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Club night review: Black Plastic

Chris Newbould
3/11/2004

"THE music policy is basically anything Jamaican: Dub, Reggae, Ska, Dancehall. We've been at Big Hands for four years now."

I'm momentarily stunned by the words of Wes, Black Plastic resident and promoter. Four years? It seems like only yesterday that 'the venue formerly known as Champers' was a sticky floored Portacabin where you drank watery lager to a chart soundtrack in the company of excitable MRI nurses.

You could do so 'til 2am, too, back in the dark days before late bars occupied every corner not already franchised by Subway.

How some things change. And some things don't. The venue's still a leaky Portacabin, but gone are the mantrap carpets, and in have come an extensive range of non-watery lagers, alongside one of the most eclectic music policies around.

Of the many excellent regulars, Black Plastic has perhaps had the most success in escaping the 'records played in a bar' feel, and has garnered a genuine atmosphere of its own. Wes puts this down to simple perseverance.

Personally I'd add the residents' encyclopaedic knowledge of the music to the formula too.

It comes from the sort of enthusiasm that can't help but transfer to crowds, and, short of a beach and an industrial size rum, seems the best reason to assume one of Thursday's best kept secrets will keep going from strength to strength.

Black Plastic takes place at Big Hands on Oxford Road every Thursday. Call 0161 272 7772 for more information.