One of Teesside’s best-remembered club nights from the 1990s is returning this September, with Modern Life taking over KU in Stockton-on-Tees on Saturday 5th September for an afternoon and evening of live music, DJs, records, vintage clothes and scooter culture.
For those who remember the North East club scene of the Britpop years, the name Modern Life may already be familiar. The original Modern Life nights at The Arena in Middlesbrough were part of that extraordinary mid-90s moment when Mod, indie, Britpop, Northern Soul and ‘60s music collided once again. It was a time when a new generation was discovering bands such as The Who and Small Faces, while Northern Soul, R&B and Hammond-driven 60s records found their way back onto packed dancefloors courtesy of resident DJs Grant Schofield and Tony Pass.
Modern Life grew out of that mixture rather than simply following Britpop, bringing together people who cared as much about the records, clothes and culture behind the new bands as they did about what was in the charts.
Three decades later, Modern Life returns to Teesside with a bill that brings those generations together.
Headlining are The SolarFlares, featuring members of Medway garage legends The Prisoners. At the heart of that story is Graham Day, one of the defining figures of the Medway sound and a musician whose work with The Prisoners, The Prime Movers, The SolarFlares and Graham Day & The Gaolers has provided a direct link between ‘60s garage, R&B, psychedelia and successive generations of the Mod scene.
Supporting The SolarFlares are Teesside’s own Thee Strawberry Mynde, whose raw ‘60s garage and freakbeat sound makes them a natural fit for Modern Life. They continue a tradition of young North East bands discovering this music and making it their own rather than simply recreating the past.
Behind the decks will be Brighton Beach DJs Eddie Wainwright and Modern Life’s Tony Pass, bringing together Northern Soul, R&B, garage, beat, psychedelia and the records that filled Mod and underground club dancefloors from the 1960s onwards.
Modern Life is about more than the bands and DJs. The event will also feature vintage clothing and record stalls, scooter competitions and the wider culture that has always surrounded the music.
Among the stalls will be Gonna Find a Cave, bringing a selection of ‘60s-inspired and vintage clothing and accessories to the event.
Also appearing will be author Antonio Bacchetti, with signed copies of his book ‘45 Years of Music: Graham Day’ available from a special collection point at the event.
Modern Life at KU brings the name back to Teesside three decades after the original Middlesbrough nights – not as a nostalgia exercise, but in exactly the same spirit of joining the dots between generations of great music.
For further information and tickets, head to kustockton.co.uk.
