Panjabi Hit Squad’s Top Asian Club Nights

To celebrate Asian Network’s Old Skool DJ Takeover, Panjabi Hit Squad look back at some of the landmark Bhangra and Urban Asian nights of the era.

The first and most pivotal regular weekly club night that launched the British-Asian Urban scene was held at the Wag Club on Wardour Street in Soho, London. Taking place every Tuesday, it had a regular attendance of over 300 party goers every week. Spread over two floors, one dedicated to Hip-Hop, R’n’B, Drum ‘n’ Bass and Dancehall (hosted by Hustlers Convention and Impact) and the other to Bhangra (hosted by Maximum NRG and DJ Ritu), this was the first club night to really usher in the new era. Panjabi Hit Squad featured in an earlier incarnation as ‘Asian DJ Culture’ and Mark Strippel (Asian Network’s Head of Programmes) was part of Maximum NRG and co-promoted the night with Mits Sahni (Hustlers Convention and Matt Thomas (Impact). Key anthems would include Jazzy B’s Landona Patola, Wu Tang Clan’s C.R.E.A.M, Leveticus ‘Burial’, General Levy’s ‘Incredible’ and Bally Sagoo’s ‘Chura Liya’

With the success of Bombay Jungle, a new venue took over the mantle in the 1994 as promoters Mits and Mark set-up a new rival club-night half a mile away this bigger Shaftesbury Avenue venue. DJ's like Maximum NRG, Hustlers Convention, Hanif, Asian DJ Culture, Double Trouble, Prophet MC and special guests every week kept the dance floors moving across two floors. An iconic moment came in 1998 when Panjabi MC played his now infamous song ‘Beware of the Boys/Mundian To Bach Ke’ from a tape deck three months before its release. The venue was a regular testing-ground for new releases, with anthems including UK Apache’s ‘Original Nuttah’, Ganja Kru’s ‘Super Sharp Shooter’ and seminal releases by the aforementioned Panjabi MC (‘Grass Roots’) and Skillz Inc (‘Put Sardaran De’).

Left to right: Juggy D and Jay Sean

With Desi Music finally in the mainstream spotlight, this Thursday night hot spot in Leicester Square was the talk of the town. Juggy D, Jay Sean, Raghav plus many more were partying with the likes of Akon, 50 Cent, Sean Paul and Amy Winehouse to name a few. The club was famous for its stage, which was concealed until it was raised from below the dance-floor, true rock n roll style.

Inside Bagley's Warehouse

This Big Baba-promoted event was the ‘Wrestle Mania’ of the Asian music scene as it featured over 50 DJs/Live acts spread over 4 arenas, and is the closest that the Asian scene ever got to full-on warehouse rave culture. Bands such as Premi, Alaap and Apna Sangeet were playing alongside Asian DJs as well as mainstream DJs like DJ EZ, Grooverider and the Dream Team. Hoo-Ha nights mostly took place at the famous Bagley’s Film Studios in an old goods yard near Kings Cross, with the production and flyers heavily influenced by Jungle Fever and Telepathy, and the vibe was as raw and intense as the venue – with attendance guaranteed to be over 4000 people partying till 6am.

B21

Birmingham, being another main hub for Asian club culture, exploded with new talent through the mid to late 90's with major venues including seminal The Dome and The Hummingbird. Finding clubs to hold parties became increasingly difficult due to the capacity and demand. Chak De Phattey (A Punjabi phrase meaning ‘break the floorboards’) secured a club in the centre of Birmingham's club land (Broad Street) and built up a reputation for recognising new talent. The night was the first to help build the reputation of the iconic band, B21.

Whilst the 90's were buzzing with nightlife, another generation of students were being attracted to Asian club-culture. Daytimers allowed over 14's to attend clubs and still see their favourite bands and DJ’s, and promoter Smuj from The Bratt PAC (also known as ‘Hellrazors’) and his team re-invented the Asian daytimer for a new generation . Queues would snake right around Zenith in Park Royal, West London to see acts such as Malkit Singh alongside 90's boy band Another Level and Garage MC’s CKP and Brockie.

Metz & Trix

The start of the millennium saw the explosion of UK Garage and Bhangra music fusing together creating a scene which was spearheaded by the likes of RDB, PHS, Metz & Trix, Surinder Rattan, Dr Zeus, DJ Sanj & DJ H. A Way 2 Rave held their events in Leicester Square at the iconic Equinox as day timers and attracted huge crowds from all over the UK.

Mark Morrison

Asian music culture was still popular on even the most unpopular days of the week. Monday nights were hosted at Samanthas with DJ’s Impact, Ambassadors Of Sound, Senator and Ras Kwame. Dancefloors were consistently packed and became immensely popular as it hosted many UK artists like Mark Morrison, Top Cat and Damage alongside Asian acts.

Le Palais – Hammersmith

Le Palais, alongside The Empire Ballroom/Equinox and Hippodrome would host many of the Asian parties (and especially day-timers) through the late 80’s and 90’s. Due to its large capacity, regular Bhangra events would take place with artists such as Safri Boys, Malkit Singh, Shaktee and Jazzy B taking stage with a full band while DJ’s such as Calibar Roadshow, Entasia, DJ Rav, Badd Company & X-Zecutive would mix hip hop, Jungle, Reggae and electro beats into popular Bhangra songs. This venue was the ultimate test for an Asian DJ with all prominent sound-systems in attendance watching to see who would grab the crown.