Dance music night at Birmingham Town Hall 'like coming home', says promoter

Dave Rowland first held club nights in the city in the early 90s featuring DJs like Jeremy Healy, right

The promoter behind a huge club night at Birmingham's historic town hall says it will be "like coming home" after first putting on events in the city over 30 years ago.

Hundreds are expected to attend the Decadence event on Saturday featuring international DJs and live acts.

Promoter Dave Rowland said he started the brand around 1992 at a former nightclub on Broad Street.

The council said the event showed the city was a place where music thrives.

Mr Rowland said it was his first club event in the city for over over a decade and while the crowds may be older, people were still as eager to attend.

Birmingham Town Hall has hosted the likes of David Bowie, Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath

"People are embracing it again.... getting back into dressing up and going out again and enjoying the music," he said.

"It was a little bit more ground-breaking in the 90s with the dance and rave scene, but it's grown and when we first spoke to B Music [the charity responsible for Town Hall] they'd heard of us and were up for us putting something on."

As well as nights being held at Baker's nightclub in Birmingham in the early 90s, the Decadence brand has travelled to Ibiza and entertained clubbers there between 1996 and 2000, and returned to the UK at various others venues.

Wobble, another club night synonymous with the city's nightlife in the early 90s and run by DJ Phil Gifford, was also collaborating with the Decadence event.

Mr Rowland said to be able to use one of the city's most well-known buildings for a Birmingham-born dance music event for the first time was brilliant.

Decadence moved on from clubs to outdoor events as well as in Ibiza

"It is like coming home," he said.

He added: "Music makes people emotional - it's about memories and moments - and that brings it out in people.

"I've seen after DJs have played, people coming up to them saying 'I remember when you played at so and so, on so and so date' - they have a real impact on people's lives - to still get that now it's amazing, isn't it really?"

Councillor Saima Suleman, cabinet member for digital, culture, heritage and tourism, said the Town Hall was a "jewel in the city's crown".

"From Black Sabbath to the Beatles, some of the music industry's most iconic bands and artists have performed at this venue," she said.

"It's fantastic to see a wide range of events being held at the Town Hall and showcases that Birmingham is a place where music thrives."

People are embracing dance music events again, Mr Rowland said