And The Beat Goes On . . .

Picture the scene. The blackened Mancunian sky teems down with golf ball raindrops which splash against the pavements and takeaway windows of Oxford Road in an all too familiar manner. Flyers for equally familiar student nights are practically rammed down your oesophagus, with promises of free shots, cheap entry and God awful music. No thanks, now get your offensive fringe, indistinguishable uni accent and bollock strangling jeggings out of my sight.

A brisk turn off the main strip and Praise the Lord! The TROF sign draws you into The Deaf Institute, where, after a quick parting of sterling, you find yourself transported away from the scenesters and Ipod ahem 'DJs' and back to the dancefloors of Wigan Casino and the Twisted Wheel. Ladies and Gentlemen, welcome to The Beat Boutique, Manchester's premiere Soul night. The glorious soulful vinyl (YES, actual VINYL records at a club night! Who'd have guessed?) thump that emanates from the speakers shakes your hips towards the bar and then back to the dancefloor amidst a blur of moptops, skinheads, Ben Sherman and Fred Perry. And not a single glowstick or drip of UV paint in sight.

The Beat turns three tonight and the celebrations are in full swing. For the past three years, on the third (now last) Friday of every month at the Manchester Met Student Union, The Ruby Lounge and now The Deaf Institute, DJ's Paul Barker, Liam and Paul Walker (and last month guest DJ, Charlatans frontman Tim Burgess) have delivered tune after tune of Motown, Northern Soul, ska and psych to a blissfully appreciative throng of followers. The chartbusting likes of Martha Reeves, Stevie Wonder and The Temptations are just as likely to dance through the speakers as a complete unknown or ultra rare 45, such is the extraordinarily extensive nature of the record collections on show. However, whether the tune is well known or not, 99.9% of the time, the reaction is the same. Sheer hedonism penetrating the dancefloor, straight from Detroit, Chicago, Philadelphia and beyond.

I caught up with founding DJ Paul Barker to dig a little deeper into The Beat and find out what has made this stomper of a night the success that it is;


Very cliche question I know, but what was it that inspired you to become a DJ and to start up The Beat Boutique?

Paul Barker: I started collecting records around seven years ago. My Dad's mate gave me a handful of tunes. All northern soul and pretty obvious stuff, but it was a start. I then really got the bug with collecting records. Also, I was attending all nighters pretty much every week so I was getting more and more knowledge of the music played on the rare soul scene.


Once I had a decent collection I decided, along with my mates Liam and Paul Walker, that we'd start our own cluib night playing the tunes we love. We'd all had enough of going to indie nights and that so we thought we'd have a bash at running our own event. We always knew it would work but maybe not to the scale that we see three years later.
 
 
Do you think someone who sits at an Ipod or laptop all night and mindlessly churns out their set playlists should be allowed to refer to themselves as a DJ, and what do you think of the growing number of these types of 'DJ', being a strictly vinyl man yourself?
 
PB: They don't really matter to me. 99% of "DJs" out there are doing this. It's the way things are these days. I would never have any respect for what they do though. I spend all my time and money looking for rare and sought after soul and funk vinyl and so do my friends. It's what makes what we do so special. The jokers that play off ipods are just imposters. Anyone can do it. What we do takes years, lots of money and also requires a good ear.


  What is it about The Beat that you think has caught people's imaginations so much over the past three years?
 
PB: We supply an alternative to the dried up boring offerings in Manchester. Musically, you're so limited as to what you can hear. It's all shitty electro and new wave indie, or classic Madchester songs. There's plenty of switched on people that want to hear something that excites them and we can offer them that.

Also, we keep it fresh. Its not the same old songs every month. We mix up classics with mega rare tracks but the vibe is always the same. Once people get into it them they are hooked.


You moved The Beat from The Ruby Lounge to The Deaf Institute last year. Are there any more plans for expansion or extra venues in the future? Also, why the change in venues?


PB: We came close to doing a Beat Boutique in Liverpool but it fell through at the last minute. Looking back, it was a blessing in disguise really. Running one night is hard enough.

The move from the Ruby Lounge was one that we felt we had to make in order for the night to grow. It was no reflection on the venue itself as it's a top venue and the guys down there are as sound as they come. We just felt the Deaf Institute was better suited for the night.


What can people who have never been to The Beat before expect from the night?

PB: If you've never been to Beat Boutique you can expect a night of amazing soul music that makes you want to dance all night. Forget the other shitty nights, this is the real deal.

If you could only play one more song at The Beat, what would it be?

PB: Well if I had to play one last tune it would be something like Martha and the Vandellas - Nowhere to run or Stevie Wonder - Sir Duke.

Finally, fantasy supergroup time. Who would be in your fantasy Soul supergroup and why?

PB: Oooooooohhhhhh, tough one. It would be literally impossible for me to whittle it down. There's so many artists out there that I love I just couldn't pick.

But if I had to I'd have Levi Stubbs - Four tops on vocals. The Vandellas on backing vocals and The Funk Brothers (Motowns backing band) doing the rest.

The Beat Boutique takes place on the last Friday of every month at The Deaf Institute, 135 Grosvenor Street, Manchester. Here's a little taster for you;



Until next time,

Keep on Keepin' on,

Baia

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