Lush!
Encyclopedia
Lush! is a night club in Portrush
, Northern Ireland
. Located in the Kellys Golf Links Hotel, the club is the largest in the complex, which houses a number of bars. Opened in 1996, it has played host to the majority of the worlds notable electronic dance music
DJs, including Armin van Buuren, Paul van Dyk
, Tiesto
, Sasha
and Eddie Halliwell
.
Opening two nights a week (Saturday mainly for clubbers from all over Ireland and Wednesday for local University of Ulster students), the venue doesn't use external promoters or host club nights, being a self-contained operation. The promoter, and manager of the club, Col Hamilton, is also the resident DJ. Music on resident-played nights would generally be house music
, but the regular guest DJs are more likely to play trance music
.
Shortly after opening, CJ Agnelli of Agnelli & Nelson
immortalised the club with one of his first releases, titled "Lush", and the later remixes, "Lush Gold". The cover art of both releases featured the clubs logo, a large yellow/orange circle.http://www.discogs.com/release/279478 An edition of Discover Records "Live As" series has also been recorded at the venue.http://www.discogs.com/release/1060533
Notably for a modern nightclub, Lush! still features a chip shop within the premises - to the right rear of the dancefloor. Large quantities of clubbers travel from all across Northern Ireland every weekend, with the large carpark of the club consisting mostly of coach bays. One of the Kellys' complex other bars, The Synk, is generally open alongside Lush with free access between the two, but with a different DJ playing.
The 2008 DJ Mag Top 100 Clubs places Lush! at number 56 in the world,http://www.djmag.com/index.php?op=top100club&top100club_op=display&club_top_100_id=56&status=live&limit_num=100&page=6 with it having been unplaced in 2007 and number 24 in 2006. The 2010 list, now voted for by the general public, places the club at number 48.http://www.djmag.com/top100clubs/?op=detail&start=&page=5&year=2010&id=248
From the late 1990s and early 2000s Lush! was broadcast on a few occasions live on Radio 1
to listeners across the UK and the world. Shows such as the Essential Mix
, Seb Fontaine
and Judge Jules
were broadcast to electric atmospheres. Seb Fontaine was quoted as saying Lush! was one of the best club on the planet with an atmosphere not to be matched anywhere else he had ever played.
Portrush
Portrush is a small seaside resort town in County Antrim, Northern Ireland, on the County Londonderry border. The main part of the old town, including the railway station as well as most hotels, restaurants and bars, is built on a mile–long peninsula, Ramore Head, pointing north-northwest....
, Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
. Located in the Kellys Golf Links Hotel, the club is the largest in the complex, which houses a number of bars. Opened in 1996, it has played host to the majority of the worlds notable electronic dance music
Electronic dance music
Electronic dance music is electronic music produced primarily for the purposes of use within a nightclub setting, or in an environment that is centered upon dance-based entertainment...
DJs, including Armin van Buuren, 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...
, Tiesto
Tiësto
Tijs Michiel Verwest, , known as Tiësto , is a Dutch musician, DJ and record producer of electronic dance music. Although he has used many aliases in the past, he is best known for his work as DJ Tiësto...
, Sasha
Sasha (DJ)
Sasha is a Welsh DJ and record producer. Sasha began his career playing acid house dance music in the late 1980s...
and Eddie Halliwell
Eddie Halliwell
Eddie Halliwell is an international Trance DJ. Halliwell has held residencies at Goodgreef, Gatecrasher and Cream in Ibiza, was named DJ of the year by leading dance music magazine Mixmag in 2003 and 2005...
.
Opening two nights a week (Saturday mainly for clubbers from all over Ireland and Wednesday for local University of Ulster students), the venue doesn't use external promoters or host club nights, being a self-contained operation. The promoter, and manager of the club, Col Hamilton, is also the resident DJ. Music on resident-played nights would generally be 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...
, but the regular guest DJs are more likely to play trance music
Trance music
Trance is a genre of electronic dance music that developed in the 1990s.:251 It is generally characterized by a tempo of between 125 and 150 bpm,:252 repeating melodic synthesizer phrases, and a musical form that builds up and breaks down throughout a track...
.
Shortly after opening, CJ Agnelli of Agnelli & Nelson
Agnelli & Nelson
Agnelli & Nelson is the collective name of Northern Irish music producers Christoper James Agnew and Robert Frederick Nelson, writers and producers of dance music who have worked in the genre of trance music since 1997...
immortalised the club with one of his first releases, titled "Lush", and the later remixes, "Lush Gold". The cover art of both releases featured the clubs logo, a large yellow/orange circle.http://www.discogs.com/release/279478 An edition of Discover Records "Live As" series has also been recorded at the venue.http://www.discogs.com/release/1060533
Notably for a modern nightclub, Lush! still features a chip shop within the premises - to the right rear of the dancefloor. Large quantities of clubbers travel from all across Northern Ireland every weekend, with the large carpark of the club consisting mostly of coach bays. One of the Kellys' complex other bars, The Synk, is generally open alongside Lush with free access between the two, but with a different DJ playing.
The 2008 DJ Mag Top 100 Clubs places Lush! at number 56 in the world,http://www.djmag.com/index.php?op=top100club&top100club_op=display&club_top_100_id=56&status=live&limit_num=100&page=6 with it having been unplaced in 2007 and number 24 in 2006. The 2010 list, now voted for by the general public, places the club at number 48.http://www.djmag.com/top100clubs/?op=detail&start=&page=5&year=2010&id=248
From the late 1990s and early 2000s Lush! was broadcast on a few occasions live on Radio 1
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
to listeners across the UK and the world. Shows such as the Essential Mix
Essential Mix
The Essential Mix is a weekly radio show on BBC Radio 1 currently broadcast between 03:00 and 05:00 Saturday morning. Originally broadcast on 30 October 1993, The Essential Mix features contemporary DJs and music producers of electronic dance music....
, Seb Fontaine
Seb Fontaine
Seb Fontaine is an English house music DJ.Fontaine had his first DJ gig at Crazy Larry's on the Kings Road, London, but he soon progressed to residency at the Fridge in Brixton in 1989....
and Judge Jules
Judge Jules
Judge Jules is a British dance music DJ and producer, known for his DJ activities and popular radio show which achieved global success.-Education:...
were broadcast to electric atmospheres. Seb Fontaine was quoted as saying Lush! was one of the best club on the planet with an atmosphere not to be matched anywhere else he had ever played.