Clockwork Oranges – Andy Manston Exclusive Interview

July 25, 2017 Off By Editor

Andy Manston is one the iconic faces of the infamous legendary clubbing experience ‘Clockwork Orange’ which has seen a massive resurgence in recent years in popularity since the brand was practically the beating heart of Ibiza in the 90s’! We wanted to know more….

Mike Mannix: Andy Manston it’s time for a natter with us at iconic underground, you looking forward to the shenanigans in the sun?

Andy Manston: I certainly am man, I just got back from there, I was only out there last week, bit of a mad one really haha.

MM: Hahaha all for a good cause.

AM: Yeah haha, I’ll take one for the team

MM: Yeah it looks like it’s going to be an awesome party out there.

AM: Yeah, I mean unbelievable if I’m honest, over the last 4 years really. It’s gone from strength to strength really and we’ve been building it up slowly. The fact that we have so many people coming out there in the first week is brilliant.

MM: Can’t wait to get over!

AM: Where are you based?

MM: Dublin yeah,

AM: I remember Danny and I played in the ‘Temple Theatre’ in Dublin and in Cork, It was bonkers with Boy George.

MM: Yeah I was there, it was mental!

AM: Well, we were always about fun ya know. People see what Danny and I were like and it rubbed off on them ya know. He’s still a crazy fucker and would still be in the middle of the dancefloor having a crazy time haha his drug is the vibe of the place and the energy that’s what he gets his kick out of being around people who are going mental.

MM: It’s like your back in your heyday again this last 4 years?

AM: I mean it came about by chance really. from Danny putting up the old photos on Facebook of the Clockwork parties there were some comments posted asking us to do another party, then and we were like ” do you fancy it?” and we were like how big of a party, ” 200 300” people and we said ‘let’s do one for 600’ and next thing you knew it sold out in a day! It’s crazy how big it has become, through social media we’ve tens of thousands of followers now.

MM: Yeah I watched a few of your clocumentary videos online, clocumental! Your parties for 2017 look sweet in Ibiza.

AM: Yeah once you watch them you want to go it really makes you want to go to Ibiza like it was 20 years ago. So this year starting on Friday July 28th at Sankeys, Saturday night chilli, Sunday Shhhh ‘beach party’ and Monday ‘Mambo sunset’ and Tuesday, Wednesday everyone fucks off back home then lol.

MM: Tell us, ya know, a bit about the early days before you met Danny?

AM: I’ve always been into music, from an early age I used to love Hip-hop, that was my sort of like ‘into it sort of thing’ and the way House music came about in the late 80s and I got completely got taken by it. After going to my first rave I started DJing a little bit, I had a little set at home where I used to try and DJ off my Belt-driven decks like a little record player and from that I got into mixing tracks, buying tracks.

I got offered a set in a pirate radio station, and then my break came when I went to Ibiza in 89 when I was 18. I was in a bar called Sgt Peppers, we used to hang out in and basically I was with some DJ and he got an offer to go and shag some bird and he goes, ‘ mate do you mind taking over from me’ and off he went and that was my first DJ Gig in Ibiza, not bad really. And yeah It went from there really and obviously it didn’t kick in big time until Clockwork started and obviously then I became a pretty big DJ then in my own right.

MM: Great, then ya met Danny?

AM:

Well Basically Danny’s a mad cunt,

One night we were in ‘Naked lunch’ and he was getting excited about pills and the bouncers seen him and through him out, we met up with him afterwards, and from there really we kept on going out!!

I can’t even remember how long ago that was, I think I knew Danny for a good 6 months before we started Clockwork. I mean I used to do a few promotions before I was involved in Danny, and me and my two mates were like ‘let’s throw a party’ but we were like we need someone who’s the face, somebody who knows everyone and it had to be Danny, because he was the one who would bring the punters if you know what I mean.

MM: Ha ha cool, it happened very quickly, you settled on a name and from then it just skyrocketed really?

AM: The big break for us was, when we started in 1993, we got an opportunity to do Ibiza which came about by Clara De Costa working in Es-Paradise I spoke to Brandon Block and said ‘we would really like to do Ibiza’, and he said ‘Leave it with me I’ll see what I can sort out for you” and Clara had said to him ‘yeah these are Clockwork Orange the new kids on the block’. We got the opportunity to meet Pepe the owner to share our vision and what we wanted to do and he was like ‘ Okay fine, when do you want to start? And before you know it the next summer we were in Ibiza.

I mean it wasn’t massively busy, we did okay, but we had a good time it was good fun, then we got home and we threw a party in London. I remember opening the doors at 10 O’clock and there was a cue going down the street and then we knew we had enough in the locker to start pulling off the big parties.

We did our first birthday party in the Paddocks and it was mental, I remember we did really well, it was crazy busy. And that was it really, Ibiza got bigger and bigger every year it just grew and grew and grew.

MM: So you became the quintessential UK Club brand?

AM: I mean obviously you had some big brands over there, I mean it was mental then, there was so much going on in London, it was crazy, and it was like 20 massive parties a night, it was the equivalent of us and 10 other teams of London promoters.

Nowadays it’s like the old original rave days, banging. Anybody can come to clockwork, you can be old, young, whatever!

We are an older crowd but we welcome everybody with open arms!

Ibiza is the one place on Earth you can go, it doesn’t matter how old you are, you wouldn’t look out of place, you go in any club, Amnesia, Pacha, doesn’t matter which club you go into, nobody gives a shit.

It’s mental, my mum and dad were there, my kids were there, it was the closest environment I’ve been to where it matched the environment way back then, I mean my kids didn’t stay to late, but It was the best experience a man could have. And now we have our mates bring their kids who are all in the 20s.

MM: Yeah, sweet now it’s the next generations turn

AM: Innit, see ya on the island Mike!