This month we chat to iconic duo Jayney and Simon, promoters of Spellbound @ Komedia, Brighton’s longest-running alt 80s event
Tell us about Spellbound for those who don’t know you. We’re Brighton’s biggest alternative 80s night, and possibly its longest-running regular club of any kind (16 years!). We’re usually on the third Saturday of the month in the Studio Bar of Komedia, playing six hours of goth, post-punk, new romantic, alternative rock, new wave, indie, synthpop and ska classics from 1979–89. We’re from different generations — one of us was a teenager in the 80s, the other was only born in the 80s — so we bring different perspectives: me (Simon) recreating my memories of actual 80s clubbing, while Jayney’s making her dream playlist from the decade. Our crowd, too, are a lovely blend of mature clubbers who remember the 80s and youngsters just discovering it.
You recently DJ’d at On The Beach with Marc Almond and The Human League — what was that like? An honour to share a bill with such legends, and hang out with our heroes backstage! It wasn’t without drama, the whole site got evacuated minutes before we were due on, because of a scary thunderstorm. Lots of men in headsets shouting “code red!”. But the storm passed, the show went ahead, the sun came out for Marc and the show was amazing.
We guess Halloween is your favourite time of year, any plans for a Spellbound party? It’s Goth Christmas, isn’t it? We always take over the Main Room for a massive party, and this year actual Halloween falls on a Friday so we jumped on it. There’s spooky cabaret, a video mash-up of 80s horror, and a playlist combining Halloween anthems with goth and alternative bangers. Best of all is the sheer spectacle of everyone else’s costumes. The crowd are the stars, really.
Tell us three things you love about Brighton… It’s a place where you can be free to express your true self without fear. It has a thriving culture of independent bars, clubs and shops, in stark contrast to the homogenous chains that dominate elsewhere. And you can never be bored here – there’s always something happening, from the Fringe to Pride and beyond.
