Where did the idea for the Warehouse Project come from?
 | | The Old Brewery |
"I used to work at Sankeys Soap for six years, and I’d been thinking about what would come next for some time. I thought it was refreshing, the idea of doing something that didn’t last a long time, that was here and then gone very quickly. "As many great nights as you can have in a club, if people come to the same place week in, week out, they’re going to get bored of it. So we had this idea of something that didn’t last very long so that people could look forward to it. And we had that idea of the project before we had the venue." So what made you choose the Old Brewery? "It was always going to be the perfect place to do it, but it was actually the last place that we considered. We were actually going to stage it somewhere else, but at the eleventh hour, the brewery became available. It’s an iconic Manchester landmark, so it couldn’t be better." Given that they used to house beer barrels, what have you changed in the warehouses for the project?
 | | Public Enemy's Chuck D |
"Obviously, they’ve been stripped out, so the machinery and the kegs are gone, but apart from that, we’ve not done a great deal. We’re going to keep it quite raw, quite industrial, because we don’t want people to feel like they’re in a nightclub. I think if we changed it completely, it would deflect from what we’re trying to do." Is this a throwback to the warehouse parties of old? "No, not really. We’re hoping that it’s perceived as a very forward looking project. A lot of the music is cutting edge, a lot of the bands are hot, up-and-coming bands. "Obviously, there was a great energy to the warehouse parties of the late 80s and early 90s and we’d like to recapture some of that, but it’s a case of mixing the energy of the old with the music and entertainment of the new." What made you choose Public Enemy to open the project? | "We’re going to keep it quite raw, quite industrial, because we don’t want people to feel like they’re in a nightclub." | | Sam on the decor of the Warehouse Project at the Old Brewery |
"We were actually supposed to open on Friday 6 October, but when we realised that we could get Public Enemy the day before, we shuffled everything around to fit them in. They’re one of the most iconic acts of all time which makes them perfect to kick the whole thing off!" There are some big names, both bands and DJs, coming up in the project. Who are you looking forward to? "The night I’m most looking forward to is Underground Resistance on October 21. They’re over from Detroit and they’ve never played in Manchester, so it should be very special. "I think everyone has their own stand-out night though. Going on ticket sales, all the events are going really well, but that’s kind of the idea of the project – that everyone has their own favourite night to look forward to." Are you expecting a sold-out 12 weeks?
 | | Justin Robertson is one of the many DJs appearing |
"No, I’m not sure that every night will sell out, but we have been blown away by the ticket sales and also the people that are coming along. We’ve had messages from people all over the country, people from Scotland, Ireland, even people from over in Holland saying they’re planning to come, so we’re expecting it to be very very busy." And will the whole project end with a New Year shindig? "Yeah, we’re working on New Year’s Eve at the moment, so we can’t reveal any names, and there’ll be another couple of events between Christmas and New Year too. We’re still working on them though, so watch out for announcements." |
