Eight months ago, Toast became the newest hard house night in the North West when it debuted at Club Solid in Preston. That was October 2002. Now, its reputation is growing as more and more people begin to find out about the night. And it is a very good reputation at that.

Talking to Pete Carvell, promoter of Toast, it is clear to see that he has a buzz about him and is enthusiastic about the hard house night that he took on himself to set up with his friends.

And he says that he just felt that Preston needed something different.

He said: "It was the love for the music really. I just wanted to bring hard dance to Preston and something other than Feel.

"I tried setting up my own night two to three years ago in Preston but nothing really came together."

Not that that put him off. With the amount of contacts in clubland he had picked up over the years, the Toast promoter and resident tried again.

"With Toast... things just fell together really easily. We had so many good DJ's at our fingertips and ready to play for us that we thought we´d be missing out on a good opportunity if we didn´t go with the night."

And Toast was born. Not everything has gone to plan but that is to be expected. What has been evident is the uplifting atmosphere in the club.
Pete believes this is down to both the clubbers and the DJ's.

He said: "In a way, our residents are what is making Toast at the moment. The buzz about Morgan is out of this world. He's got gigs coming at him left, right and centre. Hopefully, gigs will start flying in for a few more people soon too."

He realises the importance of the loyal band of 'Toasters' too.

"Without the people who have been there since the start and supported us then this wouldn't happen. I absolutely love the lot of them. They create probably one of the friendliest atmospheres I've ever experienced in a club.

"They're always up for it and you can guarantee that, no matter who's playing or how many people are there, there's always this loyal band of followers on the dancefloor giving it their all.

"Things have gone beyond my expectations really. I was quite happy with just promoting a night in Preston that was a success. But now, with the Manchester thing as well, things look like their starting to take off.

"We're in the position of becoming the fourth most reputable hard dance night in the North West, which is an absolute honour really."

Pete isn't surprised though.

"You come to expect it after a while. You notice there's a bit of a buzz about and you hear people talk about it. It's all over the country basically. I'm so happy with how things are at the moment."

All this didn't come easy, however. Pete is currently in his third year at the University of Central Lancashire and he admits that Toast is taking up most of his time.

He said: "It's taken a lot of time, money and effort to get it where it is now.

"I think I´ll be 100% confident when the money starts coming in. We've got to a stage now where we're making money off events but we've still got a lot of debt to make back.

"The Manchester thing should help us a lot. The buzz about that already is superb and I'm really looking forward to the 31st May."

As for his ideal Toast, Pete says it would probably involved a nice packed small club, with Paul Glazby and Karim alongside Morgan with Pete himself doing a warm-up set.

Toast will be at The Attic, Oxford Road in Manchester on fortnightly Saturdays from 1pm-8pm starting on the 31st May with residents including Alex Kidd and Morgan. They then re-launch in Preston on the second Friday of
July at Elements on Aquaduct Street.

As well as that, Pete also plans to set up his own DJ agency and go into the studio to produce a few tunes. So much for students being lazy!