
Episode #96
Dave Beer on The Club That Changed UK Clubbing Forever
Welcome to Part One of my special mini-series with Dave Beer, the legendary co-founder of Back to Basics and one of the most recognisable characters in UK club culture. In this opening episode, Dave takes us right back to the beginning. We talk about discovering house music in America, walking through those famous plastic sheets at The Haçienda, and the inspiration that eventually led to the birth of Back to Basics. What started with around 80 people grew week after week, becoming one of Europe’s longest-running weekly club nights, with Dave at the helm every Saturday for 20 years. Dave also tells the brilliant story of how, before business cards and booking agents, he would write his phone number on a $50 bill, pass it across the DJ booth and tell the DJ: “That’s your deposit.” But this conversation goes much deeper than clubbing. Dave opens up about the four-and-a-half centimetre tumour that came frighteningly close to his spine, as well as the horrific road accident in which he says he died before being brought back. This is the story of Dave Beer and Back to Basics, but it’s also the story of an extraordinary life lived well outside the ordinary. And this is only Part One. Part Two coming soon. If you enjoy the episode, please subscribe to the Dexter Jones Podcast, drop a comment below and let me know your memories of Back to Basics. Chapters: 00:00 Coming Up 01:53 Dave Beer on Surviving Cancer 04:00 From Roadie to Club Culture 05:14 Discovering House Music in America 06:38 The Hacienda Changed Everything 08:32 The UK Rave Explosion 11:17 Charlie Chester & the Early Days 13:15 The Birth of Back to Basics 15:30 Building a Legendary Club 18:01 The Music of Back to Basics 20:39 Two Steps Further Than Any Other Fucker 21:42 The Iconic Back to Basics Artwork 24:46 Bringing American DJs to the UK 26:01 The $50 DJ Booking Trick 27:02 Dave Beer’s Unfinished Book 30:28 Finding Buddhism 34:28 How Buddhism Helped Dave Through Cancer 36:27 Given a 5% Chance of Survival 40:15 Finding Strength in Other People 42:11 “This Isn’t the First Time I’ve Died” 42:53 The Car Crash That Changed Everything 44:24 Two Weeks in a Coma 46:00 The Strange World Inside a Coma 48:08 Dyslexia, Knowledge & Altered States 50:12 20 Years of Back to Basics 52:25 What Made Back to Basics So Special? 55:36 How Club Culture Has Changed 57:48 Synchronicity, Spirituality & Life






