Legendary Southend DJ’s from the past five decades will be pumping out the tunes on Southend seafront under a giant disco ball for festival of light LuminoCity.
Disco City, sponsored by Atlantic Pacific Group, is a bespoke installation created by Andy Barak-Smith, a local artist who wanted to create a light installation that was a nod to the night life heritage of Southend-on-Sea and a celebration of all the ballrooms, dance halls, and nightclubs of the City.
The 2m giant ball will have special effect lighting and be suspended from the observation tower footbridge next to Pier Hill. Each night a different DJ will take to the decks. They are Ian Reading, Greg Barker and Daryl Easlea.
Cllr Carole Mulroney, cabinet member for environment, culture and tourism, said: “Music brings joy to us all and brings people of all ages together. Southend is blessed with a great musical and nightlife heritage, and I’m so pleased it is being celebrated in this novel way.
“As we change, so does our night life scene and we cross the generations from ballrooms to dance halls to nightclubs and who knows what's next. It’s great we have such a rich musical heritage and bringing the three DJ’s who have 'spun the platters' for us over the years celebrates all that is good about our musical life and reminds us how it used to be. Who doesn't love a bit of sing along nostalgia? Thanks to them for being part of this amazing Festival of Light (and sound).”
Andy Barak-Smith, the artist responsible for the light creation, said his inspiration came from working in nightclubs in the early part of his career. He said: “I’ve worked in several nightclubs that are unfortunately no longer here, such as Zinc, Storm, Chameleon, to name a few, and every single one had mirror balls. I thought this would be a great way to pay tribute to our city’s nightlife legacy.
“I used to go over to Zero 6 back in my youth, so I can’t wait for Ian Reading to play The Gap Band and ‘Opps Upside Yer Head’ and see people sat in a line on the floor under the giant disco ball.”
The DJ’s will be performing at the Disco City installation from 5pm until 10pm and the full schedule is available on the website.
Ian Reading, who was a DJ at Zero 6, TOTS, Mr B’s and Hollywood, said: “After working in nearly every club in Southend I’m so excited for this and can’t wait to see you all!”
DJ Daryl Easlea, who will be playing on Saturday, added: “The appeal of being on one of the most legendary seafronts in the country in an area renowned for music, playing under a giant mirror ball is like a dream come true!”
The full DJ schedule and other information about LuminoCity can be found on the website.
Photos can be found on our Flickr page.