I have a lot of respect for JFK, Garbo and Genix, I had a lot of respect for Mark and Eric but I do not honestly beleive that under the current regime (owners) and due to the credit crunch Passion will always now be known as a has been.

Once a month
Sub Standard Line Ups
to be frank the list is endless

the promotion powers and techniques employed by JFK are second to none and are respected through clubland, that said is he essentially flogging a dead horse.

Mark and Eric made a wise move by selling and left richer men, the pikeys that took over, to be frank saw a cash cow and got a white elephant.

If this was a PLC I would be shouting to sack the board as it is not i only have one suggestion... CLOSE THE CLUB, DUMP THE BRAND AND GO OUT ON A REASONABLE LOW !!

Storm on the other hand... new venue... would be amazing!

Discuss..

I don't think it will be known as a 'has been'; but it is widely accepted that Passion - and to give some perspective, every other trance night/event in the country, bar none - will probably never be the way it used to be.

This fact is the underlying reasoning behind the original question - a sadness that Passion and Gods and Crasher and any other club you care to mention is not like it was. It's not weekly, it can't always have huge line-ups, many of the people who made the place what it is have retired from clubbing, etc.

Acceptance of this reality is the only way Passion and others can survive. Or to put it another way, we shouldn't focus on the past, but the future.

In this respect, the question should be 'is Passion still a good night in it's own right?'. The answer, in the form of other contributor's descriptions, has already been given.

Namely, look at the nights that have been put on this year - a 'bad' club does not sell out nights with DJ's such as Tiesto, PVD, Armin, etc. It just doesn't.

You can be certain that Tiesto, for example, has never had a chat with his agent and said: 'That Passion is really not very good. I can go anywhere in the world to do my stuff, but i'm going to go somewhere that's rubbish, because it used to be good back in the day'.

Have there been a few 'ordinary' line-ups this year? Yes. Is that the way it may have to continue in the future? Probably. Does Passion at its best still rock though? You're damn right it does.

Also, just a view on some of the JFK comments: he is a DJ like any other, in the sense that he will not always play the finest set you've ever heard. However, he is a DJ like no other, in terms of his importance to Passion. No JFK, no Passion. Not in 2008, not back in 1996, not ever.

As i've said before on DSI, just look how different Passion is today than it was before October 2006. I truly believe there probably wouldn't be a night called Passion any more if it weren't for JFK coming back.

I remember going to a night in 2006 and standing on the dance floor and looking around, and I swear, a tear nearly came to my eye, because of what I could see; because of what Passion had become.


So come on people, let's accept Passion can't be the way it used to be for the moment, let's be utterly grateful there is still a Passion to enjoy and let's all try our hardest to get her back to her heyday best - it can be done.

Come on Passion!

I know mate gutted was looking forward to seeing joc again

SVD would absolutely rip it up... he is easily my fave dj and his set at Global this year was the best iv ever seen.

My fave night at paSSion was Tiesto this year, the atmosphere that night was truly electric, and i think the only way paSSion will keep that is to carry on bringing in the top Djs.
It needs some kind of spark that will bring people back every month and not just for the names... maybe a mixmag invite or somethin on a decent scale, and defo more press in the midlands, 69 magazine would be perfect.

I was really looking forward to seeing alex morph in Dec as well. and agree something must have gone on to book the big names and cancel them, bad sign imo.

There are a lot of good comments being made, its good that people care.


I didn't like to spell it out but, i think its fair to say that has a lot to do with the decline of clubbing in general.

As for Jason, i think he's an amazing DJ. I suppose it depends what you think makes a good DJ. To make people dance with pure emotion, and not technical ability at 6.00am takes some doing.

this is a good topic..! and most of the comments are pretty bang on!!

we put alot of time and effort into putting on passion events... considering the dance scene is in such a bad way its hard to always deliver what everybody wants all the time. and considering how expensive djs are and for events to put on we have to consider EVERY tiny detail in order for it to be successfull. Remember its a business... and making money out of the music scene is no easy thing.. i find it hard whether im writing records or promoting an event...

in my opinion what we have at passion is pretty special... no other club boasts such faithfull clubbers who come all the time to a club in a small town in the middle of knowwhere... yeah the scene will never be as it was... but if we are to rebuild it then you have to start from the roots..
hence the nu:passion night we are putting on in dec....

id like to say a personal thankyou to all you guys who come to passion... i put alot of effort in and nice to see some of the comments...

Passion will never die,, unless it loses you guys..!! Come on Passion!!!

It's always amazed me how this night that we hold so dear to us happens to be located in Coalville of all places! I live in a town not much bigger than Coalville and our local "nightclub" (i use that term very loosely) doesnt even begin to compare to the Emporium. The locals round there are some right lucky bastards!


The man is undeniably a legend, and I've heard him play some amazing sets over the years. The night when he returned to PaSSion and played the full night was immense, it was the most emotional night I've ever been to. As for his sets recently, I'd say he's been playing an awful lot better when he does a set at the beginning of the night rather than the end, wich as I've said, has been a bit ropey at times. Meanwhile Genix can do a nice warmup just fine, but it's when he plays at the end and is free to really open the taps that he proves just how good he really is

Well said Genix!!

As many of u know i work at the emporium!! I also used to work at the emporium about 11years ago and yes the difference is clear to see! But i do feel that the crowd at present is a lot friendlier than it was, ur always gonna get a few incidents no matter where u go but on the whole the crowds have been amazing.



That is a very harsh comment m8!! I've worked for both, unfortunately u guys dont see whats goin on in the background and i can assure u the present owners are trying hard to give u guys what u want...ie the best dj's... there also puttin there heart n soul into the club which is nice to see! They listen to feedback n work on it!!

All in all The Emporium is an amazing club with an amazing atmosphere!! and thats all thanks to u guys........ See u all on the dancefloor soon!!!!

And this truly is one of passion's greatest achievements over the years and really should not be underestimated.

Passion ranking alongside the likes of Godskitchen, Cream and Gatecrasher is a testament to the Emporium itself, the organsiation behind the scenes, the residents, the followers and the atmosphere, particularly when you consider the 'natural' advantages the other clubs enjoy.

These clubs are situated in some of the most populous cities in the UK, surrounded by literally millions of people, have a national prescence and excellent transport links, etc. If you stripped all of these advantages away and put them on a level playing field with Passion, i think it would highlight just how good pound for pound Passion is.

Or thinking of it another way, if you took how good Passion already is and add the extra ingredients the others enjoy, think how far ahead it would be.

Emporium is soo special because of how intimate it is and nowhere offers that kind of environment, its easy to go up and shake eddies hand or tell sean tyas he is a legend and should be headlining global next year!!! lol.

I love paSSion and only found out about it when I moved to Leicester for uni, but it will defo be the club i will travel hundreds of miles to and from in the future, there is literally nowhere like it!!

And yes, the locals are so very very lucky, and i think most of them don't even appreciate it tbh!!

Spot on its those muppets that ruin it for the proper clubbers eg the ones that are there just for a night out and dont understand the music.

Like the retards that was fighting at the classics night both women and men.

Or even the 2 girls that was at the Armin night and said aww this Hardcore is mint lol wtf!!!

Ha ha ha ha Some people.

it really infuriates me... think I'm turning into a bit of a music snob but they have got tickets to see no.1 dj in the world and they think its hardcore. I felt that way at crasher in notts a couple of weeks ago for deadmau5... if anyone went, he did a 3hr set, absolutely ripped it up, lesson in progressive house, and people were like barging into me for no reason obv tryin to start stuff. really annoys me when im just there to appreciate and have a mint dance to an awesome DJ. some people just dont understand that. complete dicks.

TBH i wouldnt mind if prices for passion went up to drive these people away, but obv its a business and PaSSion needs the people in there..

anyway
moan over lol

The cocks get banned from the stricter clubs so then they come to our nights where its more laid back and ruin it for us.

Very interesting thread. Passion was actually the first Midlands night I went to back in 1997 when I started uni in Leicester, having spent many nights out in my native Luton at the likes of the Exodus raves and the awesome High Spirit run by Rhythm Masters.

We used to come over on a coach organised by the Leicester Uni Clubbing Society (what a blag that was! the stupid SU gave us money each term because we were a "society". Fools!!) and I remember the excitement felt every time. It was Passion that inspired me to really pursue my DJing (I'd had decks for about a year and a bit back then) and Passion that showed me some of my favourite nights of that era.

Moving forwards, we've seen a huge change in the club scene, with late bars and "DJ Bars" decimating our club scene in favour of overpriced drinks and wallpaper music that is incidental to the night out rather than the core of it.

But what do we have coming over the horizon? A new economic downturn is coming, following the usual 10 year cycle. And with every economic downturn we see a boost in clubland, so that's something to bear in mind and hope for.

I'm not lucky enough to get there very often now due to gig commitments but from the flyers I've seen, the lineups still look awesome. I was at the Emporium not long ago for Storm and the legendary Coalville atmosphere is still there and TBH the club looks ok. I reckon people don't realise how good they have it!

And by the way - JFK needs to keep the "Come on Passion" shout, it's part of the heritage!

glad i did,nt see any fights,as soon as i do it seems to spoil my night,always put me on edge,exspecialy when i have the missus with me

Such a shame to hear this sort of thing going on now.

Thankfully, i've never once seen any trouble in all the time i've been going, but i've heard a few times recently from posts this sort of thing is happening. I'd be gutted if I ever witnessed this kind of shit from those kind of people in Passion.

Questions for those of you who attend Passion more often than me nowadays: is it starting to affect the atmosphere? Are you conscious that there might be trouble whilst you're in there or even before you go out, or has it not got that bad?

I wonder because for any 'normal' night out on the town, everyone has to be aware of what's going on around them, avoid people you can tell are knobheads and just try to stay out of trouble - which by and large you can.

However, the fact that you never used to have to even consider this was another of Passion's great defining features and it would be a shame to think that this certainty had disappeared.

Is it the newcomers to the scene as well, or just local idiots who have started going there that never used to?

Cheers

Sorry chief I have to disagree. I think JFK plays a vital role - look how rubbish passion was when he left. I dont think it ever really recovered even when he came back. And with regards to getting on the mic, that is something JFK has always done

Its not the same because a lot of people have moved on and taken the passion philosphy with them and its not been passed on.

I think its the scene in general, but credit where its due, I dont think any other Trance club has put on the line ups Passion has this year, they have had all the major players bar Sander Van Doorn, and evidently ran out of ideas. But what has Crasher and Gods done this year? Crasher aint even underground anymore its sold its soul.

Would spending money on Emporium be justified? Would that many more people go?

I'm sure there was a good reason, but i did think Armin the same weeknd as Creamfields was a bit daft

Absolutely - he is the figurehead of the brand and it was very lost without it's frontman.