Well, what a night. This Weekend I was lucky enough to attend the sold-out Hippos Remixed @ Victoria Baths Manchester on 20th May 2023. And all I can say it was f’cking great gig it was.
On the decks, all night was the excellent Jay Wearden (one of the resident DJs at the long-gone Middleton Hippodrome), playing some blinding breakbeat hardcore and techno.
I even heard him drop a couple of well-chosen new tunes, including one of my favorites by Bicep.
6 of us attended the event, and the venue, the crowd and the atmosphere blew us all away.
This isn’t my first time attending the Hippodrome/Thunderdome nights in Manchester. Me and Jo have gone to quite a few over the year, we try not to miss any of them. The last one we attended was the Hippos gig @ the Gorilla Night Club back in 2021 which featured the Skaparis Orchestra back in 2021.
Some of the tunes played
The Hippos nights always tend to play more techno-sounding oldschool/breakbeat hardcore music from around 88-92, as opposed to the usual piano tunes which you usually hear at other oldschool gigs. But they don’t play much fast breakbeat hardcore (think Slipmatt, Acen stuff, Production House stuff.)
Anyway, a few of my favourite tunes from the night were:
I love Narra Mine. One of the best breakbeat hardcore tunes eva’.
Was quite surprised to hear them to hear them play Kites as I’ve never heard them play it previous Hippos nights. BTW, if you like this tune check this scratchtastic mix of mine which features their other big hit ‘I wish that’ (click here to download).
![Corina - Temptation New School Freestyle [1991]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/pw0xYxAy0-E/0.jpg)
And Corina Temptation. Another belting breakbeat classic featured on this mix of mine | (click here for a direct mp3 download – 162MB – 75 min).
The Venue: Victoria Baths
The venue was superb. It was in the Victoria Baths located in Chorlton-on-Medlock.
You could really tell Jay, Rossie and the rest of the Hippo’s team had put a lot of effort into getting the venue ready for club event.
Jay went into details about the problems he faced with the venue in a long comment which he posted on Facebook. Here it is in full:
“I wanted to properly reflect before I wrote about HIPPOS REMIXED at Victoria Baths. It took as over 18 months from our first contact to the wonderful experience we shared on Saturday.
I’ve always wanted to bring excitement and new experiences into the club world. I love to push the envelope, stretch myself. When I come up with a new idea, when Rosie rolls her eyes, I always say to her, “If it excites me, then I am sure everyone else will be too”. I have had this philosophy about music all my playing career. Being brave. It’s easy to follow. I don’t want easy.
I am constantly looking (like I do with tunes) to find something special, that stands out. That’s different. I make countless enquiries to some weird and wonderful places. We have meetings with loads of different locations and 99% either can’t work or won’t work for what we want to do.
I love that challenge, I love the exploration and the blind alleys I travel to get to the end goal. You learn so much along the way, I never see any action as a waste as you grow from it. Build intelligence.
I’d looked at Victoria Baths several times before I made contact. I was asked to do a talk on the Manchester music scene to a group of Danish students and they were just going to do it in some nondescript room in Manchester. That didn’t feel right to me. If you are coming to Manchester, you need to frame it right. For me, it’s always the full concept. Minor details matter. I live by the saying ‘great waves from tiny ripples grow’.
I suggested they should get one of the smaller rooms in there. They went for it, so Tommy and I did a wonderful insight into our world for these young people in there. I absolutely fell in love and the journey began.
Rosie and I could both see the absolute potential of how wonderful it would be if our people partied in this place. I know there’s been other events in there but I genuinely believe that what we have is unique. It’s not tainted in any way, it’s pure, it feels authentic. It’s not forced or manufactured. It just is.
You can’t just pitch up and run an event in a grade II listed building. You have make a proposal and more importantly it has to be accepted.
We had to install stairs, ramps and carpets for the safety aspect. Do risk assessments and security plans. The way we already managed our events is very time consuming in how we film the promo videos to the unique ticketing that we have source, handle the transactions and post out. No one else that I have seen does this. I know why, as it is such hard work and Rosie smashes every time. She’s an inspiration, no matter how tired or whatever is happening in our lives she is always available.
Doing an event in anything that isn’t a nightclub means that there are countless services you have to bring in and Rosie managed the lot of it. I have all the creative and project development work but the majority of delivery is Rosie. We are a perfect balance, I feel lucky to have someone I can implicitly trust. She’s amazing.
The lead up to it was all hands to the pumps and we have some amazing people around us.
They all stepped up and have given us so much support in the areas we needed some extra man and woman power.
All the contractors we sourced were fantastic to work with, they went above and beyond to make it happen. We actually didn’t get the venue signed off until 1pm on the Saturday, 4 1/2 hours before the event. That’s how stressful it was to put on.
Come showtime, it was all worth it. The Edwardian grandeur juxtaposition with our people and music. What an incredible contrast, a perfect contradiction.
Edzy smoothed us in with a classy set, what a true gentleman and professional he is.
Looking out seeing all those faces, the majority faces I’ve seen most of my adult life lit up with excitement and wonder was a joy to behold. There was not one person I saw wasn’t giddy and not ready to ‘have it’ big time.
It was an honour personally to play in such a place and I had to tailor the music in situ to fit the room and the energy I could feel in there.
It was a lot less gradual that I intended to play, it was important to keep the energy up. It’s a high ceiling and there are lots of areas for people to explore. So I needed to keep the vibe high energy. There’s so much psychology in being what I perceive as being a good DJ.
As the light dropped and the club lighting started to become more atmospheric the sense of euphoria significantly increased.
A lot has been mentioned about this scene is like our church, our way of worship. It really did feel like in that gorgeous high-ceiling cavernous space. It didn’t overshadow the proceedings but extenuated this momentous occasion.
It was only right that Shine MC & Melanie Williams punctuated the evening with two of the most iconic tracks from those great times we shared at Hippos. Shine with his charm and charisma lighting up the stage and Melanie’s sultry dynamic performance bringing a few blokes to their knees.
The last hour rocked and we’ve had people genuinely in their droves saying it was the best night of their lives. That means everything to us. To be in the position to bring joy to people’s lives is such a privilege.
When 11:30 came and the dream had been realised. What we had done, all of us together. Every single person there contributed to something that I am sure will be talked about for years.
I’ve been barracked many times for ‘one more tune’ but this went on and on and on. I held on to my nerve and resisted the temptation.
There was many reasons why I didn’t. I didn’t want to disrespect Victoria Baths. They implicitly stated it finished at that time. I think about all the staff that have to work after everyone has gone or in the process of going. It may only be another 5 minutes but 5 minutes feels like a long time when you are waiting for something to finish.
Finally I believe in less is more. I believe people should leave with that vigour, that want, that need. It’s like that one chip too many or the slice of cake that just a bit too large. It ruins it slightly. It goes back to the psychology of how to give people the best time. Just enough at the right times without overdoing it.
This was and is a landmark marquee night for us and I know we are both so grateful for the love you have shown and the respect you have given.
Let’s keep building and making sweet memories together!
Much love J x”
Just want to say much respect for everyone involved. And roll on the next event in Sep.
If you’re interested in this event you can find more information on the Hippos Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/groups/437880054094672.
To obtain tickets you will need to speak to his wonderful wife/girlfriend (sorry don’t know which) Rossie.
Keep on scratching
James DJ Kippax
Did you attend this gig or others? Why not share you thoughts or memories in the comments below.