18: Clubs: The Eclipse, Coventry

25 Years ago a club opened in Coventry that would change they way many people spent their weekends. No more suits, fights on the dance floor or drunken idiots, because first of all, the club had no alcohol license. Two men, Stuart Reid and Barry Edwards had taken over the old Ganada bingo hall on Lower Ford Street and in October 1990 and transformed Coventry overnight from football violence alcohol fueled cock jockeys every where to a hedonistic utopia. OK, that's an exaggeration but it certainly changed my life forever.




The Eclipse was spread over 4 floors, although the ground floor didn't open immediately, the staff used that room to beat up people sneaking drugs or weapons in. The 1st floor was the chill out room and restaurant, and i use that term loosely; chips and burgers mostly, but also dj's played in there as well. 2nd floor was the main dance floor with bar, stage and dance platforms and the 3rd floor was the balcony overlooking the dance floor. The dj was on this level along with access to it barred by steel gates. The decor was.... shall we just say untouched? There was UV stickers, back drops and shapes hanging from the ceiling but that was the only thing that had changed since it's previous bingo hall days. They had a wicked laser with netting hanging from the ceiling to catch the mad visuals it provided and was supplied by laser magic. (a banner draped over the dj box confirmed this, people zoned out on it many times) and there was a stairwell connecting the floors with a lift in there. The stairs were always full of people sitting down and was a struggle to get from one floor to another. It was a bit dirty in there, you wouldn't want to sit down on the floor as in those days you could still smoke inside. It wasn't massive either, at 1600 capacity over 4 floors it was an average size but there was more than that in there on the events nights. Friday was events/promotors and saturday was members only and i always preferred Saturday as it was less full and you had room to dance. Whistles, airhorns, poppers, and sly spliffs were all the rage, i vividly remember the smell of poppers in there, mixed with Vics vaporub (see post 17) and sweat. The vibe in there was overtly freindly, to the point of over familiar sometimes. Where ya from? What ya had? Want some poppers? Fancy my sister? were the conversation starters in there, but it made a refreshing change from the clubs where if you asked a stranger what he was drinking you would find out up close by the glass being shoved into your face with high velocity. Pulling a girl was hard, the music was suitably loud and as you and everyone else was dripping in sweat, nobody looked that amazing; especially when the lights came on 10 minutes before the end. You could be having some nervous flirty eye contact with the worlds most beautiful person one minute, then a simon weston look-a-like seconds after the lights come on.  I remember seeing a man in his 30's in there and was very suspicious of his motives for being there. This was a young persons thing, piss off grandad. The chances are that this fella was probably plod, trying to look cool and blend in yet failing spectacularly. Old bill didn't like the club very much, at the time maggie thatcher was fighting a war on ravers and papers like the Sun and their ilk took great pleasure in scaring parents all over the country with shock headlines. The owners had found a legal loophole to open the club. No license was needed other than an entertainment license as it was strictly a members only venue. You had to apply for membership 24 hours before attending, although in reality you could join, buy a ticket from over the road at moonshine records and walk straight in. As with any club like this, the moody element started to come and i saw some shitty things happen there (read earlier posts) and after a while a face lift was needed. BEHOLD, THE EDGE!

The Edge was a different beast. this time some money had been spent on the interior. Ground floor was chill out room with cinema screen showing films, sofas, chairs and tables etc and generally a groovy place to relax. The layout of the rest of the club remained the same but it had had a paint job done. I have been very vocal on the colour of this since it was painted..... battle ship grey. To me, it made the place seem gloomy and unwelcoming. The was also two dance platforms built in this time, rather than the temporary ones they had previously. The whole atmosphere had changed in there, it never had the same vibe to it, im my opnion but it didn't stop me going (and eventually djing there...see previous posts) They started making a video magazine and launched a record label and there was some brilliant nights there, but the writing was on the wall, the bad vibe that the locals brought along was ruining it, the doormen were excessive in the beatings they dished out (seen quite a few myself) and the lack of alcohol being served (a good thing if you ask me) was holding it back, as now there were clubs everywhere doing all nighters. the halcyon days had come to end and the Edge eventually closed in 1994, barely 3 1/2 years after first opening its door in '90. Coventry university took it over, renamed it The Planet and closed it to non students, and it was eventually demolished a few years back. A car park is now on the site. For all its failings, it was the best club in the midlands, hands down and 25 years later i still miss the place. December 12th 2015 will see the 25th anniversary rave held in The Empire club, recently opened less than 1/4 of a mile from the original venue.