Danny Amatsah Interview - 21st February 2008
by Ben Raza
MEET Danny Amatsah – an Esquires legend and one of Bedford's most familiar figures.
Danny, 47, has worked at the music venue for almost 20 years, starting as a barman before rising to his current role of general manager. He met with Ben Raza to talk about music, Bedford and the Queen's English.
Danny Amatsah first came to Bedford in the 1970s, when he arrived in England as a student. But his love affair with England, and English music, had begun long before that, even if his expectations did not quite match what he discovered.
"I was born in Malaysian Borneo, in Kota Kinabalu in the Sabah state. I came to the UK to do my O levels and A levels, and then I did a business diploma in London. When I first came here my uncle lived in Birmingham. He moved away but I have stayed here and time has moved on – you live, you fall in love."
"Now I have two children, and I have lived longer in England than in Borneo. But I remember as a child listening to English radio and thinking I want to go over there one day."
"I first came to Bedford to do my A levels, at Bedford Tutorial College which was in Lansdowne Road. I lived in a couple of places, in Chaucer Road and Warwick Avenue, and my local was the Foresters Arms.
"England wasn't like I had imagined. At home we had a lot of British television, but my idea of the country came from Carry On films and Man About The House. They portrayed England as being bowler hats and three-piece suits. I expected people to speak the Queen's English and say to you in the street: 'Good morning, jolly good day.'
"Then I met a Scottish guy and I started to wise up. I couldn't understand a single word he said and I realised that everybody had a different way of speaking.
"When I started working at Esquires there was just an empty hall downstairs which was being used as a function room. I saw there was so much potential there so we decided to set up a bar.
"Then two guys who approached me suggested we could promote gigs downstairs, and we started a club in the other part of downstairs. And I guess we have never looked back.
"In the early days we opened on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, and if you weren't in by 8pm you couldn't get through the door. It was so busy that we would have gone over capacity to have let anyone in after that.
"Then around 1990 to 1994 it started to gradually slow down, so Neil Primett came in and started promoting up-and-coming bands. That was fantastic. One week we would have a group on, and a few months later they would be on Top Of The Pops and would be so big there was no chance of ever having them here again.
"The best line-up we ever had was probably Supergrass, supported by The Bluetones. That was insane to have them both on the same night. And Ocean Colour Scene played here four times I think.
"We have had so many good bands it would be cruel to single just one out though. Coldplay played here, they were excellent, and I really enjoyed Freak Power.
"There came a point when we had to stop having bands on for a couple of months and have support beams installed downstairs. It was just becoming so busy upstairs, with the audiences going so crazy, that the floor was beginning to buckle under the weight of them all."
"I just love music, but the best thing about being here is the people. I remember one time a promoter put three bands from different genres all on one night – there was a skinhead band, a ska band and a rocker band. I was absolutely bricking it, thinking none of the audiences would get on with each other. But when the night came it was brilliant, everyone was chatting to each other and enjoying each other's music. It was like a community in one room."
"People from different backgrounds were all there because they loved music. And it is like that all the time – we have people aged from 16 to 80. Everyone has different backgrounds, but Esquires is like one big family."
"A lot of people say that when they come here they feel right at home immediately, because it never changes. And the police licensing officers are always full of praise, saying that they don't hear much from us, and how few problems we have. We just attract pacifists I guess – people who love music."
"We have a really good team here, with Pete the DJ, the promoters, right down to the cleaners. I must give credit to everyone. Without everybody else, Esquires would be nothing. It is like its own community here. Everybody has their input and that is what makes Esquires what it is today."