In the 12 years since its inception, Yousef's circus has become one of the world's most iconic clubbing institutions. Bringing acts like Loco Dice and Davide Squillace to the UK for the first time, hosting the BBC Radio One 500th Essential Mix, winning praise, accolades and awards, and spawning a record label and touring brand, it's Liverpool's hometown hero. At the centre of it all stands Yousef, whose simple ethos of "serious music and fun times" has made him and Circus some of the most well respected and in demand commodities on dance floors around the globe for over a decade, even taking over a second home at Egg London most recently. But it hasn't always been this way, and it hasn't always run perfectly, so we asked Yousef himself to list the top five moments in Circus history.
The one.... that started them all:
Due to musical policy differences, I decided to leave my residency at Cream in Liverpool (which was one of the worlds best known clubs - Creamfields is its co-brand), and for the first wanted to set up my own event with me as resident and co-booker, so the idea of Circus was born. I teamed up with my close friend (and now booker of Warehouse Project, Gobal Gathering, and Lovebox) Richard Mcginnis, and we set to work creating something where people could listen to fresh new music in a safe and fun environment. We set up in "The Masque," and the first night was a success, so we decided to do it monthly. Within the first year we won BBC Radio One Club of the year and I hosted our first Essential Mix at the venue. 12 years on, we are still at the same venue (now called EVAC) and we have been sold out month after month for many years, and have invited all the worlds best and freshest DJs to play for us, always sticking to our underground house and techno ethos, with me as resident along side Lewis Boardman who has been with us since day one, too.
The one... that nearly went wrong:
A few year ago, Circus was asked to host the 500th Essential Mix party for BBC Radio One – our second Essential Mix – which was quite an accolade considering any club in the planet would of done anything for such an honour. Myself, Richie Hawtin, Sasha, Aeroplane, and of course, Pete Tong were all lined up to play. A few days before there was a huge volcanic eruption in Iceland, which knocked out thousands of flights Europe-wide and beyond. The gig was sold out, the BBC were set to broadcast live around the world, the city of Liverpool was beyond hyped for such an event, and at 7 p.m. on the day of the gig, we had no DJs to play... Somehow, by 8pm, 2 hours before we opened, all the DJs managed to land in the UK and all made the gig. It was incredible... As far I understand, we were the only major event not to be affected by the ash cloud that weekend.
The one... where I realised how far we’d come:
I guess the above would certainly qualify, knowing that any club in the world could have been chosen, yet Radio One wanted us to curate the event was pretty mind blowing. I would also say the 1st birthday when we really turned a corner, we seemingly broke free from the shackles of being a city club and became regional, whereby that I mean people began to travel to come to Circus from across the north west of England. Now people come nationwide, which is incredible. Also, setting up my residency as Circus in London was a moment when I felt Circus was on the map.
The one... that got really wild:
The first time Laurent Garnier played for us about 8 years ago happened to be on my birthday. He played for 5 hours in the main theatre, and destroyed the club like no other before him. After his set, he got back on the decks in the tiny Room 3, playing disco to myself and about 40 of my friends. From what I remember, it was magical, and everyone (except Laurent) was completely hammered... We stayed in the club till about 8am and while Laurent played and we all partied, it was one of the greats. Then the after-after party at my house... that’s another story!
The one... that brought us to today:
Myself and Circus now hold a residency in London at Egg, which has been growing steadily for 20 months. I’ve invited DJs like Dan Ghenacia, HotSince82, Nicole Moudaber, Nick Curly, Guti, Paul Ritch, Josh Wink, and many more to play, reaching a crescendo last month with Gorgon City and myself, which was literally a road block, crazy scenes... The next Circus event is a Circus weekend takeover on 14 and 15 March, with myself playing both nights with Laurent Garnier, Steve Lawler, Noir and Darius Syrossian. Again, it’s looking like another killer. I enjoying playing Egg London – the sound and the vibe are excellent, really authentic and a lot like its big brother in Liverpool now.
Catch Yousef next at Circus: Yousef, Laurent Garnier & Steve Lawler at Egg London