25 years ago a little known nightclub in rural Somerset changed the face of the South-West rave scene forever, and to celebrate this fact the original crews that turned the Pawlett Manor into a now legendary mecca for the country's party masses, have come together for one last time, under one roof to recreate that unique and special vibe. The Manors rave era saw many promoters come and go over the years, bringing some of the best underground parties the Southwest had ever seen, but there were 4 crews that between them spanned the whole era, catering for the party generation week in week out; Sketch, Chapter 33, Galactic and GBH.. It is these organisations that have now joined forces for one final reunion, celebrating 25 years since it all began. Ladies and Gentlemen, may we present the creators of the legendary Pawlett Manor rave generation..

Sketch: When Sketch first took over the Pawlett Manor at the end of '92, the rave scene hadn't really kicked of in a big way yet at this sleepy country nightclub...... All this was about to change!! Sketch were first formed at the end of 1991, and based in Burnham, put on their first all Day party in the Fun Pub New Year's Day 1992 with Easygroove headlining. By the end of that year, an opportunity to take over the Manor was given to them, and the rest is history so they say, with Sketch going on to create one of the most iconic club nights the West has seen. Still talked about by many, 25 years later! The whole night was based around the free party vibe from where Sketch had learnt their trade. Flyers were deliberately low tech and humorous, the club itself was shabby, almost warehouse like, and the DJ's themselves were drawn from the rich vein of talent coming through from the free party scene. The core of the crowd came from that same scene too. Sketch at Pawlett was created by Jimee and Kidder, the notorious Sketch brothers, (brothers by another mother!), and they DJ'd each week in the House room alongside other Sketch regulars including, Jeannie, Frecks, Dom Spiral, Andy D., Mark Radford and many more guests. Some established and some getting their first big sets under Sketch. Sketch also put the Man Like GT in charge of the hardcore room, and the back room was always jumping to the sound of DJ's such as Dan 'Killa' Watts, Glen, Vinyl Junkie, Cridge, Hedge, Paz, Dudley and many more DJ's and MC's. For three and a half years, the Friday night Sketch was THE place to be..... Now, with the other main promoters from other great nights that followed, also involved... Time to meet up for one last time!!

Chapter 33: Ché and Paul Booker started raving together in '91 and soon formed a strong friendship as they were both aspiring young DJs. They were already regular attendees of events and free parties when close friend Jeannie suggested that they attend a night that she and some friends were launching at a little known venue called "Pawlett Manor". They of course fell in love with the place, becoming regular weekly attendees. Not long after, they were invited to guest DJ there and it became their Friday night home for years to come. Meanwhile they were guesting at various other clubs around the Southwest and were eventually asked to put on their own night at the renowned Kingstons in Taunton. They decided to name the night Chapter 33 - after the section of the Criminal Justice Bill that related specifically to raves. They ran this night for several years, whilst still being very much involved in the Manor. Sadly in late '97 Kingstons was forced to close, and it seemed that may have been it for Chapter 33, however they were contacted by Pete, the Pawlett manager, and were asked if they could bring the night to The Manor. So on Jan 22nd 1998 (the day before Ché's birthday) Chapter 33 moved to its new home, Pawlett Manor. The original residents: Ché, Paul Booker, Madame Screech and Phil House Martin continued to run nights there until it's sad closure, which brought an end to an amazing part of all of their lives. There is so much more to say about The Manor, but to those that were there, you all ready know this 😄 Years on Chapter 33 are proud to be involved with The Official Reunion and can't bloody wait. It will be the original residents, but sadly no Paul Booker, who as you may know is unable to play due to health problems. He is sad not to be able to attend, but will undoubtedly be there in spirit.... Anyways see you all on the 24th of Feb to rekindle the the old skool Pawlett vibe.... Massive respect from Ché and Paul Booker.

Galactic: The brainchild of the late Chris Kenyon, Galactic brought a more mainstream style of Hard House/NRG to Pawlett Manor. More than just a club night, Galactic also had a record shop in Bridgwater selling the latest tunes and dedicated merchandise. Their first night at the Manor was somewhat legendary with the late great Tony DeVit headlining the bill, the first of many appearances alongside such names as Tall Paul, Pete Wardman, Ian M, Billy Nasty and even Paul Van Dyk, not forgetting the legendary nutter Choci among other top London clubland DJ's, all appearing alongside residents Bushman, Mr. Wilson and a whole heap of local spinners. The back room most weeks was headed up by residents Animal, Bugsie B, Energise, Dudley and Pinna alongside MCs Danny J, Bass MC and Dynamic, kicking out the sounds of Happy Hardcore, Techno and even Gabba!! Bank Holiday weekends would see a switch up for a 12 hour mad partying session, with Happy Hardcore and Techno taking over the main room. DJ's such as Sharkey, Dougal, Hixxy, Producer, Scorpio, M-Zone, Mark EG and Slipmatt all graced the Manor decks on these Hardcore Specials, with residents getting the chance to play alongside some of their most inspirational heroes.

GBH The creation of South-West Techno DJ's Tormentor and Skitz, GBH was born at Pawlett Manor in 1996, providing a much needed weekly dose of underground Techno, Trance and DnB. Their debut event was on a Thursday night and would probably go down in history as the least attended event ever at the Manor (3 or 4 diehard ravers). It went on to be known as Black Thursday among the crew. The manager however recognised the potential and saw the amount of effort that these lads had put in, so he offered them to try it again on the following Saturday. That night was the proper birth of GBH, seeing 200 people partying in the carpark because the place was so full that they couldn't get in.. GBH was established, and every Saturday armed with a small crew of DJ's including The Maestro, Hedge, Zike, Goo and Overload, they soon started making their mark on the local underground party scene. Over the next couple of years they formed a solid army of residents including Balistic, DV8, P.O.D., C-Tech, Motion, Dropkick, Drumma, Young Gun, Hirize and Disorder among others, and brought many headline acts, with the likes of Mark EG, M-Zone, Producer and Ribbz all becoming regular spinners alongside some of the biggest names in Techno, Hardcore and DnB, like Dave Angel, Micky Finn, Sy, Dr S. Gachet, Jon The Dentist, Hype, Scorpio, Slipmatt, Vinyl Groover, Clarkee, Nicky Blackmarket, Mastervibe and Ray Keith, to name but a few.. With magazine tours thrown in from Eternity, M8 and Wax, as well as collaborations with AWOL, Bonkers and Obsession. When Pawlett Manor finally closed it's doors in 1998, GBH spread out all over the South-West, from Bristol's Depot and Lakota, to Brean Leisure Park, Salisbury's Enzos, Taunton's Aura and Bath Pavillion among others, and occasionally teamed up with huge event crews like North Radical Technology, Hardcore Heaven, Fusion and Adrenalin.

So now it comes to this.. 25 years on from the first rave night to hit a little village in Somerset, we get to live it one more time with the residents that made it all possible. Believe us when we say that together we will make this a night to remember, a final memory to keep with us all for the rest of our lives and for those dearly departed, a night to look down on & be proud of..

Pawlett Manor crew, it's time to come alive!!!