Whirl-Y-Gig is one of the longest running world dance clubs in London. It was set up by Ros Madden as an experiment of the Association of Humanistic Psychology in 1981, who passed it on to the capable hands of DJ Monkey Pilot four years later.[1] Ros Madden died on 20th October 2011 in Luton.[2] Monkey Pilot plays a wide range of music in the club, primarily world/dance fusions, but also many other genres.[3] Whirl-y-Gig is hailed as one of the central venues for people from London's alternative community.[4][5] As the official site says:
Whirl-Y-Gig also appears at festivals[6], showing both live bands, who are mixed on the spot by DJ Monkey Pilot, or DJ sessions.[7] They appear at such festivals as Beautiful Days, the Whitby Musicport Festival and the Sunrise Celebration. They have also appeared at the short-lived Canterbury Fayre and also at Womad Reading.
The Whirl-Y-Gig is known for promoting artists such as Banco De Gaia,[8] System 7,[9] Dreadzone, Astralasia, Eat Static, Loop Guru, Baka Beyond, Transglobal Underground and Kamel Nitrate.
Every so often, they compile CDs, featuring various artists who have performed at 'Whirl-Y-Gig', or just artists who Monkey Pilot likes, these CDs are released on their own record label 'Whirl-Y-Music'.
The motto of the club is a Japanese symbol meaning 'wind on water'.
Whirl-Y-gig is also legendary for the parachute that comes down at the end of the night, wafting the exhausted dancers with cool breeze. Beautiful lights shine down, accompanied by mood music to bring the night to a beautiful conclusion.[10]
In the words of DJ Monkey Pilot himself, "Whirl-Y-Gig is an event difficult to describe, a moment difficult to miss."