The chosen venue for the club was an old bus depot in South London’s Elephant and Castle, a gritty and industrial area far away from the popular tourist locations of Soho and Leceister Square. London DJ Jazzy M had the honour of playing the first record (De La Soul’s “A Roller Skating Jam Named Saturday”) and went on to become a long time resident, spinning regularly for seven years. In Jazzy’s own words, “it was almost like a marriage.”
My first visit to the club was in 1993, two years after it opened. I remember walking past the “Excessive Sound Levels” warning poster, into the main room for the first time and hearing David Morales playing Nu Yorican Soul’s “The Nervous track”. Thundering out of the system, the music filled every inch of the room with warm chords, crystal clear percussion and solid, driving beats. This was something special. Over the next five years I became a regular, frequenting the club to hear the most amazing music from DJs Tony Humphries, Mousse T, Derrick Carter, Benji Candelario, Masters At Work, Angel Moraes, X-Press II, Roger Sanchez, Farley and Heller, Satoshi Tomiie and many, many more. I was there for DJ Harvey’s incredible late night sets at ‘Open All Hours’, on Friday nights. I was there for Junior Vasquez’s first DJ set outside of New York City when he stunned the partying crowd by stopping the music mid flow and dropping Hendrix’s ‘Foxy Lady’ at full volume. It never sounded better. I was there for one of the last performances of Robert Clivilles and the late, great David Cole, together as C+C Music. For me however, the DJ who knew how to drive such an awesome system and work the room better than anyone was without a doubt then resident, CJ Macintosh. I had many wonderful times during his ‘Rulin’ residency at the club. I miss those nights.
Today, Ministry Of Sound is a global phenomenon selling music, electronics, clothing, mobile phones and music culture, but the club remains at the heart of the organisation. On a recent visit to Ministry, I was given an off hours tour of the club and was pleased to see that little had changed in the eight years since I was last there. Inside “the box”, the DJ booth has moved to the other side of the floor, but the basic layout of the club, and everything that made it successful remains the same. In a trend driven industry where artists come and go, and venues open and close so frequently, it is good to see that some things stay the same. Fifteen years is truely an incredible achievement. Many happy returns.
-IJ Catling
