The Drum Club
The Drum Club, named after a Sunderland nightspot that imported balearic beat in 1983, and more recently Charlie Hall's own club night, comprise the duo of Lol Hammond (b. 7 January 1960, Stoke Newington, London, England) and Hall (b. 25 October 1959, Whitstable, Kent, England). The latter, self-effacing both on stage and off, and a former book reviewer for the Catholic Herald, is nevertheless perceived as the group's creative lynchpin. Before the Drum Club he was already a well-known London club DJ, and had also played in the Apaches and London Cowboys. Hammond, meanwhile, had been part of the many and varied line-ups of Spizz (Spizz Oil, Athletico Spizz etc). The Drum Club's first recording arrived via the Sprial Tribe label in March 1992. U Make Me Feel So Good was an instant club classic, and would be re-released a few months later on the Guerilla imprint. A follow-up, Alchemy, was similarly well-received. In the meantime the Drum Club were becoming a favoured remixing stable, a variety of musicians seeking out their talents. These included Jah Wobble's Invaders Of The Heart, Meat Beat Manifesto, Psychick Warriors Of Gaia and would-be progressive outfits Curve and Chapterhouse. Most notable, however, was their work on Killing Joke's alternative dancefloor staple, Change. In addition to their studio wizardry, the duo were also keen to ‘play out’, making their debut at the Ministry Of Sound, London, in October 1992. Steve Hillage and Emma Anderson from Lush would later guest on their live dates. Anderson would also contribute guitar to EVERYTHING IS NOW, and record a 1993 single, Stray, with the Drum Club, under the name Never Never. It was Hall who came up with the idea of the MIDI circus (to rival rock's Lollapalooza touring phenomenon), which also featured Orbital, Aphex Twin, Underworld etc. By the time of their debut album they had moved on to Big Life, signifying the very real commercial status open to their mesmeric, shimmering music. The venue named after them, which had long been a popular attraction in the club world, closed its doors on June 30 1994, with farewell appearances from Fabio Paris, Justin Robertson, Billy Nasty (Zoom) and others.