It's been on the cards for a good few months now, but after some careful consideration we've decided to stick a pin in the Backlash balloon and end the night. We've had an amazing four years, spanning three venues, countless Dj's, promotional staff, designers, decorators, after hours parties, venue managers and most importantly, clubbers. We literally couldn't squeeze everyone we'd like to thank into a list, but hopefully everybody knows who they are. The final knees up is on Thursday week (20th December), over two rooms in the Pod.

Dan Brown would have difficulty fitting the Backlash story into a few paragraphs, but we've given it a go...

November 2003. Our favourite neighbours from across the water lifted the Rugby World Cup. Enough to send many an Irishperson out on the piss to ease the pain. But where the f**k to go?

That month, Bodytonic's Tayor and John Mahon came together with Philth & Eno and started a night called Backlash, in Wax on South William St. The beginning was as harsh as a Martin Johnson tackle; the tumbleweed on the dancefloor only masked by the quality music the lads were playing, something different on a Thursday that this town hadn't seen before. Electroklash was born.

The first year was one of chopping and changing, mixing and matching. We tried Eno & Nic James, then changed it again to a combination of Philth, Jon Averill and X*rox Sound System. Eventually messers Romo, Chewy, Steve Reynolds and Funboi also came aboard the Backlash boat. Word had gradually spread about the night, and the lads could stop filling the dancefloor with Dj's bouncers and bar staff to make the place look busy. The first turning point was August 03 when Tayor booked Steve Kotey from Chicken Lips to play and it was a sell-out before 12.30. Then when Jacques Lu Count was booked and sold out in advance that November we knew we were onto something. Backlash's 1st birthday was that month too and it was also a cracking night. Jon Averill came on board with running the night. Armed with Jon's brilliant design and fresh ideas Backlash really begin to make its mark on the Dublin scene. Whatever happened over Christmas we don't know but that following January something clicked and every week thereafter the club was rammed. Backlash was all about atmosphere and the hedonistic vibe off the people who went to it . Most weeks it would be full by 12.30 and going off big style. From then on we never looked back. Festival appearances, the Trinity Ball, sold out club nights, big name supports. Backlash went on to become its own sound and the residents all became well known names on the Dublin scene.

November 2005 was the Backlash 2nd birthday, and is probably the night most synonymous with Backlash. How d'ya fit 526 people into Wax and Spy? Put them on top of each other! Stage diving, chipped teeth, cake fighting and crane climbing were the order of the night, and anyone who was there will surely remember it for the rest of their days.

May 2006 saw the night uprooted and moved around the corner to Rogue on Dame St. If history will record the 2nd Birthday as the President Night of Backlash then the Last Night in Wax was definitely the First Lady, another off-the-wall residents only night which will be remembered as much for the after party in the living room of Sam Davis' gaff in Mountjoy Sq.

Rogue gave the night a new angle, the option of two areas of music and most importantly a bigger venue. The 3rd Birthday in November 2006, Andrew Weatherall and New Years Eve party a few weeks later were the highlights of the venue. In March of 2007 we decided on another venue change, moving the night down the LUAS line to The Pod. Again the option of expansion was the name of the game, giving the night a bigger stage and more rooms of music.

Over the last 4 years we've put on the likes of Jacques Lu Cont, WhoMadeWho, Natha Fake, Putsch 79, Friendly Fires, Alloy Mental, Booka Shade, Erol Alkan, Mylo, Andy Weatherall, Rory Philips, Les Bien, Hystereo, The Glimmers, Black Strobe, Paul Daley, Ivan Smagghe, Lo-Fi-Fnk, Serge Santiago, Freeform Five, Chicken Lips, sh!t Robot, The MFA, The Ting Tings, James Murphy and probably our favourite guests of all the Optimo DJs. And many more too. Many of the above rated Backlash as one of their favourite ever clubs to play. Certainly it was one of our favourite to run. A piece of cake some might say.

While its with a great deal of sadness (as well as a great deal of consideration) we've decided to call a halt to the night, we simply feel that with all the changes in the last 6 months and with all our new ideas for 2008 we'd be moving too far away from what Backlash started off as to keep going as is. Everyone agreed it was time for change. So we're gonna start afresh next year with a new name, new DJ's, new music styles and new people running a new night. It was a simple as that and sooner or later with a night we ran we were going to have to 'rip it up and start again' as Simon Reynolds might say. But in true Backlash style were gonna do it one more time on December 20th, line-up below in the Pod from 10pm till they can drag us from the decks.

The line-up reflects people who have done the business behind the decks over the four years, and it promises to be both rocking and emotional at the same time...

Over two rooms .....

JON AVERILL HYSTEREO PHILTH ROMO FUNBOI SAM DAVIS STEVE REYNOLDS LIL' DAVE JEVAN NEILAN NEON LOVE

So that is that, last Backlash is Dec 20th. Its been a blast. Thanks for the memories. We return next year with something new!

Dazboy @ 11 Dec 2007 22:51

Jaysus, the BACKLASH finally should be an absolute belter!

markfinn @ 11 Dec 2007 23:29

Only caught a few nights in backlash because of it being a weeknight i suppose. But the nights i was there, it was wicked, great atmosphere and capacity crowd well up for it. I remember thinking, youd never know it was Thursday night, it was like another world inside the (backlash zone).

Tayor @ 11 Dec 2007 23:38

Paddy: Dont legend me Fraher, I came on board when the club was argubly at its peak! I dont know how much longer I have left in clubs but I do know that those nights in Wax were pretty much untouchable, I think Jaycee said it elsewhere, you could go in on your own and be guaranteed to know at least 50% of people in the club, if not more. I had never before experienced people who knew eachother just from going to a club, the way peope knew eachother in Backlash

fraher1 @ 11 Dec 2007 23:47

i ment in footballing terms, you are a legend.