Venus Celebrates Anniversary

In May 1990, James Baillie approached Steve and Phil Kirk, owners of what was then ‘The Club’ in Nottingham, with the idea of rebranding, changing the music policy and booking DJs that were playing the Balearic house sound that was blowing up around the country, the owners agreed and Venus was born. It wasn’t long before it caught the attention of promoters in the capital, well one in particular, Charlie Chester, whose Flying Records parties had been packing out the Soho Theatre. A collaboration was agreed that would put Venus on the clubbing map see it evolve into one of the most important UK club venues of that time.

Flying Records at Venus on Friday night, saw the popular London based party head to Venus, Nottingham with coaches full of clubbers, resulting in a unique party atmosphere that also attracted a crowd from all over the UK, who, having heard of the party, were keen to sample it for themselves. Venus also then became a destination for coaches of clubbers from Manchester and Birmingham, becoming one of the most prominent club venues in the country. 2015 sees the 25th anniversary of the well known club and former manager Sam Bowery, along with established Nottingham promoters Pop Up party are hosting a special anniversary reunion, in conjunction with Flying – Venus The Club, on Saturday June 27 in Riverbank, featuring Danny Rampling, Justin Robertson and Jo Mills, some of the DJs that played a significant part in the creation of the legend.

Sam Bowery explains where the idea came from; “It has been a while since Venus had an event so I took upon myself to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Venus opening its doors in may 1990. I approached a venue called Riverbank that already organised successful Pop Up parties and suggested we hold a Venus event. They immediately agreed and so I contacted my old pal Charlie Chester. I wanted to include Flying as it was part of the reason Venus was so successful. I also wanted to book DJs to play that had an affinity with Venus back then, hence booking Danny Rampling, Justin Robertson and Jo Mills. Playing alongside Venus legend and resident Laurie Carter plus Riverbank resident Ian Newton.” Saturday June 27 sees the 25th anniversary of one of the UK’s genuine clubbing institutions, a chance for regulars to relive the unique party vibe it created, to check out some of the DJs that played their part in writing it into the UK’s clubbing history, and, for those too young to know, a chance to see what all the fuss was about.