DJ Stuart Banks (Groove II Promoter)

DJ'ing for Stuart started when he was eighteen thanks to his brother David. After hanging out at Ronelles nightclub in Cambridge, where David was assistant manager, Stuart became friends with Bubbly Craig who was the club’s resident DJ. After warming up for Craig at other clubs in the region Stu soon realised that spinning vinyl was something he really wanted to do.

At the age of twenty Stuart got his first job, playing commercial pop at Ronelles for the under eighteens on a Sunday night!!!   This didn’t last long as he could not get to grips with the pop format and kept slipping on the odd Jazz Funk tune!! Soon Stu felt it was time to move on as it became apparent that his style of music could not be played in pop nightclubs.

After partying at various Soul and Jazz Funk nights in Cambridge’s underground scene, Stuart got in with a promoter putting on these events and soon he started to DJ at pubs and halls playing his style of music.

In the summer of 1987 Stu was offered the chance to be the resident DJ for the season in a nightclub in Corfu. It was a big decision to make. Not only because he would be away from home for six months, but the music would be pop!!!
After being offered a deal he couldn’t refuse, set up by contact Brian York, Stuart decided to go for it, and it was here that he learnt to mix after the experience of playing seven nights a week for six months.

When Stu returned to Cambridge he was keen to carry on where he had left off, but unfortunately the promoter he had got in with before had finished putting on parties, so he decided to put on his own event!! This came on Christmas Eve 1987 and consisted of well known local DJ Chris Brown, Pauly Carolan, Rick Cavell and himself. The party was a big success and this gave Stuart an appetite for promoting some more.

House music soon after started to become a bigger part of a Soul and Funk DJ set and gradually became the direction that Stuart went. Then in 1988 Acid House was starting to grow. A friend of Stuart’s had just opened a small underground club called Tracy’s, and made Stuart and Chris Brown residents. For that year they played Acid House every Saturday night.

As the scene began to evolve, especially in Cambridge, Stuart and a group of DJ’s got involved with local organisations putting on warehouse parties in and around the area, and his reputation began to grow. Then in 1990 when the Police started to shut down the illegal raves, Stuart and his brother David got together and started Eclipse, Cambridge’s very first legal rave!! Stuart’s DJ career really took off and soon he was booked up, including playing at some of the legendary big events like Raindance and Energy.

Then when Eclipse came to and end in 1993 and the scene began to split musically, Stuart carried on playing Drum ‘n’ Bass until 1996. Then in 1997 he made the decision to return to playing House music, and was booked to play at clubs including the Whitehouse in Newmarket and Kink at Ipswich.

As for today Stuart, amongst other places can be found DJ’ing around Cambridge, such as The Fez Club and Po Na Na where he is resident. He has also been in the recording studio working on a track with Dan Smith of Liquid People called ‘The Zombie’. Well worth checking out!!!