Sankeys

Sankeys Soap opened its doors in June 1994 to humble beginnings in Beehive Mill on Jersey Street, a Victorian Mill responsible for kicking off the industrial revolution. The brainchild of Andy Spiro and Rupert Campell, who quite freely admit that it, was a crazy idea. However, they cite their naivety as the driving force behind the project taking shape. Lets face it, they were trying to open a club / live music venue in the heart of the most rundown area in Manchester. There were no random punters wandering past stumbling in on the off chance... Sankeys was well off the beaten track.

After nearly going bankrupt just 6 months after opening, things started to take shape, Bugged Out ! was born, and became the regular Friday. Golden was every Saturday. One particular weekend stood as the real turning point. Carl Cox came and spent the weekend at Sankeys Soap... The club was sold out the whole weekend, and the big man rocked the joint. Everyone started talking.

During this first golden period at the club it not only saw debut performances from the likes of Daft Punk and The Chemical Brothers, but also live shows from luminaries such as Bjork, Gill Scott Heron, Jurassic 5 and Moby. It seems that Sankeys Soap had struck gold - during the week Sankeys Soap became all about showcasing awesome talent, and with the weekend providing the ultimate hedonists party. Things were looking good.

However dance musics much publicised problems was steadily creeping out of control and clubs felt it through dwindling numbers. In 1998 Sankeys Soap closed and customers and authorities alike assumed that it was the way it was going to stay... Between 1998 and 2000 several people tried to re-open Sankeys Soap, but to no avail. The Manchester authorities saw no sense in opening a relic of the 'old Manchester' that they had worked so hard to finally stamp out.

However, in 2000, David Vincent came along with his business partner to try and re-kindle the Sankeys magic. David had masterminded huge events in the UK including events at the MEN, London Arena and promoted previously at World renowned clubs like the Hacienda, Pacha (Ibiza) and Ministry of Sound (London) and of course Sankeys Soap. Their proposal was granted and in September 2000 they re-opened Sankeys Soap with the slogan - 'Don't worry we've found the keys'

For more info visit www.sankeys.info