Happy birthday Danny Rampling! Here’s an interview with the Shoom founder from November 1990…

DJ legend Danny Rampling turns 59 today (15 July), and with his fabled Shoom clubnight recently hosting a number of parties, it seems the great man is continuing to do what he does best – keep people smiling.

909originals has delved into our vaults to uncover an interview with Rampling from November 1990, just a few weeks on from the release of the single I Hate Hate alongside Steve Eusebe, under the moniker The Sound of Shoom (the club itself having closed earlier that year).  

As Rampling explains in the interview with Jocks’ magazine’s Ronnie Randall, while the early years of acid house were all about togetherness and the unifying power of music, it didn’t take long for the cracks to appear.

“We were tired after a couple of years and wanted to work on some fresh ideas,” Rampling says of the decision to close Shoom. “But mostly it was because the scene had been totally hijacked by a different kind of promoter who’d given everyone a bad name.

“If you were playing house music, you were suddenly one of life’s bad guy, you’d be hassled in cabs by taxi drivers and stuff. It was totally out of hand, attitudes had changed. The press sensationalism had brought in all these young kids who thought they HAD to be on drugs to be involved, and that in turn ended the feeling of genuine contact.

“I think the unity originally created in 88 scared a lot of people, it was pointing the energy of youth in a positive rather than negative direction for a change. Violence, theft and confrontation were out, relaxation was in. So many people found new creative directions for their lives and went on to forge new openings for themselves.”

The London native also offers a few sage words of advice for would be club promoters, that still rings true today.

“Clubs have to be careful not to get things out of proportion. Once you go in with the hype, you attract people who want to be seen to be in vogue rather than people who are really in to what you are trying to achieve.”

Amen to that, Danny! 🙂

[Article taken from Jocks magazine, November 1990. Kudos to mrgee007 for the YouTube upload]