DJ expects 'big things' at pottery museum rave

DJ Jordan Tilstone will host the first ever rave at the Gladstone Pottery site

A DJ expects "big things" when he hosts a rave at a former pottery – the first to take place at the site in its 238-year history.

Jordan Tilstone and a number of other artists will perform at the event at Gladstone Pottery Museum in Longton, Stoke-on-Trent, on Saturday.

He told BBC Radio Stoke he was "excited and nervous" because it was the first time something like this had been pulled off at the site.

"It's a first for me and a first for the venue so I'm just double checking everything and hopefully it will go amazingly well," he added.

Mr Tilstone, from Biddulph, Staffordshire, came up with the idea after he went around the city visiting places like Gladstone for a mix he put together on YouTube.

He said he always imagined the energy of a place like Gladstone would be "absolutely amazing" when combined with the sound of dance music.

"It's a completely unique place, not just in the country but in the world," he said.

The rave will be the first ever at the Gladstone Pottery site

A pottery factory first opened at Gladstone in 1787 but the bottle kilns were fired for the last time in 1960 before the site was put up for sale.

The Grade II-listed building was eventually opened as a museum on 24 April 1975 by Prince Richard, the Duke of Gloucester, and the city council took ownership in 1989.

Mr Tilstone said the rave, which sold out within three weeks, could help to re-energise the city's clubbing scene, with a second event booked at the site on 9 August.

"I think it's fair to say that the Stoke club scene has slowly degraded and got worse and worse over the last 15 years, much to everyone's disapproval," he said. "People have tried to fight it and unfortunately it's still going that way."

He said the event was a "classic case of limited options forcing a bit of creativity out of a bad situation".

"I'm not going to lie, I'm expecting big things from the Stokie crowd," he added. "I've heard so much about the history and energy we have as a people."