History

InsanitoriuM took root in in early 1998 when Jamie suggested to Martin that they get together to start a night in Colchester.
He'd previously been involved in the Warped club night at Hollywoods in Ipswich and in clubs in London since 1989,
and Martin had been DJing in and around the Essex/London area since 1985, most recently at Death By Misadventure.

This is the story of InsanitoriuM:

Together, in April 1998, we launched a night running in The Cups public house in Colchester, started purely for something to
do and paid in beer (a whole three pints each!), inititally the night was called Bedlam, until through the wonders of the internet
we discovered another club with this name. The night ran for about 8 months before moving to The Cambridge Arms, where
it was renamed in a competition to win alcohol (always a good prize!), by future door monkey MXW8. During this time a number of
live nights at The Twist were run in conjunction with the club night, and helped build our reputation of bringing quality live acts to the town.

From The Cambridge Arms we moved to the Act One Bar (in December 2001) almost overnight transforming what was at the
time a small bar playing R&B and Ibiza anthems into the towns' centre of all things alternative, helping to spawn other nights
such as Deaf! (the rock and metal night) and an eighties night. At one point one or both of us could be found DJing in the bar
every weekend, with Bill Screaming as a more than occasional guest DJ and doorman.

From this small start we concentrated on world domination and started to build the name of InsanitoriuM into what it eventually
became, one of the most recognised 'brands' in dark alternative clubbing. During the time in the bar we ran a number of
successful live music nights, including Manuskript (all five of them on a 10'x8' stage!), the first ever Southern UK appearance
of Screaming Banshee Aircrew and The Ghost of Lemora for a Christmas party. We also brought in a number
of top UK DJ's and bands from around the world.

2002 saw us take on a new partner in Evil Stu to play his unique blend of psychobilly, horrorpunk and stuff. In doing so
we became one of the first dark alternative nights in the UK to expand the genres we played in this direction. In fact it took the
rest of the UK over a year to realise this and try to catch up, and we began to notice stuff from Stu's playlists turning up on
other peoples! In fact even now (2008) some are only just beginning to move in this direction. Stu's knowledge of his scene
allowing us once again to show the innovation and originality that we'd become known for.

Throughout the time spent in the Act One Bar InsanitoriuM launched the ever popular 'Glowstick' and 'Drink Up' T shirts
and the famous glowstick sticker, selling almost 250 shirts worldwide and giving away 2000 stickers! We also gave away
a compilation CD of all the bands that had played there, and a free discount card to enable regulars to save money in
various local shops. We even printed our own money to give away!

Moving to a twice monthly night in 2003 (one a club night in the bar and the other a live band night at The Twist) only served
to build on this success and a number of bands that played have since gone on to far bigger things. During the short time we
spent promoting live music there we brought in bands from all over the UK and from the US too, we gave Vampire Division
and Adoration their first ever UK gigs and introduced people to artists they would never have heard.

A move from the Act One Bar and the Twist to Stubbs gave us the opportunity to launch a members only clubnight, something
we'd always wanted to do but had been told wouldn't work. Not only did it work but we attracted almost 350 members who
praised us on their ability to provide a safe haven for alternative clubbing in this small town of ours.

Our internet radio station launched in 2003 soon became one of the most popular on Live365.com, with over 2000
regular listeners in over 18 countries, paving the way for the split (in late 2006) into what is now two equally successful stations and
a podcast. Between us we now boast over 4000 listeners in over 30 countries!

In 2005 we managed the UK tour for The Last Dance and took InsanitoriuM on the road, bringing a little of the
madness to London, Leeds & Coventry before returning home to run a members only gig in a scout hall, building the
whole thing from scratch, putting in a stage, lights, sound... the whole event into an empty room. Nobody else would have been
insane enough to attempt this, but then nobody else could have made it work as well as it did!
MXW8 must have been psychic when he named the night!

In 2007 we moved back to where it all really started to get big for us, The Cambridge Arms. It seemed fitting that after
ten years of providing the most innovative and original dark alternative club night Essex had ever seen, that we
ended it there, seeing as the Cups had been turned into a clothes shop! What was laughingly referred to locally for
some years as 'that goth night' has showcased some of the dark alternative scenes greatest bands and DJ's, and is
respected worldwide. Our legacy to the scene is one we are justifiably proud of.

In the time that the club ran the individual DJ's worked several other clubs in the UK, the Whitby Gothic Weekend, Leipzig's
Wave Gotik Treffen Festival, and a number of clubs in Los Angeles. The name InsanitoriuM is recognised around the world.
On April 5th 2008 InsantoriuM closed its doors, still ahead of the game, still writing the rules for others to try to follow.

If you think this makes us sound too good to be true then remember that we simply couldn't have done any of it without the
support of everyone that ever came along. From those that came practically every time, to the people that only visited once,
everyone one of you made InsanitoriuM something that others might try to emulate, but will never manage.
Thank you. All of you.

Below is a list of the DJ's we've worked with, the bands we booked and the events, clubs and festivals we
worked at. From a pub night playing for beer to the worlds biggest goth festival.
Let this stand as a testament to all that we acheived in ten years.
If anyone can provide missing links, please let us know.

If you want to book any of us to spin at your venue then please get in touch.

Guest DJ's:
Taoist
Cavey Nik
Sexbat & Charlie Mouse
Ghost & Marie
Bill Screaming
Scary Lady Sarah
Cruel Britannia
(on The Last Dance tour)
Selerox


Bands we've booked:
(In alphabetical order)
adoration
Arkham Asylam
Bella Morte
Cauda Pavonis
Chaos Engine
Deviant UK
Devilish Presley
Emma Conquest
Excession
Glass
Libitina
Living With Eating Disorders
Manuskript
Narcissus Pool
NFD
Passion Play
Psychophile
Razor Blade Kisses
(on The Last Dance tour)
Rome Burns
Screaming Banshee Aircrew
Swarf
Synthetic
The Faces of Sarah
The Ghost of Lemora
The Last Dance
This Burning Effigy
Undying Legacy
Vampire Division
Voices of Masada
Zeitgeist Zero
(on The Last Dance tour)
Zombina and the Skeletones

Clubs we've spun at:
B Movie
Dead and Buried
Dark Trix
The Klub
The Railway
Dr Fells
Hex in the City
KryptoriuM
Devils Toybox
Sexy Sunday
All About New Years Eve
Vagabonds


Festival appearances:
Whitby Gothic Weekend (UK)
Wave Gotik Treffen (Leipzig, DE)

Overseas guest slots:
Funeral
Bar Sinister
Underground Live
Release the Bats

Post InsanitoriuM:
Tanz Macabre
25th Anniversary Batcave Reunion