Sheffield DJ: ”coke for cool people and mkat for the skint”
For over twenty years there has been fear that drugs and clubs go hand in hand: from the Acid House and Rave movements up until the present day; the government has always been worried.
Through his experiences above and bellow the decks, one Sheffield DJ tells Those Nine Hours why they have every right to be scared.
“I’d say all the venues I’ve done are full of drugs."
Gatecrasher
Most synonymous with Sheffield rave and drugs is the (now demolished) Gatecrasher club. Instrumental in the rise of techno and house music, it was a massive success until the renamed Gatecrasher 1 caught fire and had to be demolished.
It was here that DJ Anon (not his real name) had one of his first and "best" drug experience.
“Best experience? Entering Gatecrasher with 50 pills in my pocket at the age of 17,” he added, “hearing trance music for the first time in the best club i’ve ever been in. Unreal. Some awesome memories of that place!”
He said that drugs were rife at the venue, and police agreed: a raid in 2001 led to 13 arrests and the discovery of what police described as a "substantial amount of ecstasy and cocaine."
Still thriving
DJ Anon said the drug scene is still alive.
“I’d say all the venues I’ve done are full of drugs, mainly because of the underground house scene I’m into. You get very little drugs in R ‘n’ B and traditional dance venues.”
He admitted that it had calmed down since the demolition of gatecrasher.
“It’s nowhere near as bad, there were more pills [ecstacy] knocking about in them days- now it’s mainly coke for cool people, and mkat for the skint people.” He emphasizes the word ‘cool’.
Mkat is a recent, but increasingly present addition to the drug scene. Dubbed Meow Meow by the tabloids, (though according to DJ Anon no-one using it ever called it this), it was once legal before gaining class B status in 2010.
It is DJ Anon’s drug of choice.
“It’s cheap and cheerful. Does the trick. A harsh drug compared to coke, but who cares?” he said.
A gram of mkat can sell for anywhere between £15 and £30, whilst a gram of coke can be around £60.
A DJ's privilege?
DJing in Sheffield and Manchester, from clubs and pubs with less than 100 punters to Ibiza venues with hundreds, this DJ has seen it all.
“Straight away you can tell who’s on drugs.” He explained the tell tale signs: “Eyes and jaw mainly give it away, [they] act totally different to a drunk person.”
Despite the stereotype, he says that being a DJ doesn’t equal special treatment or an abundance of free drugs. They are easy enough to come by anyway.
“I get offered them a lot during a set, but it’s just as easy off it.”
DJ Anon enjoys a more relaxed afternoon: drug free.
It has not always been a positive experience though. After taking a “dodgy pill” he had to tell his parents and a doctor had to be called to his house: “I thought I was gonna die off half a pill...worst part was telling the ‘rents I’m on drugs. Horrible seein’ them cry because their son is a druggy.”
The experience hasn’t put him off drugs though.
“Sometimes I think of the consequences, but most times I just think sod it: let’s get wrecked.”
“I generally take half a pill nowadays to make sure they're not dodgy ones: learnt my lesson far too many times.”
The war on drugs is an effort constantly in the news and DJ Anon is not entirely sure of the solution. He says dicriminalisation won’t make a difference to the users.
Gatecrasher has come and gone, scenes and their devotes have appeared and disappeared, but the drugs have remained.
Words and photos by Jake Decamps