The Lacy Lady Loses Her Allure.....

Having attended and enjoyed other Lacy Lady & Goldmine reunion nights in previous years, I persuaded some friends to make a fairly lengthy trip on Saturday (4th Feb) to ‘Room At The Top’ to enjoy a night of good music & dancing..... just like the old days.

As it’s been a good 25 years since any of us has set foot in ‘RATT’, we were pleasantly surprised to find that it wasn’t as ratty as we remembered! Chris Hill was playing some warm-up tunes and we were glad to find that the music system sounded clear and not overbearingly loud (when did loud ever equate to good?).

With Hill’s first set under way and room on the dance-floor, me and my friends really started to enjoy the evening. However, when the 2nd DJ took over (don’t know his name) the music volume was increased until it became so distorted as to be impossible to listen to and, in fact, painful.

When a great ‘Sounds of Blackness’ tune disappeared into an unintelligible shriek of offensive noise, I went to the DJ booth to protest and was met with such a disinterested and apathetic response that we had no alternative but to leave.....

A great shame that this apparently ignorant person does not appreciate that we mere mug punters have ears too, and the right as paying customers to enjoy our evening.

Needless to say that our interest in future ‘reunion’ nights has now ended.

Two other quick points: First, when we were all kids, it was fun to dance in clubs that were filled to bursting. Now I think that most of us would happily pay more to attend an venue which is busy but not as crushed as Saturday night became….. and one where we can actually hear the music! Second, I cannot wait until smoking is banned at every public place. My friends and I could not wait to hit the showers after just over an hour in Room At The Top’s smoke-polluted atmosphere.

Anyone planning to open a smoke-free club with good music and friendly/customer-aware DJs – please let me know.....

JJH

NIK NAME JJH

The "other" DJ was BIGGER,who has been reprimanded,shouted at and held down and had his ears syringed and will in future only be allowed to go to 9 on the dial!As for a no-smoking rule ,this is a matter for the next Parliament to debate,so I suggest you contact your M.P.

Sorry you had to leave so early,you missed a great night.

you big party animal you

JJH,Im sure some of us could give you a list of clubs that are empty when the Lacy is on,so you could enjoy y'self on your own.Nobody dancing,nobody smoking,nobody making a noise......there's loads of them like that.Sorry,but some of us love a rammed club,"just like the old days".Oh and Bigger(DEAF or DEF) only did an hour ..you only had to wait for GOD to return.

The Civic centre blackshots was rammed when the Lacy was on sat?

? indeed.(Was that a question? )

As i wasn't there on the night in question i can't comment about it, but i will say this, as a dj, sometimes the booth is not the best place to be to judge the sound quality. I thought the sound at times was too loud and distorted in the main arena but by the booth it was fine. Hence i moved to where it was better! Also i noticed that the mixing desk is outputting fully into the red with no flicker even into the green (making cueing up almost impossible to judge)this means the mixer is doing too much when it should actually be supplying the amps with an even underpowered load so the amps do all the work and supply loud but clear volume levels. Normally its the management of the venue that control this and not the dj as funnily enough most djs don't know how to run a sound system and end up changing important settings or just plain blowing it up!

I can also add that i too strangely had a couple of complaints at my venue for loudness even though all i could hear was talking over the music from the boothe where i was playing. I did however change the volume, mystified as i was and we are now as a venue re doing the sound system to make it better for everyone, that either wanna dance or chat

JJH, Maybe it was the way you approached the dj in the first place? You could always move to the states if you want no smoking and empty venues, LOL!

Russells Bar,Wanstead, fri & Sat. the perfect Lacy Warm Up!

Where U @: Home

As I recall there has always been a bit of a problem with the sound system at RATT
back in the 80 90's I remember if the side doors ever came open in the club the speakers would just shut off
Hi Dave it was nice to catch up with you down at Russels a few weeks ago will have to bring down some friends again before a pre Lacy party is Carl still doing sets there?

Hi mate how are ya. Yeah good to see some soul folks in the place. Carl doesnt do the Bar anymore i'm afraid. Chris takes care of friday and i do saturdays although the last friday in feb i'm not able to do it someone else will be covering me.

Where U @: Home fixing up a light!

Doh! That should say last SATURDAY IN feb! :(

Where U @: Home fixing up a light!

JJH,I suggest you hold your own party in a SMOKE FREE,old peoples home and,take your own portable stereo so the music isnt to loud,as for it being to busy!!! THAT'S WHY THE MAN IS A F)(CKING LEGEND, at 60 plus he is still pulling more punters, THAN THE REST OF US PUT TOGETHER!!!!

Where U @: The Loft

Nice one Shep me Ol' Mucka! thats funny

Where U @: Home

i liked it back in the day when the walls were sweaty and you could smell the carzy from thirty feet away..fussy i suppose

Bigger must be the least ignorant person I know.. OK OK I'm biased cos I adore him but that aside we left early because it was too difficult to get a drink and people kept bumping into us. I'm a big fan of the Lacy and I'm loathe to moan but something just doesn't feel right. I thought the title "the Lacy Lady loses her allure" was going to contain some constructive reasoning about how the atmosphere has changed but (hang on I've got to light another ciggy and think about this)it just turned into a rant... love the old people's home idea though... bet there's money in that

Ok,The Lacy is more popular than ever since it moved to this venue,back to it's roots in Ilford.I for one would hate to go to a venue half full,if you like a more cosy crowd there are a few the City!!! Please people you are part of something special in this scene..ENJOY!!!!

Where U @: The Loft

I see the point though. I didnt like the Island that much either, but then again i was comparing it i suppose with the place of worship for so many years, Kings!!

The bar situation needs to be addressed with the venue, they must think they are saving money on bar staff wages or somethin. Little do they realise, more staff, more drinks sold!. I queued for nearly 40 mins the last time i went mainly coz the staff werent paying attention and obviously didn't like the look of my £20 note!??


I'll be back though next month!

Where U @: Home

you can never go back to a club after a lot of years and think it will be the same.i can see both sides of this though.the club needs to be full to pay its way,but the punter does not want to miss out after standing in a line outside for a while,but still wants to get a drink without being shuffed here and there.you have been away a long time if you don,t know who bigger is.

Where U @: soulville hq

I have to say aa much as everyone is entitled to their opinions i thought the lacy was absolutely supberb on Sat ....i have not been for three years now only purely down to how ****** the scene became . I thought Chris hill delivered a blinding set as well as bigger ...loud i agree but the peeps the music and atmosphere for me and many others i was with will agree one fab night .....i will be back ...Thanks to all at The Lacy

Where U @: ilford

NIK NAME chevvy

I don't have any problems with peoples observations and comments about our new location.I should point out that every time we go to a new club we break the house bar record! and even though we warn the management,they are always overwhelmed by our bar demand,and it takes a few months for them to adjust.If only drinking were an Olympic Sport-we'd have the British team already sorted!!!As far as the sound volume is concerned you have to bare in mind that at my age the ears aint what they were,and 40 years of djing has probably taken its toll.However Bigger has no excuse,he's only been at it for 20.LOL!!!!
As far as the crowding is concerned,what should we do? Turn more people away even though they have travelled a great distance? or try and accomodate as many as the law allows? It must be obvious to anybody standing in the queue that the place must be pretty full,or else why is there a queue?However we do have plans to allieve the situation.Because of the overwhelmingly positive response to our new venue,in April we will be opening a second room, providing an alternative music policy to the main club room.More details will be posted nearer the date.

Well done Chris.
I was just about to suggest that when you posted your views. Harks back to the old Room At The top days (1978-early eighties) when they would only open the back room on say christmas eve / new years eve due to the volume of people that use to turn up.
Then again we only use to end up at rooms (as it was known then) if we could'nt get into the Lacy Lady.

As a I was not at the lacy gig, I can not comment on actual happenings, but as one of the sound tec's at the Solar all-dayer last year, I can say that I did have a problem with the big one. He does like to turn up everything on the mixer. But then again as a DJ I do like to turn the music up

On the other points, as a promotor I would love to have a venue packed to the rafters like Lacy gig's, and most people I know who go out, like to be in packed venues, (un-like my own half full job's )

Ben S.

Where U @: Herts

Taking all things into concideration,I fully expect the current venue will probably be the final home both for The Lacy and my career.That doesn't mean retirement is imminent,but I have always had a rule of never looking beyond the next two years and by then I expect the music business will be in total melt down,the world will have changed yet again,and my place in it will be in question.But just think how good the LAST NIGHT PARTY could be!!
Mind you I have said this before,and look whats happened - still crazy busy after all these years and with a bit of luck some day or night in the distant future I'll drop down dead at the decks (while getting a blow job!!)
Any suggestions about RATT will be kindly concidered,but please forgive me if we ignore everybody and "just keep on doing what were doing" After all "Its our prerogative"

chris i hope you go on for a lot longer .the scene would go on ,but you would leave a very big gap.a lot of the new young djs don,t really have that x factor.

Where U @: soulville hq

Can't comment on all the points and issues raised as I stopped attending the lacy a few years ago, but have to agree with Lisa -Jane ref Bigger (but not sharing the same reasons for bias though), spoke to him a few times at the country club lacy-most helpfull fellow, he even got me on a guest list at a gig he played in Northampton after these conversations, yes i admit i was on the blag! but I can only speak as I find, certainly never ignorant to me.

not a bad run though eh chris?

Bloody hell Chris you'll need a bigger venue for your farewell, but lets not think of that just yet eh. I'm still remembering the last night at Kings!!!
Especially afterwards seeing blokes walking down the road with bar stalls and tall drinks tables over their shoulders as a momento!!!!! All i got and still have is one of the big white ashtrays!! and i didnt even smoke!!

JJH,why dont cha come down next month and give it another whirl,I'll buy you a drink or two,we can smoke a couple of fags and stand away from the speakers and you can have a quiet word with both the djs and I know you will have a great time.

hey dave,national soul day at the new wembley with chris hill doing his farewell gig,now that would be a gig and a half

Where U @: soulville hq

richard even chris cant wait that long for it to be finished

Mind you,by the time it is finished there will be a complete smoking ban so maybe JJH will be happy

oh ye of little faith

Where U @: soulville hq