PART 2 of 3 and a much more in-depth look into the man they call..
“The Godfather of Liverpool House Music”
Mike Knowler is one of the North West’s most respected DJs, well known for his eclectic taste and extensive musical knowledge. He is widely recognised as one of the first British DJs to bring Chicago House music to the UK, and is the man responsible for setting the standard for the UK’s first legal all-night raves in Liverpool.
His story begins in a much earlier era. He learned the techniques of DJing while still at technical college and took up his first residency at Southport’s Kingsway Casino in the autumn of 1969, at the age of 17. In those days he played (6Ts) rare soul and R’nB and, growing in confidence, he took up a second residency in Southport at the Nest Club where he developed his style to encompass the newly emerging US ‘street funk’.
Throughout the early 1970s Mike’s musical horizons were expanding rapidly and he soon became eager to take his music to a wider audience. In 1972 he joined a successful mobile disco road show called “Radio Doom Good Guys” and played to a different crowd almost every night of the week. Then, in 1978, he joined Open Eye, a community based media project, where he designed and built an 8 track recording studio and established two record labels: Zoo Records and Open Eye Records. At that time Liverpool was experiencing the rise of ‘the New Merseybeat’ with bands like Big in Japan, The Teardrop Explodes, Echo and the Bunnymen, OMD and Dead or Alive’. In 1978, as well as recording bands, Mike was also DJing at both Liverpool and Preston Polytechnic, and at Erics, a new club that hosted performances by bands such as the Clash, the Stranglers, Joy Division, Ian Dury & the Blockheads and Elvis Costello & the Attractions. Once again, Liverpool was making musical history, and Mike Knowler was right at the heart of the action.
During this period Mike was also studying electronics engineering, first a Preston Polytechnic as a part-time student, and later at Liverpool University as a full-time student. At Preston Polytechnic Mike was the Social Secretary / events organiser and also the student DJ; and it was a live gig by the band Theatre of Hate that Mike first met Andy Carroll, another local DJ with a similar love for ‘new music’. As a result of hearing his set, Andy invited Mike to become co-resident DJ at a Southport club called ‘Sandbaggers’ ; and the two formed a partnership that went on to become the stuff of Liverpool legend.
Mike Knowler graduated from Liverpool University in 1984, a year in which the mood on Merseyside was buoyant. This was the effect of the international media attention generated by Liverpool’s Garden Festival which was located on a large site just beyond the City Centre. Immediately after graduating, Mike was offered the residency at the newly opened Cavern Club. It was while DJing in the Cavern that an intervention of fate provided with an opening at the City’s flagship venue, The State Ballroom, as a result of which Mike became the resident DJ in September 1984.
It was during his time at the State that the seeds of a whole new music revolution were being sewn, across the pond, in New York and Chicago; as a result of this Mike went to New York to attend the New Music Seminar. He was blown away by what he discovered – a newly emerging genre called ‘House’ music. And while at the Seminar he was given a list of 50 essential House tracks by a little known Chicago DJ ‘General B’ who described the House sound as being a cross between Philly Soul and New Order. Mike brought the tracks back to Liverpool and started to play them at the State. At first the audience at the State did not catch on to the revolution then, in 1988, a local promoter called James Barton hired the State to put on a weekly Acid House event called ‘Daisy’. This was to be on Mondays with DJs ‘mic microdot’ & Andy C (aka Mike Knowler and Andy Carroll). This was Liverpool’s first dedicated Acid House night; but very soon House music became the music policy on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights. The revolution had arrived!
The State was now more successful than it have ever been, with at least
twice as many punters as the entertainment licence permitted. The Police were very aware of this and, sadly, external pressures forced the club to close its doors in November 1989. Mike continued to DJ at the Twilight Zone, a smaller venue on Liverpool’s Duke Street, where similar problems were encountered.
Mike worked in the daytime as an electronics lecturer at Hugh Baird College in Bootle, where the Student’s Union invited Mike to be their DJ for the College Christmas Party. And it was Mike’s suggested venue for the Hugh Baird’s Christmas dance that proved to be a defining moment in Liverpool’s music history. The date of the Christmas Party was to be 18 November 1989.
The students had wanted to hire the State but, as this would not be possible, Mike suggested Quadrant Park as the most suitable venue for their Christmas event. Quadrant Park was a modern discotheque club located quite near to the college in Bootle. Mike suggested that the students place an add in the Liverpool Echo and, as a result, the event was a huge success, attracting over a thousand people. As a direct consequence of this success, Quad manager Dave Caul offered Mike a weekly residency playing House music. Initially, the residency was for Thursday nights only, starting 11 January 1990, but Mike’s night was so successful that within two months he took over Friday and Saturday nights as well. Saturday nights saw the arrival of co-DJ Andy Carroll.
But Quadrant Park was no ordinary venue and, secretly, was holding an ace up its sleeve. When the venue opened in the mid 1980s it comprised, in addition to the night club, of a 24 hour Snooker Club and a large warehouse area at the back used for ‘car boot sales’. In October 1990, after taking legal advice, Quad owner Jim Spencer converted the large warehouse area at the rear of the nightclub into a separate venue for hosting all-night rave parties. This new venue was to be called the Pavilion and Mr Spencer used a very clever legal wrangle to allow the Snooker Club’s 24 hour entertainment licence to become a member’s only all-night rave club. This was how the Quad became the UK’s first ‘superclub’: the Pavilion all-nighter had a capacity of more than 3000 and clubbers from all over the country arrived there on Saturdays for the UK’s first legal all night raves. In the all-nighter, guest DJs included Sasha and Laurent Garnier. It should be mentioned, here, that the Quadrant Park nightclub continued to operate, successfully, in parallel with the all-nighter. This is why Quadrant Park really was a superclub!
The Pavilion all-nighters at Quadrant Park ran for a total of 40 consecutive Saturday nights, from November 1990 to July 1991, with Mike Knowler as the main resident DJ throughout. However, the Acid House / Rave phenomenon, and its associations with drug culture, proved to be intolerable to the licensing authorities; police forces across the UK were taking concerted action to prevent all-night rave parties, and Sefton Council were forced to revoke the Quad’s 24 hour entertainment licence. At the time, the reason given was that the Pavilion had been admitting non-members; however, it was just a convenient excuse. The original Quad nightclub continued to be popular for another couple of months but, by the end of September 1990, weekly attendance went into severe decline. The reasons for this included the emergence of two brand new clubs in Liverpool’s City Centre, and the fact that Quadrant Park far too expensive to get in. In addition, a total lack of investment spelled the end for the Quad; and Mike played his last gig there on Christmas Eve 1991, a couple of weeks before it closed its door for good.
Mike had seen the writing on the wall and, towards the end of 1990, he had begun to play Quad sets at other venues on Merseyside: DJ Dave Graham had invited Mike to play at the Drome in Birkenhead, and promoter Nicky Dee had asked him to be resident at Hard Dock Café on Fridays. Liverpool’s Hard Dock Café was to be Mike’s next club residency, working alongside former Coconut Grove DJ Alan James. At the Hard Dock the music played was hardcore and techno, and there were guest appearances from DJs such as Carl Cox and Grove Rider, and artists such as Prodigy and Shades of Rhythm. Mike and Alan’s residency was a great success, lasting until January 1994, when he and Alan left over music policy differences with the club’s new promoters.
From 1990 onwards Hax Promotions (James Barton and Andy Carroll) had been putting on concert events at Liverpool’s Royal Court Theatre, with artists including Adamski, K-Klass, Prodigy, N Joi and Katherine E. Here Mike Knowler was invited to be one of the support DJs along with John Kelly. Around this period Mike also made guest appearances at a number of other venues across the North West including Cleo’s in Wolverhampton, Bowlers in Trafford Park, Maximes in Wigan and club 051 in Liverpool. Mike played alongside other House music luminaries such as Laurent Garnier, Stu Allen, Welly, Robbie Edwards, Andy Brewer et al.
Throughout is career Mike has always put his love of music before fame and success and, in 1995, he made the decision to move into the pre-club bar scene, where he was able to experiment with an eclectic blend of styles derived from his soul, funk and disco roots. He enjoyed an 18 month residency at the Gallery bar in Liverpool’s Concert Square (now Modo Bar) where he continued to break new music. Most of the records played were US import House tracks by artists such as Masters at Work, Urban Blues Project / Michael Proctor, Ultra Nate, Groove Collective, Kim English and Blaze. This was followed by a move to a brand new pre-club bar in Southport called The Glasshouse. Mike had heard a rumour that the Gallery was being sold and didn’t want to find himself out of a job; so Mike moved on. Mike was resident DJ at the Glasshouse for just over twelve months: Thursday night was 1970s ‘rare groove’; Friday and Saturday was ‘upfront’ US House & Garage; and Sunday night was House Anthems 1988 to 1992. After a year in the Glasshouse, in April 1998, Mike moved on again, this time to ‘Bar Non’ also in Southport. Here the format was very similar to the Glasshouse: Thursday was ‘soul funk disco and jazz’, Friday night US House & Garage and Monday night House Anthems. However, in January 1999 Mike had become disillusioned with the music scene, bar owners had proved difficult to please, and he retired as a full-time DJ.
In September 2003 Mike was asked to be the headline DJ at a band new ‘Old Skool’ night that was to be held at the Zanzibar Club in Liverpool’s Seel Street. The night was called Hazy Dayz and was to be a monthly event. Hazy Days was an immediate success and Mike was offered the monthly residency. However, Mike declined the offer of being the resident at Hazy days and this honour went, instead, to DJ Vertigo. Between 2003 and 2005 Mike made a number of guest appearances both at Hazy Days and at Garlands.
However, the memories of the club, and the all-nighters, at Quadrant Park were etched in Liverpool folklore; and the Quad’s vibe refused to die. Quadrant Park themed events began appearing as early as 1994, and have followed at rare intervals ever since. The Quadrant Park tribute website was launched in 2004 and this paved the way for Quadrant Park Reunions on a much larger scale. Mike is part of the original DJ team still hosting reunion events across Merseyside and the North West; and he has spoken about his days at Quadrant Park both on City FM and KCR.
Mike Knowler’s story is one that has taken him from ‘apprentice’ to ‘master’ on a musical journey that spans more than 30 years. He has had some incredible experiences along the way: the 1970s were all about ‘learning his trade’; in the 1980s mike was part of the zeitgeist; and in the 1990s Mike was making history of his own. Today, if you are lucky, you can still catch him playing in Liverpool and, in particular, at Quadrant Park Reunions. This quiet man is the stuff that true legends are made of.
