It’s all gone Lava

Lava and Ignite Wednesday is considered by most to be the most popular student night in Preston. In this exclusive report, DAN BIRCH speaks to the director of the club and a man largely responsible for bringing you the nightlife of Preston that we know today.

When you think of the nightlife that shapes the small, diminutive town of Preston, the masses think of one word – Lava. It is true that this nightclub continues to dominate the night scene in the town but what do we really know? Talking to the club director, Andy Macdonald, there were many interesting remarks and discussion about what goes about bringing a night of today to Preston.

A former UCLAN student himself, Macdonald is the director of YBD Club which owns three bars, Assembly, Academy and Wall Street plus two nightclubs, Squires and Lava. That’s right – FIVE venues. Forget your independent clubs, Warehouse and Method. This proves the domination that a single organisation can have on a medium sized town in this country today.

What is the secret? Probably Macdonald’s experiences at University. “I was a big socialist at Uni. I was always very critical. I’d buy a queue jump for 53 and said you’d have to be there by a certain time” he said. “I thought I’m gonna put club together to create these mistakes”.

Having taken a management degree, the blonde haired Scotsman saw the mistakes that needed to be ironed out. “It was also a commercial market. It needed tweaking. I approached big clubs and management. When I first started, David Beveridge was your man. I said ‘I can promote your club’ “.

Ironing out the mistakes, the chain of Lava and Ignite has since become known for what it is, playing commercial chart music and providing a venue for the end of a night what usually starts at Assembly, the den of cheap drinks.

The price offers at Assembly for drinks at 75p have seen to be believed. However the recent advent of pre-drinking at flats and houses for young people alike, has taken a huge blow on the bar business. “What that means is nightlife will deteriorate” according to Macdonald. However the 75p drinks are still booming business. “I think it doesn’t matter what price you charge. If the price is not right then students will still drink. When you put a price on 75p, they can enjoy nights out. It applies to students because they have no income. Student fees have gone down. Tuition fees are up. Student’s don’t have same cash”.

There is no doubt the drinks from Assembly have helped engage an atmosphere of flames in Lava but what about the underground scene? Are student’s who don’t necessary want to drink and party on, wanting to come to a place that offers a taste for their kind of music? ““Commercial adapts to masses. Anything else is for more individual people. What are the chances we will be able to get 2,000 people coming to listen to House Music? – Slim”. This is possibly true but this is an answer that certainly proves it is all about business. However Macdonald says that he is happy to target other students and has promised more hardcore and even drum and base nights following on from the recent night consisting of well known acts such as DJ Hype and Bryan Gee.

There are also some other nights in Lava which will help towards fundraising for many of the UCLAN clubs including, the cricket and cheerleadings clubs. The prizes on offer include Holiday prizes. In addition, a new Thursday night for lava with new drinks deals is also set to take place.

One of the big future things coming up is Spring Break on 23rd March in Assembly. Promising to be a hot night of good deals, and with a mix of chart and underground music, Macdonald said if the night was good for Business however, then he would be all up for it.

But it all depends in your eyes: Is Business everything in the clubbing world? Is the nightlife dominated by this club captivating? Get yourself down to Lava.