The Clarence Beat Club York

We had planned to visit York at the weekend and 5 of us got together for the night out. Having contacted Dekka we were informed that we would be made welcome, we were told about the venue and the music policy. An unknown venue for us but the music policy sounded like something that would be of interest..

Arriving at The Clarence Club, on entering it is a typical 60,s/70,s design WMC. Concert hall is long and narrow. Small dance floor at the business end of the building and a good size stage. We arrived 8:00 ish and joined a small crowd who had settled in prior to our arrival. We took up position on the corner of the dance floor, which unfortunately isn't the best dance floor surface in the world (although I have danced on plenty of worse ones) and as it turned out it was slightly uneven too - definitely in need of an upgrade me thinks - but the music being played (Dekka on the decs when we arrived) was, as we had been informed different from the norm. Before long we felt comfortable and took on board what we were listening to. 

The music policy - see the event advert - was exactly as advertised. There was a real good mix of early day sounds and some classic northern, that didn't drift too far into the 70's, from 5 DJ's. The 30 minute per set policy for each DJ (each being given two spots) worked a treat as each DJ brought their own feel to their own set.

The club I ascertained could hold possibly 300, maybe a few more, but thankfully it didn't fill. I say thankfully because the dance floor would not facilitate that number of people, however as Dekka had informed us prior to arriving, the clientele usually find area's where they can dance near to where they would be seated. But we managed to find space to enjoy what was on offer - although my knees were feeling the strain of an unresponsive floor surface toward the end of the night. But we had a good dance. (Apart from the few latino interludes - but some of the punters appeared to enjoy that, so fair play to the DJ who put it out there).

Speaking to Dekka again before we left at 1 am the promoters are trying to get a WMC Committee to commit to improving the dance area and dance floor surface to be able to accommodate what the promoters are trying to bring to the club. Most Working mens Clubs would welcome NS events or similar with open arms as their client base is obviously dwindling annually. I have a feeling that the guys might have a tough time on their hands persuading the people running the facility that the financial outlay required will bring dividends. I wish them luck with the project. However, having run a small venue for a number of years, which again is committee driven, my advice would be to continue pressing for improvement. If improvements aren't forthcoming, if it were me, based on the music policy and the potential that these promoters have, because they are doing things the right way, if all else fails I would look for a venue that can cater for their needs.

We enjoyed the night out. We enjoyed a different mix of sounds. Thanks again for making us welcome.

Hi kev

Was great to meet you and thankyou for taking the time to visit our club, yes the dance floor isn't the best, it not only needs improving but also extending, it's something we have brought to the attention of the committee and to be honest we are blue in the face with it, we will carry on and try to encourage them but as you say if things don't improve we may have to put in a wooden dance floor ourselves or move. Glad you enjoyed the music policy, we try to ensure we cover all the 6t's bases and like you say not to stray too much into the 7t's. My apologies for the couple of latino's (yes it was me lol) but hopefully overall you had a pleasant experience and we hope to have you back

atb dekka