Festival preview: Clockstock 2021
This year, they’re saying that September is the new August… and when you look at how many festivals there have been over the past three weeks, you can see what they mean! It’s been absolutely hectic this year and it’s not over yet, because Clockstock is back. On the 18th September, Clockstock is coming to Chelmsford Racecourse in Essex to give you an end-of-summer party that you will never forget (or, conversely, that you absolutely will forget because the entire day will be soaked in tequila shots).
Clockstock is a legendary festival that was born out of 90s rave company Clockwork Orange. Founded way back in London January 1993, Clockwork Orange quickly became the most popular and innovative night out in the capital. From humble beginnings in Holborn playing just to their friends and anyone else they could convince to come, Clockwork has expanded over the years, going to Ibiza innumerable times and touring Britain’s biggest nightclubs and Student Unions in the process. Clockwork has since re-emerged into the olds school resurgence of today and since 2012 has gone on to sell out parties at McQueens, Fire, Lightbox and Area. Plus, of course, they also have their own festival now.
Clockwork Orange is the brainchild of Danny Gould and Andy Manston, who said of the day festival’s imminent return: "We are children of the Sixties and Seventies and grew into the acid house explosion which became the rave generation of the late Eighties and Nineties. Our love and memories for those days was without question, yet we walked into mortgages, packed trains, children, deaths and marriages, so we thought we had hung up our dancing shoes. But you can't extinguish the love of house music.” Andy added: "It's incredible - the excitement that builds leading up to an event is quite overwhelming.
Credit: Clockstock
And they’ve secured a line-up that proves their legendary status within the house community. Gracing the decks at Chelmsford, Armand Van Helden, Eats Everything, Inner City Live, Julie Mcknight Live Pa, Tall Paul, Seb Fontaine, Stanton Warriors, Brandon Block, Ricky Morrison, Marshall Jefferson, Hutch, Tony Nicholls, Ben Gould, Tony Grimley, Tristan Ingram, and many many more, will be playing to a sold-out audience of over 20,000. Like seriously, I genuinely can’t fit all the acts into this article, that’s how many there are.
Armand Van Helden will be a name familiar to anyone whose knows anything about house music. Widely considered one of the most revered DJs of the genre, he has been nominated for Grammy’s, International Dance Music Awards, MTV Video Music Awards, you name it! After a five-year hiatus, Helden returned to the music scene in 2020 with a new song, "Give Me Your Loving" with Lorne.
David Morales is another globally revered DJ, Grammy award-winning record producer, songwriter, and a businessman. He has produced and remixed over 500 records for an all-star roster of multi-platinum artists, including Mariah Carey, U2, Michael Jackson, Aretha Franklin, Madonna, and Whitney Houston. In 2020, due to the pandemic, Morales launched Sunday Mass, a livestreaming show on Twitch to entertain his fans across the world, and it’s done incredibly well – if he can keep us dancing during a global crisis, then he can definitely get things going at Clockwork this year.
Of course, I couldn’t *not* mention the fact that Gok Wan will be performing alongside these legends. Wan has entered the house music arena fairly late in life, and has been selling out clubs up and down the UK since 2017. In September 2020, Wan released his debut single, a cover of the Baby D song "Let Me Be Your Fantasy", with DJ/producer Craig Knight featuring Kele Le Roc on vocals. Wan said of performing at Clockstock: "I cannot wait to be performing at the mighty Clockstock this weekend. It really is the who's who of clubland."
It all looks set to be one of the craziest festivals this season. Unfortunately, it’s sold out so if you don’t have tickets… I don’t know what to tell you. However, with over 20,000 people set to attend this weekend, it feels like everybody has a ticket! You can find out more about Clockstock 2022, plus all their other club dates, here.
Words by Rebecca Clayton