Cream (nightclub)
Encyclopedia
Cream, based at the Nation nightclub in Liverpool
, is one of the best-known night clubs in the UK
. Cream began life as a weekly house music
night at Nation, and ran in this format for 10 years, from October 1992 to June 2002. Over the ten years of weekly Saturday nights at Nation, the club played host to many international DJ
superstars, including Paul Oakenfold
(who was resident DJ throughout 1997 and 1998), Paul van Dyk
, Sasha
plus early exclusive DJ sets from The Chemical Brothers
.
An early forerunner to Cream were the nights held at Club 051 where the Cream co-founders Andy Carroll and James Barton DJ'd and ran nights playing a mix of US and UK house music. Carroll and Barton held some ground breaking events bringing US legend Tony Humphries
, the now legendary Paul Oakenfold
, Sasha
, Laurent Garnier
and debuting a lesser known DJ at that time Allister Whitehead to name a few. Those nights moved on and Cream was born.
Paul Bleasdale was the main resident DJ at Cream from its beginnings in 1992 to the end of the weekly nights. After this, he played twice at Cream events at Nation
; firstly in the Main Room at the club's 10th Birthday in 2002, then in the Courtyard on boxing night the same year. He has since retired from DJing.
The original owners of the Nation venue, Stuart Davenport and Lennie MacMillan, considered closing Cream due to low attendance in the first three weeks, Joseph Murphy & Darren Hughes offered a free entry to all of the Northwest, and turned this into the most popular club in the Uk.
Cream once owned a dock-based bar in Liverpool located on the Albert Dock
called Babycream. The bar which opened in 2004 was a joint venture between bar and club operator the Lyceum Group and Cream. Another branch in Leeds
was opened soon after and was intended to be the start of a new chain of bars across the United Kingdom, with planned bars in Manchester
, Glasgow
and Swansea
. However the Leeds branch closed in 2006 and the other planned Babycreams never materialised. The Liverpool branch closed in 2009.http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/liverpool-news/local-news/2009/10/02/liverpool-nightspots-babycream-and-korova-set-to-close-or-move-100252-24833563/
, May Bank Holiday
, October/November (for their annual birthday bash) and Boxing
night. The Cream-owned Nation complex is made up of 3 separate rooms, each of varying shape and size; the 1000 capacity Main room, 700 capacity Annexe and 1300 capacity Courtyard. Since Cream ended their weekly events, Nation has held other events, such as Godskitchen
, Chibuku, MTV
, Medication at Nation and Yo-Yo
.
Cream also hosts the dance music
festival Creamfields
each year in Daresbury
, Cheshire
, England
on August Bank Holiday weekend. In 2009 Creamfields
won “Best Dance Event” at the UK Festival Awards
.http://www.festivalawards.co.uk/index.cfm?section=awards
Cream’s record label also continues to release many compilation CDs each year.
clubbing season Cream hosts a club night at Amnesia
.http://www.amnesia.es/webapp/eventDetail?mconId=187
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
, is one of the best-known night clubs in the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. Cream began life as a weekly house music
House music
House music is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in Chicago, Illinois, United States in the early 1980s. It was initially popularized in mid-1980s discothèques catering to the African-American, Latino American, and gay communities; first in Chicago circa 1984, then in other...
night at Nation, and ran in this format for 10 years, from October 1992 to June 2002. Over the ten years of weekly Saturday nights at Nation, the club played host to many international DJ
Disc jockey
A disc jockey, also known as DJ, is a person who selects and plays recorded music for an audience. Originally, "disc" referred to phonograph records, not the later Compact Discs. Today, the term includes all forms of music playback, no matter the medium.There are several types of disc jockeys...
superstars, including Paul Oakenfold
Paul Oakenfold
Paul Mark Oakenfold is a British record producer and a trance DJ.-Early Career: 1979–84:Paul Oakenfold's career was set to be a chef, after having hopes of becoming part of a band. He describes his early life as a "bedroom deejay" in a podcasted interview with Vancouver's 24 Hours, stating he grew...
(who was resident DJ throughout 1997 and 1998), Paul van Dyk
Paul van Dyk
Matthias Paul, better known by his stage name Paul van Dyk is a German Grammy Award-winning Electronic Dance Music DJ, musician and record producer...
, Sasha
Sasha (DJ)
Sasha is a Welsh DJ and record producer. Sasha began his career playing acid house dance music in the late 1980s...
plus early exclusive DJ sets from The Chemical Brothers
The Chemical Brothers
The Chemical Brothers are a British electronic music duo comprising Tom Rowlands and Ed Simons. Originating in Manchester in 1991, along with The Prodigy, Fatboy Slim, The Crystal Method, and fellow acts, they were pioneers at bringing the big beat genre to the forefront of pop culture.- Background...
.
History
Cream was originally founded by Darren Hughes, Joseph Murphy, Andy Carroll and James Barton.An early forerunner to Cream were the nights held at Club 051 where the Cream co-founders Andy Carroll and James Barton DJ'd and ran nights playing a mix of US and UK house music. Carroll and Barton held some ground breaking events bringing US legend Tony Humphries
Tony Humphries
Tony Humphries is a former Administrator of the British Indian Ocean Territory , a British overseas territory in the Indian Ocean. Humphries was Administrator from February 2005 to December 2007.-References:...
, the now legendary Paul Oakenfold
Paul Oakenfold
Paul Mark Oakenfold is a British record producer and a trance DJ.-Early Career: 1979–84:Paul Oakenfold's career was set to be a chef, after having hopes of becoming part of a band. He describes his early life as a "bedroom deejay" in a podcasted interview with Vancouver's 24 Hours, stating he grew...
, Sasha
Sasha (DJ)
Sasha is a Welsh DJ and record producer. Sasha began his career playing acid house dance music in the late 1980s...
, Laurent Garnier
Laurent Garnier
Laurent Garnier , is a French techno music producer and DJ. Garnier began DJ-ing in Manchester during the late 1980s. By the following decade, he had a broad stylistic range, able to span deep house, Detroit techno, trance and jazz...
and debuting a lesser known DJ at that time Allister Whitehead to name a few. Those nights moved on and Cream was born.
Paul Bleasdale was the main resident DJ at Cream from its beginnings in 1992 to the end of the weekly nights. After this, he played twice at Cream events at Nation
Nation
A nation may refer to a community of people who share a common language, culture, ethnicity, descent, and/or history. In this definition, a nation has no physical borders. However, it can also refer to people who share a common territory and government irrespective of their ethnic make-up...
; firstly in the Main Room at the club's 10th Birthday in 2002, then in the Courtyard on boxing night the same year. He has since retired from DJing.
The original owners of the Nation venue, Stuart Davenport and Lennie MacMillan, considered closing Cream due to low attendance in the first three weeks, Joseph Murphy & Darren Hughes offered a free entry to all of the Northwest, and turned this into the most popular club in the Uk.
Cream once owned a dock-based bar in Liverpool located on the Albert Dock
Albert Dock
The Albert Dock is a complex of dock buildings and warehouses in Liverpool, England. Designed by Jesse Hartley and Philip Hardwick, it was opened in 1846, and was the first structure in Britain to be built from cast iron, brick and stone, with no structural wood...
called Babycream. The bar which opened in 2004 was a joint venture between bar and club operator the Lyceum Group and Cream. Another branch in Leeds
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...
was opened soon after and was intended to be the start of a new chain of bars across the United Kingdom, with planned bars in Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
, Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
and Swansea
Swansea
Swansea is a coastal city and county in Wales. Swansea is in the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan. Situated on the sandy South West Wales coast, the county area includes the Gower Peninsula and the Lliw uplands...
. However the Leeds branch closed in 2006 and the other planned Babycreams never materialised. The Liverpool branch closed in 2009.http://www.liverpoolecho.co.uk/liverpool-news/local-news/2009/10/02/liverpool-nightspots-babycream-and-korova-set-to-close-or-move-100252-24833563/
Today
Cream still holds sell-out events at Nation - typically four per year, at EasterEaster
Easter is the central feast in the Christian liturgical year. According to the Canonical gospels, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion. His resurrection is celebrated on Easter Day or Easter Sunday...
, May Bank Holiday
Bank Holiday
A bank holiday is a public holiday in the United Kingdom or a colloquialism for public holiday in Ireland. There is no automatic right to time off on these days, although the majority of the population is granted time off work or extra pay for working on these days, depending on their contract...
, October/November (for their annual birthday bash) and Boxing
Boxing Day
Boxing Day is a bank or public holiday that occurs on 26 December, or the first or second weekday after Christmas Day, depending on national or regional laws. It is observed in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom and some other Commonwealth nations. In Ireland, it is recognized as...
night. The Cream-owned Nation complex is made up of 3 separate rooms, each of varying shape and size; the 1000 capacity Main room, 700 capacity Annexe and 1300 capacity Courtyard. Since Cream ended their weekly events, Nation has held other events, such as Godskitchen
Godskitchen
Godskitchen is an international superclub brand which is associated with dance music and organises events, particularly in the UK and US. The company runs a club night of the same name at their nightclub AIR, in Birmingham, England and has an in-house music label...
, Chibuku, MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
, Medication at Nation and Yo-Yo
Yo-yo
The yo-yo in its simplest form is an object consisting of an axle connected to two disks, and a length of twine looped around the axle, similar to a slender spool...
.
Cream also hosts the dance music
Dance music
Dance music is music composed specifically to facilitate or accompany dancing. It can be either a whole musical piece or part of a larger musical arrangement...
festival Creamfields
Creamfields
Creamfelds is a large dance music festival featuring DJs and live acts. It is held annually on the August Bank Holiday weekend in Daresbury, Cheshire, England, just outside of Liverpool where it had previously been held for a number of years. It is renowned for being headlined every year by the...
each year in Daresbury
Daresbury
Daresbury is a small rural village, civil parish and ward in the unitary authority of Halton and part of the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It is covered by the Weaver Vale constituency...
, Cheshire
Cheshire
Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
on August Bank Holiday weekend. In 2009 Creamfields
Creamfields
Creamfelds is a large dance music festival featuring DJs and live acts. It is held annually on the August Bank Holiday weekend in Daresbury, Cheshire, England, just outside of Liverpool where it had previously been held for a number of years. It is renowned for being headlined every year by the...
won “Best Dance Event” at the UK Festival Awards
UK Festival Awards
The UK Festival Awards are awarded annually, with various categories for all aspects of festivals that have taken place in the UK, and one category for European festivals. The Awards were first established in 2004, and are produced by Virtual Festivals.com. They are voted for by the public via the...
.http://www.festivalawards.co.uk/index.cfm?section=awards
Cream’s record label also continues to release many compilation CDs each year.
Cream Ibiza
Every Thursday during the IbizaIbiza
Ibiza or Eivissa is a Spanish island in the Mediterranean Sea 79 km off the coast of the city of Valencia in Spain. It is the third largest of the Balearic Islands, an autonomous community of Spain. With Formentera, it is one of the two Pine Islands or Pityuses. Its largest cities are Ibiza...
clubbing season Cream hosts a club night at Amnesia
Amnesia (nightclub)
Amnesia is one of several internationally renowned clubs in Ibiza due to Joseph Murphy who created Cream in 1996 and was awarded Best Global Club in the 1996, 1997, 1998 and 1999 International Dance Music Awards for the respective previous year at the Winter Music Conference in Miami...
.http://www.amnesia.es/webapp/eventDetail?mconId=187