Ten Years On From Drum & Bass' First Club

UK club promoter, Leo Ryan, who helped kick-start drum & bass in 1994 when he launched seminal weekly club Speed, chatted to Skrufff this week about the club and how he sees the scene ten years on.

"The Boys and Girls (producers and DJs) are still working hard and they remain full-on and I definitely take my hat off to them," Leo said, "though I think if they weren't so protective about their little baby, it might have made a bigger impact. Because while drum & bass isn't really underground, these days, it's also not mainstream," he continued. "I don't think D&B has moved on that much in 10 years, though a good thing now is that the DJs are now programming different styles within their sets, which makes it more interesting for the punter and will give up-and-coming DJs a better chance to make their mark.

"I also think the major record label A&R dudes should commission more mixes to the scene," he suggested, "the record buying D&B fans are enough to put any artist in the Top forty and onto daytime Radio One."

Leo launched Speed in October 2004 with LTJ Bukem and Nicky Blackmarket joining him on the decks at the very first party and watched the club become an overnight success as the media and countless celebrities jumped on drum & bass.

"I remember having a conversation with Peter Tong at Speed, with us both agreeing that we thought all the House DJs would soon be playing D&B tunes in their sets, though that never happened," said Leo.

"When you get excited about something your vision tends to get slightly more exaggerated. But It was certainly a very happening time with the likes of Bjork, David Morales and Grace Jones all checking the new scene out," he recalled.
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