After witnessing the huge success of Groove II Promotions first proper club event since the finish of the Corn exchange, which was held on Clacton Pier with ‘Destiny The Cream’ way back in October last year, we were more than ready for the next Eclipse instalment that was set to be staged at Ipswich’s biggest club ‘Hollywood’.

With the warm summer weather upon us there was no better time than the Mayday bank holiday weekend to stage such an event. This party was billed as ‘The Return Of The Jedi’ and with an awesome DJ line-up and the usual unrivalled Eclipse production it looked certain to be out of this world. Booked to play in the main arena on those sacred 1210’s were guest jocks Ellis Dee, Peshay, Ray Keith and the dynamic duo of Fabio & Grooverider, who were due to spin a back to back set that promised to be wicked. Upstairs in the ‘Jungle Boom’ room was a selection of your Eclipse favourites featuring residents Jo Jo Rock (Gt Yarmouth), Robert B (Kings Lynn) and Gappa G (Luton). And downstairs in the back room renamed the ‘warp zone’ for tonight’s festivities was going to be a fine taste of techno and trance sounds from Andy Burr, Dope On Wax and SW1 amongst others.

On arrival to the club at 10:30, I witnessed the assuring site of a long queue, always a big give away to a club’s popularity. After a very thorough search I entered the club on the guest list (thanks to Dave Banks). The first thing you notice about Hollywood is the sheer size of the venue. Consisting of two levels Hollywood can easily accommodate over a thousand people, with ample seating (if needed), and four bars (including the VIP bar). Inside, the dance floor was already packed and a party atmosphere was definitely building. On the decks Peshay, a talented DJ whose status is surely set to continue rising, was playing a mixture of anthems and underground drum ‘n’ bass choons with the vibe being lifted by the voice of sparing partner MC Spangla G.

What really struck me here was the upgraded sound system – it was unbelievable. I’m no expert but the four speakers surrounding the floor on all sides certainly sounded loud and crisp. Standing on the dance floor you could feel the kick drum shake your chest. Somehow they manage to produce this without turning the highs up so loud that you felt deaf. Although the MC’s did moan at times, but don’t they always…?

Inside lots of different jungle elements were in the crowd…the shock-out, brock-out crew, who were happily jumping around. Then there were the rude boys billing up and flexing, the wall-grubbers (nevertheless shuffling) and the caps and trackies crew doing their thing. There was also more than a handful of nice girlies, all wearing next to nothing!

With the choice of three main rooms closely linked to each other you could never get bored with this place, which made the party feel nice and fresh. As the night progressed a lot of the bigger names came on. We spent most of our time in the main room enjoying superb sets from the likes of Ellis Dee and Ray Keith – who’s set was one of the high points of the night for me, playing some awesome up-tempo drum ‘n’ bass that kept us on our toes. Upstairs we did manage to catch some wicked sounds from the Eclipse crew spinning in the boom room.

By this time I was in real need of a chill out session so I made my way to the main bar and bumped into various people and had a good chat. Everyone was on a real high and all seemed to be enjoying themselves. The one thing that everybody had in common was a knowledge and love of the choons being played and a need to boogie it up. The attitude was just as encouraging – I couldn’t say if it’s the friendly East Anglia crowd, but we didn’t spot a hint of trouble all night and never felt like there was going to be any – this after thorough security on the door and minimal in the club.

Most of the hyping up had been done by now and at 4am the time had come for the ‘masters of ceremony’ to step up, none other than London’s Fabio & Grooverider. With the whole place rammed you could tell that everyone had been waiting for this set. Together they started in usual style with one of their classic intro tunes that got everybody going. What followed was some of the best mixing I have heard in a long time. One thing that makes those two the best in the industry is the absolute tightest mixing you can get, the way that they can drop a choon in and make the crowd go mad and get every single person in the club to dance non stop throughout the whole set. This event was just another showcase of their ability.

I later ventured into the ‘warp zone’ to see what was going on it there. The pace was a lot faster in here as Techno DJ Worzal was on stage doing his thing with the decks, to the obvious pleasure of all inside. I didn’t want to leave but I had another two rooms to check out before the end of the night. I couldn’t be everywhere at once, although I did manage to hear most of the jocks that performed, and they all played excellent sets – respect to you all.

Overall, the night had been extremely enjoyable. The sound was perfect for the occasion and everyone had a good time. I was a bit worried before the event, that it could end up being a night of jungle and hearing ‘Champion Sound’ a million times, but I was delighted to be proved wrong! Full credit must go to all the DJ’s who provided some excellently selected tunes that kept the crowd at their peak most of the time. The whole night had a genuine underground feel to it that I hadn’t experienced since the scene’s early days.

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