15 years of Wiggle @ Concorde 2

Evil Eddie Richards
Terry Francis
Nathan Coles
Positive Sound System

Back Room Grooves feat:

Leo & Russ
Mike De Courcy & Mark Allister
Rammy & Matt

Fifteen years ago at a small beaten up, dark and dirty club on Brixton’s notorious Railton Road a true club land legend was born. Wiggle. At the time the UK club scene was in the last throws of the first wave of progressive house and the mainstream was dominated by cheesy handbag house. Wiggle was an antidote to all of that. It was something different, something new and something I, and others like me who had become so disillusioned with what acid house had been reduced to, could automatically relate to. I can still remember the flyer to that first party, printed in bright lurid pink it had the Wiggle logo in yellow accompanied by that all important strap line, House Rhythms. Sexy, cheeky and full of motion the name and sparse design suggested excitement and exclusivity. With no address given you had be in the know to be there, but once through the door it was all about different groups of people coming together. Right from the off Wiggle was more than just a party, it was a club in the real sense of the word. Something people felt a part of.

From those humble beginnings Wiggle went on to throw monthly parties across south London in a series of increasingly unusual locations. Goldsmiths College, an old night club once owned by the Kray twins, a converted pub by the river Thames and countless warehouses spaces. And from the first night onwards the music has always been controlled by Wiggle’s three residents; Terry Francis, Nathan Coles and Eddie Richards. Playing a sparse, striped down mixture of tough garage dubs, lush electronics and super deep vocal tracks they created a new style of house music. A style that rejected the frivolous, cheesy aspects of club music and concentrated almost exclusively on the groove. Drum rolls were banished and break downs mixed right over as bass lines and beats were pushed to the for front to become the stars of the show. It was all about those “house rhythms” and it was a sound that quickly became know as tech house.

Since those early days tech house has spread from the dusty south London warehouses were it was born, right across the world to become a major club land force. In fact it’s grown so big and gone though so many changes that a lot of what is now called tech house bears little if any resemblance to the sound that Terry, Nathan and Eddie first forged back in the mid nineties. Not that this is of any concern to them. They’ve just carried on doing what they’ve always done, taking on new influences along the way whilst always managing to keep their core sound intact. Terry’s weekly residency and Wiggle’s bi-monthly night at what is often called the world’s best club, Fabric is now in it’s 9th year, and all three of them continue to travel the globe independently, week in week out pushing that Wiggle vibe. And now that the minimal sound that’s dominated club land for the last few years is fading away and a back to basics approach to house music is coming back, Wiggle style grooves are set to take centre stage once again. Fifteen years on it’s still all about those wonderful ‘house rhythms’.

Words by Dave Mothersole

Doors: 11pm
Tickets: £7 + bf (adv)

www.myspace.com/wigglelondon
www.myspace.com/djnathancoles
www.myspace.com/eddierichards

02/05/09