A long walk, and before you knew it I was there. However, I must admit that during the walk I did succumb to asking where I had to turn off the everlasting road that I was on.

"Down there mate. Just pass that petrol station, and then a sharp right and then you be there guv".

He was dead on. However, before going up to the Men in the penguin suits, I felt around for my wallet, took a look inside, and noticed that the wallet needed tanking up a bit. Low on cash. That can't do....

Eventually after what seemed like an eternity, I reached a cash point, which wasn't that far from the party spot.

"£20.00 quid, that should do it", I thought. "I'm not going to be drinking that much anyway. I've got a report to write after this."

Making my way back to the club, I took a quick look at my time piece...9.40pm, mmmm, that’s' too early", I thought. However, come 11.30/12 o'clock it would be a different story. You would be in line with every Tom, Dick and Harry especially as you would be trying to use any line possible trying to get in free. At least you had a chance to use your lines early and not make a fool of yourself later on in the evening front of Hundreds of clubbers.

Luckily I didn't have to use any of my rehearsed lines. I had arranged with Richard LEE (DJ Roo ), to come down and do a report on the Chunnel Club (101, Tinworth Street, Vauxhall SE1, LONDON). On entering this club again, I was met by 4 Mean looking MOTHERS (you know WHAT I MEAN!!)

"Got anything in your pockets guv?"

"Nah"

" Yeah sure? Okay then, spread your arms out sonny......

He really searched me over. I thought he was going to turn me upside down and shake me too see if anything fell out.

"I'm on the guest list.. Richard Lee? My Name Carl Brown

"Who's he then..a DJ or somethink? Oi.. by way like your not that DJ who's everybody's going nuts about are you?

Nah mate!!

Oh great I thought. Don't say I'd come out all this way, to be told that Richard had forgotten to put me on the list.

"You must know Richard he's one of your Dj's. .he played here last week! He's invited me down to.....

"Yeah yeah yeah!!! Okay then.. lets check the list inside sonny!!!

After a few short steps we were inside the entrance hall of the club, where on the table were lollipops and sweets of all description for anyone to have a nibble at.

"Oi is there a DJ called Richard Lee playing tonight darling!!

After a long silence as the girl behind the wire mesh covered, paying booth checked her list. She piped up and said said a simple no.

What’s his DJ name then? asked the bouncer who was starting to enjoy this....

"Roo.. DJ Roo".

"Ah.. sorry about that, your down here. Carl Brown, isn't it? .....the girl broke in suddenly.

After all the shenanigans which had taken place, I was quickly escorted into the night spot by one of the Promoters of the night who had happened to be around at the time. He graciously apologised to me. He agreed to show me around the place to make up for all the aggravation that had been caused.

I thought of asking him for a drink, but that may have been stretching things too far!!!!

On entering the club I noticed that the warm up DJ was playing so tasty tunes. DJ LEVEL was warming up and was playing a track that I believe was "The Boss" by The Braxtons.

Well if first impressions are meant to last, then he certainly created a favourable impression with me. The decor inside the place wasn't really outstanding. But it was one of those clubs that I felt perfectly at home with. Dark, a few trimmings here and there to put you in the mood, and a nice bar well stacked with everything from mineral water to Wine or Champagne.

The trimmings that I mentioned earlier on were aimed towards providing a Roman/ Greek orgy feel to it. Drapes were styled towards trying to provide a scene like one of those 1950’s Roman Empire epic movies. There was even a statue there which I thought water was going to come pouring through the statues private parts any second.!!!

I was taken through to the second room of the clubs archway. There the music was more uptempo. The DJ ( who's name I can’t remember) already had 2 girls up on the dance floor, who were giving the people there a free rendition of "Dirty Dancing". In the corner, I noticed that the percussion crew were setting up their equipment ready for the hard night ahead.

As within this room the club had gone for the Greek/Roman decor look, when trying to add a bit a colour and spice to the place. White drapes and Greek statues were peppered around the club.

The warm up DJ in this particular room was playing Hard, Funky breakbeat House music which was mixed up excellently.

But to stay on within that tip from 10:00pm to 6:am whithout no varation you needed to be another kind of beast.
Making my way back to the other room with my escort (he did give me his name, or I have forgotten it) the change in pace between what I had just left was incredible.

"Oye Coma va" by Tita Puente was being played at that moment in time within the Garage Room.

It was at around this period of the evening (10.45/11:00pm) that I noticed groups of girls had now made their way into the club. Dressed to the nines many of them, I could see that many had already decided to stay within the GARAGE room as opposed to going into the Hard House room.

By12:00am , the transformation was complete. The club was now a roadblock. The mixture was just right. The had club seemed to attract different peoples from all different walks of life.

From the Up for it lager boys to the Raggas standing in the corners. Also included within this bunch were a group of party animals who decided that nobody, but nobody was going to take over the stage within the room that they had made their own. That left people like myself who were absorbing the sights and sounds from the clubbers as tunes being dropped.

As if by magic, I was met by the person who had made it all possible. Richard Lee (DJ Roo). Sporting a natty ponystyle hairdo, introduced himself. We both mention how funny it seemed at meeting each other in flesh after first conversing with one another over the Internet only a couple of days beforehand .

He introduced me to his girlfriend, and a friend of hers who had come along as well ( who I must admit was gorgeous looking). who all had made the trip down from Hemel Hempstead, England. I was then that all of us made our way to the bar in which we ordered our drinks. We then talked about how I got here, and what did I think of the set-up. Things like that.

It was at that point DJ Roo was informed that he was expected to get ready because he was on to play his Dj set within 15 minutes. He made his apologises, and left for the decks. Quickly, leaving his girlfriend and friend behind, I disappeared into the crowd, so I could get a feel of what his set felt from a clubbers point of view.

The first couple of tunes he dropped were from the UK GARAGE angle of things.
The crowd went absolutely nuts for the first couple of tunes called "What you want, what you need" Industrial Standard (now being heralded as a classic ) and the a tune on Confetti records that even had me scampering up to the decks to enquiry about.
Helped along by Londons fascination of having a MC chatting live over top Garage Tracks (Mc Creed, I believe his name was) made it even more street and urban.

The crowd were up for it to night. You could feel it. < br> Girls danced back to back, as the tunes got fiercer and ruffer.

Even the beer boys love of the "hard stuff", got put to one side at the moment, as tunes such as "It gets better" by Tuff and JAM were dropped. I couldn’t see where DJ Roo was going to be able to fit in some fine USA HOUSE, at the moment.

The crowd were locked into the Sunday Scene sound or Speed Garage as most music media mags are hailing it now.
Sod America it seemed. He did manage to fit some in though, but the groove was so good that you didn’t notice the seams.

The tune called "Misled" by Celione Dione got played I noticed, and also a tune called "Saturday" by Alexander Hope. Yet the biggest roars still came for the UK inspired Underground tunes.

One of the biggest roars came was when he dropped "Deeper" by Lady Penelope and Abstract, "Things are never" by Operator and Baffled; and lastly the track that got the biggest cheer of the night which was "Just gets better with time" by Karl "tuff enuff" Brown and Matt "Jam Lamont.

My one disappointment though was that it seemed locked in this groove. No variation. But these tunes are so funky, bassline orientated that I can see why the dance music press in general are all turning their heads this way. The tunes kept coming, and coming from all angles from "Was she ever mine" by the Anthill Mob to "All night long" by GANT.What a tune, what havoc it caused!! Even I was dropping foot!!!Time was up for DJ Roo, and now it was somebody’s else’s turn at creating havoc on the dance floor.

The DJ named RAMSEY was next up onto the stage. Where he carried on where DJ Roo had just left. Keeping it very much on a UK Garage/London sounding tip. But it seemed as if he had a few more tricks up his sleeve.

It looked like he had brought his own dubplates to set himself apart from the rest.
It didn’t work all the time though I felt. He seemed determind to drop the heaviest bassline to the crowd. Where as DJ Roo had dropped fairly heavy basslines. At least they all featured a funky theme to it tunes in which made the crowd move. Ramsey seemed to be wanting play the hardest bassline possible.

At times it seemed like he was playing for a Drum and Bass crowd. Though the first couple of tunes worked well as he introduce them to the crowd of party revellers.
It soon became apparent, that he had gone to far with this idea, and noticing the response on the dance floor he quickly went back into the funky mode that DJ Roo had managed the previous set before.

Tunes like "All night Long" by GANT and "Release the Pressure" by Underground Solutions soon put things back to normal!!The girlies were going for it at this present moment in time. It surprising what melody within a song can do to a crowd.

To be fair now everybody was moving. It had reached a stage where wolf whistles, shouts of "Rewind Selector" was being shouted by individuals all around the club when tunes such as the calibre of "Mixed up" by Melisa Bell were now being released to dead hungry clubbers below.

However, time waits for no man they say. And eventually even Ramsey had to give up his seat for the DJ simply known as Gary Aldridge.

Now to be honest I felt that he played the best of the lot from the roaster that I had heard so far. Even as he started his set on the UK Garage tip, he differed to extent was that he was able to skilfully mix in Us House within the Speed Garage mentality that had existed all night, which in its self had injected a new pace into House and Garage section of the club.

Most of the clubbers at this time had already decided to take a well earned rest at the front of the club; and take stock that they should at least utter a few words to their partners of whom they came down to spend the evening with!!!

Aldridge, went for some subtle American House tunes that complemented the fascination that most Londoners have for Speed Garage."Addicted to your Love" by Plutonic was played as well as R.I.P Groove mix of Bobby D’Ambrosio’s "Moments of my Life". It was refreshing to hear, because I thought that was the only sound that I was going to hear all night.

At around 5:30 am,I had decided that enough was enough. Even then as I was leaving, I was held back by the promoter who simply asked me what I thought. I gave my opinions that boarded on the very good night out, but I wish more was made of the Us House sound that was played that night. He seemed okay with that, and replied that most of the DJ’s that played tonight are very much hooked up to the UK Garage scene. He thought DJ Roo might have differed because he was one that very much up on his US House music scene.

Even I was leaving and had said my goodbyes to the head promoter. Another roar had just gone up for the tune called "Odyssey One" by Federation X.
They’re not easy down here inSouth London, England you know. Now for that long, long journey home. Another memorable evening. Where's that tube it shouldn't be taking so long?

If your reading this Vince (The Head promoter. Thanks for a great evening, Please invite me down again!!!!.

DJ Roo, your one for the future keep on playing your style. You will go onto great things!!!)

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