Club night return revives 80s ravers
AN alternative club night popular with ravers in the 1980s has made a comeback after 30 years.
More than 200 people attended a Halloweenthemed revival of the Kurfew Club night in the Fort Arms in Clayton-leMoors.
The club first opened its doors in October 1986 at the Berkeley suite in Accrington, making it 30 years since it first eschewed pop and disco to entertain people with a mixture of indie alternative and punk rock-based sounds.
The original organiser of the night Dave Fullalove was inspired to revive the Kurfew Club after working at numerous festivals around the UK.
He said that, while the times and charts had changed, there was still an audience eager to get down to alternative music.
He said: “It was absolutely packed out - we brought out a real club atmosphere in the pub.
“It was fantastic to see so many people enjoying themselves, young and older, indeed a large part of the crowd were the children of our original members. It was called the Kurfew Club because it was after dark, and I’d read somewhere that businesses that started with the letter ‘k’ were more successful. We played stuff at our club that you weren’t hearing anywhere else - real indie alternative music - it was very different to the pop music that was being played in other clubs in Accrington. When we decided to bring it back for a revival we were going to do it in the vein that it always was.
“Not much has changed, it’s still hard to find places that play this kind of music. That’s why I wanted to revive it to mark 30 years.”
In the beginning, Dave, who lives in Woodnook in Accrington, used to organise the nights on his own with help from permanent DJ Dave Hamer but with the new manifestation of the Kurfew Club there is a team working on ideas to inject creativity and modern twists.
Dave added: “The big difference between now and the 1980s is the influence of festivals. Saturday’s bands Dohnut, Doghouse and Panjenix are very popular on the festival scene and we were lucky enough to have support from The Trash Manor DJ’s and The Snug.
“We are hoping to do pop-up nights on the last Saturday of the month throughout the winter. I just want to say a big thanks to everyone who made it very special.”
The next Kurfew Club at the venue will be on Saturday, November 26.