Darlington DJ remembers the County Durham clubs of old

DJ Craig Chisman, 51, started out playing in the youth clubs of Darlington while at Carmel College in the town, before getting his first break in the music scene at Yates's on Skinnergate, now the Darlington Flyer. 

After playing there on numerous occasions, his first residency was in Mardi Gras in Darlington, between 1996 and 1997, alongside DJ'ing at Perry's, which became Club 2k and then Inside Out.

Craig Chisman (Image: CRAIG CHISMAN) Having worked at Club 2k for six years, he moved around different venues, including Club Monaco, the Postchaise, and The Sportsman in Bishop Auckland, which he called "a fantastic period" of his life. 

"The club scene back then was fantastic - people were going out three or four times a week, clubs would be packed out on a Thursday, Friday and Saturday night, while Sunday and other midweek days were also busy," he said. 

"I remember the queues outside the clubs, sometimes one in and one out, you wouldn't get that now."

Club Monaco (Image: CRAIG CHISMAN) After DJ'ing for over 30 years, Craig says he has "seen it all" and has reminisced about the old club days.

He believes that the 'golden era' of clubbing was between 1997 and 1998, where he notes that the clubs were "packed full of people wanting a good time, no phones, just a great time".

However, despite his thoughts on clubbing of years gone by, he believes there is still a future for nightclub-style events. 

One of the last 'daytime discos' Craig ran (Image: CRAIG CHISMAN) After launching an over-30s music event in Darlington earlier this year, which runs during the day so people can be home by 9pm, he now plans to run more of this style of events.

On June 1, between 2pm and 7pm, Craig will be running an over-25s event at Darlington Dolphin Centre - and hopes that people will come and support it.

"People can drink cheaply at home and want the comfort of their own homes, but these events allow people to enjoy their clubbing days and music days, and be home at a decent time," he said.

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"Covid has closed a lot of clubs, pubs, and bars around the area, but hopefully these events are the future and could be the future of nightlife."

Now that he's started running these events, Craig hopes he can continue to put on 3-4 of these, and has set his sights on doing events outside the indoor market and even potentially in South Park.

Watch this space.