Jailhouse is ready for Chain gang

10:24am Thursday 2nd August 2007

Comments (0)   Have your say »

TWO music makers are hoping to bring some of the magic and mystery of Hereford's Crystal Rooms nightclub back to the city.

DJ and promoter duo Lee Symonds and Anthony Murphy have managed to attract some of the biggest names in underground music to a new venue three years after they helped organise a final hoorah at the iconic Bridge Street nightclub.

Welsh rappers Goldie Lookin' Chain, Brazilian breaks man DJ Marky and Brighton's Krafty Kuts are just a few of the acts booked to play at the new Jailhouse.

The promoting pair started organising parties at the Gaol Street club when it was known as the Jailhouse in the late 1990s.

The club then went through several name changes while Symonds and Murphy put on shows at the Crystal Rooms - including the final night when Roni Size and Reprazent played an emotional farewell set - before they settled at the Scream Nightclub in Aubrey Street.

Murphy acknowledged it would be difficult to recreate the Rooms' special atmosphere but hoped the newly refurbished Jailhouse could write its own chapter in the history of the city's nightlife.

"The Crystal Rooms was a special place and was known by people all over the country, not just in Herefordshire," he said.

"But we have got two rooms now and we hope to have a lot more live music, as well as DJs, so we can move Hereford forward again."

Trans Global Underground and Sketchbeat are two of the live bands scheduled to perform and Murphy said there will be opportunities for up and coming local bands to use the club "I think live music is really taking off at the moment and we plan to hold band nights when four or five groups can play and get their music heard," he added.

"We want to attract people of all ages who are into many styles of music - a little bit like the Rooms in its day."

Going live: Newport's Goldie Lookin' Chain will play their own brand of hip hop in the Jailhouse on August 24.