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Mentored by Johnno Burgess (Bugged Out founder). Watch his video at:
http://www.facebook.com/3seriouslysocialparty?v=wall#/video/video.php?v=9508 33010880*

Johnno Burgess (Bugged Out) Top 5 parties

My favourite Bugged Out night. Daft Punk, Liverpool, 1998.

My favourite night to DJ at. Guilty Pleasures, London, 2006-now.

My favourite concept night. High Fidelity, Manchester, 1996.
In 1994 we put a night on in Manchester called High Fidelity. It was named after the Nick Hornby book where the protagonist refers to his Top Five favourite records or films and so on throughout.  We hired a pub with a proper old fashioned function room. It had a stage, carpet and round tables and was usually used by tribute acts or 60s bands that were still going but only had one original member left . It was very Phoenix Nights! On the night everyone sat down and faced the stage and we had 20 DJ’s stand behind the decks one after another playing their top 5 favourite records of all time in 15 minute slots. When the 15 mins was up we would strike a gong and the next DJ filed on. It was really fun and illuminating to hear what people were going to play as some ‘cool’ DJ’s professed a love for a U2 album track (generating mass boo-ing), or someone would throw on a rave track and everyone would start dancing on their chairs. We revived the idea and took the night to Leeds, Manchester, Glasgow and London in 2007 and it went down a storm again.

My favourite night curated by a DJ. Tiga’s Sexor album launch, London, February 2006.
In 2006 we started working closely with some of our regular DJ’s, helping them curate a night in London. I guess the idea was nicked from All Tomorrow’s Parties where they let a band pick all the acts on the bill. We have done shows like this with Hot Chip, Late of the Pier, Simian Mobile Disco, Little Boots and a forthcoming one with Friendly Fires. It’s interesting to see who the band chooses and also for them to work from a budget (they often throw some of their own fee in to make certain acts happen). For Tiga’s Sexor album launch he chose Erol Alkan, 2manydjs (who had to play under a pseudonym as Speculoos Dance Squad named after a Belgian biscuit), his friends from Australia from the Bang Gang parties and his brother Thomas. I also suggested we look into Altern 8 the rave act popular in 1991 as Tiga always referenced them in interviews and he had been massively influenced by the rave scene. So Altern 8 played live with an MC for the first time in many years. They went down really well and the booking proved prescient as New Rave was just about to explode that year. A pre-fame Klaxons came down to the show and I’m sure made a few notes!

My favourite warehouse party. Late of the Pier, London, July 2008.
Bugged Out started throwing parties outside of conventional club spaces in 2007 and we have been doing ‘warehouse’ parties ever since. I think my favourite was the night we did with Late of the Pier in a car park in Shoreditch last year though it did feature a heart stopping moment, the kind a promoter dreads. Ten minutes before the band came on - they were all waiting in the wings holding their guitars, psyched and ready - I was told by the soundman that the power to the live stage had gone down. Annie Mac was still DJing so I had to tell her to carry on while we sorted it. Ten minutes later the frantic soundman was still having no luck, the sound desk was still dead and the tour manager of the band told me that if the band couldn’t play then I would have to go and make an announcement to the 1000 kids on the microphone. Not only could this cause a riot of sorts but also everyone would want a refund and we would face losses in the thousands. Then, suddenly, the sound desk lit up and the soundman gave me the thumbs aloft. Apparently a common four-way plug, the kind every household has, had fused. The band went on and said it was their best gig of the year. I breathed a sigh of relief - one of those huge ones.

Its the last chance to enter 3’s second of its Seriously Social competitions, giving entrants the chance to win £30,000 to organise and host their very own dream party. The competition closes on Sunday 22nd November, when the list of shortlisted finalists will be announced.

The new competition, which will be mentored by Johnno Burgess from Bugged Out!, throws the doors open to the public and invites budding party planners, club promoters and revellers to submit their ultimate party manifesto via Facebook. The winner will receive a once in a lifetime chance to spend £30K on making their dream party a reality, with the help of a skilled production team to put it together.

The competition for the most popular party idea is open to all fans of the Seriously Social Facebook page and the search is ultimately decided by them. A shortlist of the 25 best entries will be chosen at the end of November by a panel, including Johnno Burgess and 3, and then fans of the page will forge the outcome by voting for their favourite idea. Voters will also be in with a chance of attending the January 2010 party if the idea they back wins.

The first Seriously Social competition received 58,000 votes over a two-week period. The winner, Michael O’Shea, won the chance to work with a professional production team to put on an authentic 1920s party for £25k. Highlights included a lavish feast, burlesque performers including Vicky Butterfly, comedy from the Bearded Kitten Crew and live bands including Harry’s Tricks and The Correspondents. The event took place at the opulent No. 5 Cavendish Square and was dressed in keeping with the theme of the event. Watch the video

Johnno Burgess of Bugged Out! will mentor the Seriously Social winner hot on the heels of the club’s 15th Birthday celebrations. Bugged Out is one of the longest-standing and most well respected nights in the UK. Their regular club nights, gigs and festivals internationally broke early appearances from Daft Punk and the Chemical Brothers and gave Erol Alkan his first residency. Bugged Out! has gone on to stage appearances from artists including Tiga, Justice and Boys Noize and release acclaimed compilation albums from Hot Chip and Simian Mobile Disco.  Also a freelance journalist, Johnno was the founder of early influential music magazine, Jockey Slut, and current title, Dummy mag.

Johnno: “What would your dream party be?’ is a question I have often asked DJs and artists in my role as a journalist. It’s also something I have often thought about myself as a promoter. It’s going to be a challenge for the entrants to come up with a creative, original and exciting way of using the money to throw a night to remember. I hope with my experience in promoting club nights, gigs and festivals - as well as unusual concept nights - that I will be able to mentor the winner effectively, help generate some fresh ideas and have a lot of fun in the process!”