The Courier & Advertiser (Fife Edition)
Techno clubbers ‘shocked’ as Gove hits dancefloor
Aberdeen clubbers were left “astonished” on Saturday night when “merry” Tory minister Michael Gove showed up at a popular venue for a solo night of raving.
Punters couldn’t believe their eyes and felt like they “were dreaming” when they saw the senior Conservative MP walk into the city’s O’Neill’s pub in the early hours of Sunday.
How Mr Gove came to be in the Granite City is not yet known, but he definitely made sure it was a night to remember for dozens of “shocked” clubbers.
After enjoying a few drinks at the pub, the 54-year-old decided to take the rest of the night to club Bohemia where he is said to have “put some seasoned clubbers to shame” showing off his creative dance moves until 3am.
Left in disbelief about this “surreal” encounter with the MP, clubbers were quick to take the chance of a picture with him and to offer him a beverage on the dance floor.
One was singer Emma Lamnet, who had performed an acoustic set in O’Neill’s pub below the club that night.
She said: “O’Neill’s was just shutting when he came to the pub at around 1am and some people were joking that it would be great to get him upstairs – not thinking that he would actually.
“I think more government officials should get themselves down to a nightclub to let off some steam.”
Clips shared on social media show the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster arm waving, hip jolting and head banging with fellow ravers as the club night Pipe was lifting the roof with some hard techno tunes.
The “incredible” set, which was presented by DJ and co-manager of the club night Nina Stanger, kept Mr Gove dancing until the very last minute without stopping even for a second.
For Pipe’s co-manager Adam Taylor, the minister’s unexpected appearance on the Aberdeen dance floor was the most unusual occurrence throughout his 15 years of working in the industry.
He said: “I’ve been promoting and DJing in Aberdeen for about 15 years and this was probably the most out-of-place or surprising guest I’ve ever seen – it was definitely out of the ordinary.
“We thought he would just be at the bar having a drink, but for the next hour and a half he didn’t stop dancing at all – he was loving it and going mental on some hard techno music.
“His dance moves were creative and exactly how you would imagine the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster would dance.
“He didn’t tire and he kept going – he was putting a lot of more seasoned clubbers to shame with his persistence and stamina.”
Although the Cabinet minister showed up at the club on his own, Mr Taylor said he was “definitely looked after” by fellow ravers, who kept buying him drinks all night.
“It was fun to see a Cabinet minister just dancing away with people who maybe wanted to engage with him with more serious discussions.
“By that point of the night, that was a nonstarter, but he certainly managed to batter away some spirited arguments about whether Aberdeen has benefited from the wealth generated from the oil industry.
“He definitely had the demeanour of someone who was really enjoying themselves.
“He was one of the last people we got out of the doors when closing.”