‘Groovemaster’ Johnson’s Bubble Club – A Brief History
The Beginning:
The first event was on 2nd December 1998 in the 'upstairs' room @ Paradiso with about 80 people whilst Drum N Bassline was on in the main room downstairs. Amongst 'Groovemaster' Johnson (resident DJ, organisor & initiator) were DJ Timmy ' Boomkat' & MC Spyder; residents on rotation! Collaboration:
Due to the amount of regulars
growing at lightening speed, larger events were also held elsewhere in Amsterdam & Rotterdam until Paradiso decided it was time to expand to all rooms throughout the venue. Bubble Club Xtra was born and it proved to be successful, selling out to about 1200 people (special thanks going out to Tineke Timmerman & Lucy Crystal for their input during the first event). Also, at this event, we introduced Belgium's Supreme Team to Holland; they took residency in the room upstairs, introducing Holland to what they called, ‘Future Funk’; a New York-style of scratching, mixing and rapping to a superb blend of hip hop & RnB; DJs/MCs were Cosmic, Sake & Uneak followed by a massive crew. After this first Paradiso sell-out, the Bubble Club started an amazing collaboration with Serious About Sound, a company run by John & Roger Olivieira; thanks to them & Paradiso, 'Groovemaster' Johnson's Bubble Club went from strength to strength. In the meantime, other regular events took place including the Beachbop @ Beachclub Solaris, Bloemendaal Aan Zee, boat cruises with 3 rooms of music on each deck, the 3 Year Anniversary @ the NEMO Museum and more...
Guest DJs, MCs, PAs and dancers:
Guest DJs, MCs & PAs included MJ Cole, Matt 'Jam' Lamont, Genius Cru, Mark Mouth, DJ Lighter, DJ Luck & MC Neat, MC Vin-E, MC Dart, DJ Andy C., Spark ft.Markell & MC Spyder, Laurence Bagnall & Daniel Ward (United Grooves Collective, UK), MC TabLloyd, Steve 'Boomselecta', Joost van Bellen, Munchie MC, G-Double-E, Pied Piper & Unknown MC, Melly Mel, Emma Feline, MC Gee, MC Ruff Nas, DJs Fanatic & DCS, Rishi Bass, Benjamin Brown and quite a few more. Our events were always complemented by The Amazing Bubble Club Dancers (courtesy of Jake's Dance Factory). The Crew:
None of this would have been possible without support from the Bubble Club crew; Serious About Sound, Ilja & Murja, Reinier, Michel, Olaf & Amy; they played an intricate part in everything in the background such as communication, promotion & PR, setting-up, organising, artist coordination, stage management, etc. Music:
In 2001 'Groovemaster' Johnson released the Bubble Club CD via Rhythm Records: http://www.discogs.com/Groovemaster-Johnson-Bubble-Club/release/2788063. He also released the double CD entitled ‘Speed Garage’ on Arcade (1 CD mixed by VanBellen and the other by Johnson himself), http://www.discogs.com/Groovemaster-Johnson-DJ-Van-Bellen-Speed-Garage/release/580946. And the other UKG CD he released was ‘Urban Dancefloor’ via PIAS Records: http://www.discogs.com/Various-Mixed-Live-By-Groovemaster-Johnson-Urban-Dance-Floor-Best-New-2-Step/release/558285. Also during this time ‘Groovemaster’ Johnson introduced the Bubble Club Show on Colourful Radio together with hosts MC Spyder, Melly Mel & John Olivieira including quite a few international guests. Design / House Style:
Original Logo & House Style designed by LaPeet Pijlgroms: http://www.lapeet.com. Photos:
Our in-house photographer was Martijn Wanders: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100000149267031