By Jolene Rae-Walsh –
Smile Bar, located just off Wakefield Road and based in the heart of the University of Huddersfield residential area, recently held a ‘Quadrophenia’ Club night, with an array of live bands and musicians playing tribute to the iconic film.
History
Quadrophenia is an iconic film released in 1979. Set in London and Brighton in 1965, the film is all about the mods and rockers of the sixties.
The story follows a young mod named Jimmy and his search for self-worth and importance.
Interestingly, Quadrophenia is the only Who Album entirely composed by Pete Townsend.
It was my favourite film during my teens, and I watched it so often that I knew the dialogue off by heart.
So, when I saw that Smile Bar on Wakefield Road was hosting a tribute Quadrophenia Club Night, I just had to check it out.
Smile Bar
I love Smile Bar, but this was my first time attending an event in their music hall around the back of the building.
It’s a great space with plenty of seating and room for dancing. Tickets had to be bought online, and once through the bag check, we were through to the main bar and stage area.
The night began with DJ Drew Stansall (ex The Specials/Prince Buster) spinning the best in Mod, Ska, Soul, R&B, and 2tone.
Then we had Special Guest Carl Morris singing Mod Anthems, along with his guitar.
Finally, we had live music from The Atlantic’s who were playing the movie’s hits, such as Green Onions, Louie Louie, Zoot Suit, Bellboy, My Generation, and Da Do Ron Ron, to name a few.
Scenes from the film were being played onto a projector behind the stage, which heightened the sense of nostalgia, and I was really impressed with the sound and lighting effects in the venue.
The event was really well attended; as the dress code was ‘Dress Handsome’, we were blessed with a room full of folk who were indeed dressed up fine, dancing the night away.
They had a well-stocked bar at the back of the venue, and drinks averaged £5 each. To advise for future reference, Smile Bar is a cashless venue.
Smile Bar puts on loads of events throughout the year; you can check out what’s coming next by visiting their website: https://www.smilebarandvenue.co.uk/events/.
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