![]() We’d actually been in a band together before that called Diskord Datkord, fitted in perfectly at Nag Nag Nag with our hip-hop punk rock version of X-Ray Spex’s Identity. There’s music from Adam Sky, who was known as Adamski in the 90s. I went through an old file of tracks labelled ‘Nag Nag Nag’ and these are the ones that jumped out at me. ![]() Tell me more about the tunes you’ve included in your mix? There was always the excitement of playing something brand new that you knew the crowd hadn’t heard before. I had DJed at indie clubs for years, so you do get an instinct of where to take the evening. I just used to turn up and play whatever felt right. I never bothered trying to mix properly at the beginning, and never planned a set. At a Nag Nag Nag night everything was mixed up, so you really didn’t know what you hear next. Yeah, I think the unique music policy of Nag Nag Nag is what made it stand out and successful. In your opinion, is it this ethos that set Nag Nag Nag apart from other nights operating at this time? The whole thing was very queer and very punk. A lot of it was down to Larry Tee who had coined the term ‘electroclash’ for the genre of music he was championing in NYC in 2001. There was definitely something in the air where, for a brief period, dance music was getting interesting again. Much like what Richard X was doing with his mash-ups at the time, the ethos of Nag Nag Nag was to mix up some of my favourite electronic and post-punk music from the 70s and 80s – think Cabaret Voltaire, Bauhaus, Human League and so on – with the new, edgier electronic stuff around at the time. Was there a specific focus or theme to what you were presenting sonically? Let’s start by discussing the musical direction of Nag Nag Nag. Tune in below and scroll down for the interview. We also present a special mix that digs deeper into the music that defined Nag Nag Nag. Here, 20 years on from the launch of Nag Nag Nag, we catch up with Melton and reflect on the party’s enduring legacy. The likes of Björk, Alexander McQueen and Kate Moss – plus DJs such as Ellen Allien, Kittin, Fil OK – were regulars at the mid-week affair, which was hailed for bringing a sense of excitement and grit back to an overblown scene. Throughout its lifespan, Nag Nag Nag enticed everyone from curious students through to celebrity punters and fashionable club kids. This inauspicious but apt setting would become home to Soho’s alternative queer population until 2008, when it closed its doors to make way for the Elizabeth line’s eastern ticket hall. Nag Nag Nag was hosted at Ghetto, a cult basement venue situated on a seedy alley around the back of The Astoria, on Falconberg Court. ( Melton had previously played in the British goth band Specimen, who themselves had launched another influential weekly night two decades prior, in 1982. Helmed by Jonny Slut (or Jonny Melton to his family), the weekly party – which took its name from the Cabaret Voltaire track – emerged from the burgeoning electroclash movement and swiftly evolved into one of London’s most revered hotspots for alternative dance music. Nag Nag Nag is one such club night that sprung up in response to changing tides. Wide-eyed clubbers are shying away from superclubs and pouring into intimate venues and more DIY spaces soundtracked by their favourite DJs – of course – but also rising artists with fresh takes on electronic music and its surrounding culture. The year is 2002 and things are shifting within UK dance music. From the iconic parties of bygone eras through to the emerging events breaking through in 2022, we’ll be highlighting the sounds of these parties and the artists that shape them. Crack Magazine is marking Pride season with a series of specialist mixes and playlists dedicated to LGBTQ+ club nights and promoters.
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