In this video, I sit down with Darren Harvey to talk about one of the most legendary nightclubs in UK rave history—Shelley’s Laserdome in Stoke-on-Trent.
Recommended by Tony Ross, Darren shares how Shelley’s transformed from a regular nightclub in the mid-1980s into a hotspot for the emerging rave scene by June 1990. He recalls the Syndrome nights that first introduced him to names like Tony Ross, Shock C, and DJ Unknown. At just 14 or 15 years old, Darren began collecting tapes from those sets—many of which are still talked about today.
He tells us how Lotus Records, run by Pete Bromley, became the go-to for house music in Stoke. As a teenager on YTS, Darren spent his weekly £29.50 on vinyl. He also had a neighbour who worked lights at Shelley’s and would sneak him in through the back door—sometimes even selling him live DJ tapes, including ones by Sasha.
Darren recounts how Sasha’s manager, Gary McLaren, kicked off Friday nights at Shelly’s in late 1990 with Sasha and Dave Seaman. The Saturdays were soon taken over by the Amnesia House crew, and before long, the club exploded in popularity, drawing ravers from all over—including Manchester while The Haçienda temporarily closed.
He shares the iconic story of Altern-8 performing their track Activ-8 on a truck outside the club—an impromptu rave moment that became etched in UK rave folklore. Darren missed it by minutes after catching a taxi home to stick to his curfew, but still remembers the energy of the night.
Darren saw The Prodigy, N-Joi, and K-Klass live at Shelly’s. Though he never saw Sasha live, he owns many of his tapes and caught other huge names like Nipper and Tony Ross. He explains how the club’s eventual closure came after media exposés on drug use, including The Cook Report and Operation Patriot, but stresses how the authorities misjudged the scale and cultural value of what was happening.
Now the admin of a thriving Shelley’s Facebook group, Darren plays a big part in keeping the memory alive. He talks about the Shelly’s Laserdome Reunions, which have run for 10 years. The first event sold out in 24 hours, eventually packing 1,200 into the venue and raising £8,000 for charity. Today, they draw people from across the UK—and even Australia.
We talk about how Dave Seaman was still learning to mix when he first played Shelly’s and how his remix of OMD’s Souvenir with Brothers in Rhythm became a Shelley’s anthem.
At the end, I ask Darren for one track that takes him straight back to those unforgettable nights—he picks the Brothers in Rhythm remix of OMD’s “Souvenir.”
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