Unbeknown to most people, DC10 actually opened, not in 1999 - when Circo Loco began their parties there - but in 1990. For the best part of 10 years it was used as a small cafe-concierto venue playing host to flamenco or live music and certainly nothing electronic.
In 1999 Circo Loco arrived and slowly but surely, everything was turned on its head. Back then it was pretty much a deserted hut with some music, there was no entrance fee, no promotion, it started on Monday morning and carried on well into the evening. Right from the start there was something raw about this place; you could rock up and stand at the side of the club and hear the music whilst drinking your own beer, you could pretty much come and go as you pleased and it wasn't uncommon to find yourself and your friends as the only people there at certain stages.
Originally, it all happened inside, but people would stand at the bar at the entrance of the open terrace bathed in bright sunshine, but carry on dancing to the music from inside. The terrace was dimensions wise the same as now, except, of course, it didn't have any roof whatsoever, the sun would roast that terrace, save for a few patches of shade cast by the triangular canopies that you now find in the garden.
This was where Danny Tenaglia would come play for free and others would offer and be refused. This is where tribal came and went, minimal came and went and where the new era now is re-forging the core values of Circo Loco and DC10. In celebration for this 20 year anniversary, the club have gone back, way back to Tony Humphries, Godfather of the New Jersey Sound; a sound that till this day remains a crucial influence in the spirit and vibe of DC10.
Here are some photos of what it used to look like:
