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STORIES & CULTURE

The WGR journal

Music, artists, labels and stories from the underground.

#north-east

Latest stories

34 stories
🎵 Sound It Out Records, Stockton-on-Tees – More Than Just a Record Shop

🎵 Sound It Out Records, Stockton-on-Tees – More Than Just a Record Shop

For anyone who grew up buying music around **Stockton-on-Tees and Teesside**, Sound It Out Records was much more than somewhere you went to buy a CD or a piece of vinyl.

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DJ Jason Bushby – Powerhouse, After Dark and North East Rave History

DJ Jason Bushby – Powerhouse, After Dark and North East Rave History

When looking back at the history of rave music in **Teesside and the North East**, there are certain names that appear again and again across different clubs, promotions and generations.

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DJ NRG – The Colosseum and the Roots of North East Rave

DJ NRG – The Colosseum and the Roots of North East Rave

DJ NRG – The Colosseum and the Roots of North East Rave Before the New Monkey. Before North East Makina became a sound recognised around the country. Before YouTube, SoundCloud and downloadable rave sets.

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DJ Scott – The Story of a North East Makina Pioneer

DJ Scott – The Story of a North East Makina Pioneer

When people talk about the history of **Makina in North East England**, there are certain DJs, MCs, clubs and promoters that repeatedly appear.

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MC Hyper – Middlesbrough / North East Makina MC

MC Hyper – Middlesbrough / North East Makina MC

When people talk about the history of North East Makina, attention often turns towards Sunderland's **New Monkey**, Newcastle or Gateshead. But **Middlesbrough and the wider Teesside area developed its own generation of DJs, MCs and ravers** – and one of the names from that early scene was **MC Hyper**.

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Makina in 2026 – Why the North East Rave Scene Is Still Going Strong

Makina in 2026 – Why the North East Rave Scene Is Still Going Strong

For years people have talked about Makina as though it belongs to another era.

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UltimateBuzz.net – Over 25 Years of North East Rave Culture Online

UltimateBuzz.net – Over 25 Years of North East Rave Culture Online

If you were involved in the North East rave scene during the 2000s, there is a good chance you came across **UltimateBuzz.net**.

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Stretch MC – A Voice of the North East Makina Scene

Stretch MC – A Voice of the North East Makina Scene

When talking about the North East's Makina, hardcore and rave scene, **Stretch MC** is a name that deserves to be remembered.

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The Cornerhouse Middlesbrough – Clubbing Under the Railway Station

The Cornerhouse Middlesbrough – Clubbing Under the Railway Station

For a generation of Teesside clubbers, **The Cornerhouse in Middlesbrough** was one of those venues you didn't easily forget.

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The Colosseum – Norton: A Lost Piece of Teesside Club History

The Colosseum – Norton: A Lost Piece of Teesside Club History

For anyone interested in the history of clubbing and nightlife around Stockton-on-Tees, **The Colosseum in Norton** is a name worth remembering.

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Bianco’s Stockton – Remembering a Prince Regent Street Nightclub

Bianco’s Stockton – Remembering a Prince Regent Street Nightclub

For anyone who remembers nights out in Stockton-on-Tees during the 1990s, **Bianco’s** is one of those names that may bring back a few memories.

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The Millennium Nightclub – Teesside Park

The Millennium Nightclub – Teesside Park

For anyone who went clubbing around **Teesside in the late 1990s and early 2000s**, the name **Millennium** will bring back some memories.

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The Crown, Middlesbrough – From Cinema to a Boro Nightlife Landmark

The Crown, Middlesbrough – From Cinema to a Boro Nightlife Landmark

If you spent time around Middlesbrough town centre, there’s a good chance you remember **The Crown**. Sitting prominently on the corner of **Linthorpe Road and Borough Road**, the huge building became part of Boro nightlife — but its history goes back much further than its days as a pub and club.

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Tall Trees Yarm – Remembering One of the North East’s Legendary Nightclubs

Tall Trees Yarm – Remembering One of the North East’s Legendary Nightclubs

For generations of clubbers from Teesside and across the North East, the name **Tall Trees** brings back some serious memories.

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Zanzibar Stockton-on-Tees – Remembering a Teesside Nightlife Favourite

Zanzibar Stockton-on-Tees – Remembering a Teesside Nightlife Favourite

If you went out drinking and clubbing in **Stockton-on-Tees during the 2000s**, there's a good chance you'll remember **Zanzibar**.

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Brad’s Bar, Stockton-on-Tees

Brad’s Bar, Stockton-on-Tees

Brad’s Bar, Stockton-on-Tees – Remembering a Teesside Nightlife Venue

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MC Tazo – A North East Makina & New Monkey Legend

MC Tazo – A North East Makina & New Monkey Legend

A North East Makina & New Monkey Legend

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Arena Middlesbrough

Arena Middlesbrough

Arena Middlesbrough – A Piece of Teesside Clubbing History

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Hangar 13: Sunderland Makina and North East Rave History

Hangar 13: Sunderland Makina and North East Rave History

Explore Hangar 13’s place in Sunderland’s rave story, its connection with DJ Scott and the archive recordings keeping a chapter of North East makina in earshot.

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K2 Billingham: A Lost Teesside Nightlife Landmark

K2 Billingham: A Lost Teesside Nightlife Landmark

Remembering K2 in Billingham: its La Ronde roots, its place in the town’s nightlife and the local history left behind after the building disappeared.

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Initialize Events: Two Decades of North East Rave

Initialize Events: Two Decades of North East Rave

Get to know Initialize Events, the TS1 Promotions-powered North East rave brand connecting live events, radio showcases and streams with hardcore, makina and old-school dance music.

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SoundScape Dance Festival: A North East Rave Gathering

SoundScape Dance Festival: A North East Rave Gathering

Get to know SoundScape Dance Festival, the Bishop Auckland event bringing DJs, MCs and dance-music fans together in the North East.

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MC Banks: Middlesbrough Roots and North East Makina

MC Banks: Middlesbrough Roots and North East Makina

Discover MC Banks’s Middlesbrough roots, his account of reaching the New Monkey and makina sessions with MC Wizard, Simpson and Crazy-T.

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MC G-Force: From After Dark to The Colosseum

MC G-Force: From After Dark to The Colosseum

Explore MC G-Force’s place in North East rave through his own account of starting on the microphone, an acknowledgement from MC Banks and remastered After Dark and Colosseum recordings.

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