Step back to rave in the 90s with 2 Bad Mice and guests at the Lido in Cliftonville

Take a trip back to the height of the Rave scene when 2 Bad Mice and support acts hit The Lido in Cliftonville in June.

Thirty-five years on from the days when the walls of the Lido would shake to the sounds of acid, breakbeat, hardcore, drum and bass and more, those nights are to be recreated by 2 Bad Mice duo- Simon Colebrooke and Sean O’Keeffe- and guests Ellis Dee, Freestylers, The Criminal Minds plus Sabrina.

Headliners 2 Bad Mice formed in 1991 and are widely regarded as one of the acts that contributed to the explosion of raves around the world. They are credited as amongst the first UK hardcore acts to begin incorporating breakbeats into their style and they were instrumental in the music’s steady mutation into Jungle / Drum and Bass.

Simon Colebrooke and Sean O’Keeffe met before making music together through the BMX scene and both took a different direction in their music tastes. Simon’s love was US and UK Hip Hop, while Sean was enjoying early House and Techno. A meet up at a nightclub resulted in them approaching producer Rob Playford to make a tune and after a bit of convincing, an invite to the then Moving Shadow bedroom studio was extended to them.

The self titled 2 Bad Mice 12” came out in 1991 and was an instant success. It was quickly followed with the “5 in One Night EP” under the alias of Kaotic Chemistry, then the Hold it Down EP but it was Bombscare that made the break into the UK national top 50 and propelled demand for 2 Bad Mice.

Guest remix projects followed for the likes of Blame, Smart E’s, Tronik House (Kevin Sanderson), Ray Keith, Altern 8 and more. Several more projects followed but their roles at Moving Shadow now included A+R and design. Simon signed some of the most recognised names from that period such as Foul Play and Sean went on to design most of the label’s sleeves as well as producing jungle tracks including The Helicopter Tune. He also designed the sleeve for Goldies Timeless album and to this day they still maintain a close relationship with him.

The duo left Moving Shadow in 1997 and went on to form Partisan Records, championing early DnB pioneers like Paradox, Total Science and Klute. After a hiatus from DJ and production work the guys reunited in 2014 at the request of house producer Breach to remix a collaboration he produced with Kelis and more time was dedicated to new productions with an EP on Sneaker Social Club and remixes for SCAR (Metalheadz), Zero B and Dense + Pika ft Leftfield.

Sean and Simon formed record label Over/Shadow in 2020 which was nominated as Best Breakthrough Label at the DJ Mag Best of British awards in 2022.

Sean and Simon DJ regularly at festivals and clubs and say they are looking forward to a return to the Kent coast having played the King’s Hall in Herne Bay in the 90s.

Simon has also played a solo set at Dreamland and says he and wife Rebecca will be moving to Margate in the next 18 months.

The 53-year-old, who currently lives in Hertfordshire, owns a cottage near the back of Dreamland and hopes to make it their home when Rebecca’s daughter goes to uni.

Simon said: “We had a friend who moved here about ten years ago and I had this stereotype of Margate as a bit Only Fools and Horses.

“But when we visited her, I fell in love with the place.”

Simon, who also works as a telecoms engineer, says the couple often visit and love venues like Olby’s and Margate Arts Club and the abundance of events throughout Thanet in the summer.

He added: “I do a lot of work in and around London but Margate seems like more of a nice pace, I like the people and the places like Margate Arts Club and can’t wait to move down.”

For 2 Bad Mice, it will be their first Thanet gig together and Simon says they chose the Lido because of its rave history.

The gig takes place on June 28, 9pm to 3am (last entry at midnight) for those aged 18+

General entry tickets are £14, including booking fee, via Skiddle at: https://www.skiddle.com/e/40843648