Dave Banks Interview 2006

Where and when were you born?
I was born in North London on 27th June 1961.

Where did you grow up and what did you get up to?
I started school in London then Moved to Mildenhall but only stayed at school there for a short while. I then went to St Benedict’s upper school in Bury St Edmunds and that’s where I finished my schooling. I had many friends in Mildenhall where we got up to all sorts of things including making a camp in the forest, putting up page 3 pics inside! Anyone who knows about this camp will know what happened to it. Nuff said.

What kind of music were you into back then and what hobbies did you have?
It was mainly Abba for me, as I loved the blonde bird!! Interests were poaching fish. I still love fishing now.

Did you have any future plans when you left school?
I had no idea what I wanted to do at that time!

What was your first job?
I had many jobs but my first job after leaving school was an apprentice silkscreen printer.

How did you get into promoting music events?
Working at a nightclub as a barman, then working my way up to general manager.

How come you ended up in the Cambridge area?
My dad’s job took us to Cambridge.

What recollections or stories do you remember from the early rave days?
Illegal raves…. One that I did was in a warehouse. When the owner came up asking what we were doing there? I told him we had paid his partner to use the place, he was still not happy. He ran into the warehouse and put on all the lights trying to stop it. So we caught him tied him up and put him in a room with lots of drink till the rave was over. He was pissed by the end of the event.

What was the story with starting Eclipse then?
It was my idea to try legal raves, so I took the director of the corn exchange to dinner and persuaded him to give us a go. Along with my brother Stuart and Glenda as the secretary.

What are some of your memories from Eclipse?
They are all good memories!! The outdoor one’s were special because it really was a lot of hard work, but to see it in full swing was great. The satisfaction of seeing everyone having a really good time was very rewarding.

Were you disappointed when Eclipse finished?
It’s always disappointing when such an event comes to a close after building up such a big following but I felt it had run its course and it was better to go out on a high. I had no idea what I was going to do when it ended.

How did Club UK and Kink come about?
I was approached by First continental owners of club UK they wanted me to get Saturday nights in Ipswich up and running, which I did and that’s how KINK got started. KINK all-nighters were really good nights.

Can you ever see any plans for you to come out of 'retirement' and organise any future dance events?
Watch this space!!