*REVIEW*

 

The End's Birthday is always one of the stand-out parties of the year - and this year was no exception. With a lineup including Laurent Garnier, Erol Alkan, Layo & Bushwacka!, Mr C and the Masters from Work (behind-the-scenes heroes from The End's office and bar), this was a night with a manifesto from the very start.

The action started in AKA, with Layo causing an early-on riot across the AKA dancefloor with a set of feel-good techno and house, culminating in 'Love Story' being dropped to an ecstatically cheering and dancing crowd.  He handed over to Erol, who proceeded to tear it up with a rave-tastic set of baselines and sirens that had people dancing on every literally every available surface.

Downstairs, Mr C got the main room rocking nice and early, and Laurent took over at 1am – to take us on a journey that included everything from techno, house and disco to D&B, jazz, funk, and forgotten classics, plus a version of The Man With The Red Face that had everyone in raptures. Showcasing the club’s new lasers, The End’s much-missed lighting guru Woody returned for a one-off lighting set.

The Lounge was party-central, with everything from LCD Soundsystem to Alcatraz to Todd Terry to Orange Juice being played over the course of the night – and people being pulled onto the dancefloor left right and centre.

7am came and went, and with Laurent showing no signs of letting up, the main room was still packed. At 8.30, we decided to drop some subtle hints by putting the house lights on – only for Laurent to respond by playing more tunes and dancing on the DJ booth for another half an hour before we dragged everyone up to a packed AKA for the Jaded afterparty.

Tired but happy was the vibe here on Monday – a massive thanks to everyone who came and made it one of the best birthdays ever!