An MBE Jam with Norman Jay

We like to say that we’re “Purveyors of fine cocktails, delicious food, great beers, wines and fabulous times” and when we say something, we mean it. The cocktails, food, beer and wines are there for all to see but “fabulous times” is very subjective.

We know we can’t please everyone but what we can do is put on the best possible night based on our perceptions on what “fabulous times” are. So far it’s worked and we’re proud to say that we’ve put on some of the best parties Marlow and beyond have seen, from our 1st Birthday Party with Jazzie B, to Trick or Treat, our Halloween Fancy Dress Party and of course not forgetting our two sell out New Year’s Eve Parties, Bar-Bados and Cafe del Marlow. Now we’ve got one more to add to the list, drums please…

An Easter Weekend Special with NORMAN JAY MBE BOOM!!!!

The Godfather of Good Times will be coming to Marlow to play a very intimate set at our bar on Saturday 30th March. He’ll be bringing the sound that has led him to being an internationally acclaimed DJ playing at parties all over the world including of course his annual slot at Notting Hill Carnival, playing to thousands with his Good Times Sound System. How exciting!

Behind the glamorous facade of running a bar, there is a lot of hard work however, there are some very significant moments when it all becomes worthwhile, when work doesn’t seem like work. Seeing Norman Jay MBE play here at Clayton’s Marlow will most definitely be one of those occasions. It’s the moments we see people having “fabulous times” or “Good Times” in this case.

See you on the 30th?

TICKETS AVAILABLE NOW AT THE BAR!

Striving for Bur(ger)fection

Following years of abuse/mis-management (think horse meat, BSE, cardboardesque patties to name a few) it is not surprising that the burger is generally viewed as a poverty stricken relation of the steak. Look no further than the knighted Sir Loin as an example of the recognition the great cuts of meat are bestowed. 

However, with the likes of Meat Liquor, Pitt Cue Co. and many others creating waves in London and beyond with their indulgent burgers, times are a changing. The much-derided cousin of the revered steak is enjoying a similar rise to prominence as craft beers have of late. There are even specialist burger blogs such as hamburger-me.com (well worth a visit).

So, when we decided to add a burger to our menu, it was never going to be “just another burger”. We wanted to create the absolute most fabulous possible burger that money could buy (well £9.95 to be precise). And so the quest began… 

Fast forward 8 months, 4 chefs (not including 2 very interfering owners), 5 different recipes and many different buns and we think (touch wood) that we’re pretty much there. The lion’s share of credit must go to our head Chef Chris “The Duke” Wellington for it was he that stripped apart the prototype and elevated it beyond recognition focusing on the 3 core elements:

1. The Beef Patty: High quality steak mince combined with paprika, cumin & parsley - offering a hint of Spanish you might expect from a bar serving Tapas

2. The Garnishes: Red onion jam, garlic aioli, beef tomato (from Bob) and baby gem lettuce - giving it a delightful mix of textures and flavours.

3. The Bun: A sesame seed bun from our aptly named local baker, Burger’s - after all, a work of art deserves to be framed in style.

Et voila, one outrageously good burger! It’s no wonder so many Burger King’s have closed down and McDonald’s seems to be focusing on coffee. 

Every Tuesday here is “PIMP your burger Tuesday” which means… buy a Clayton’s burger and get 2 extra toppings for free.

Who is DJ Karl Brown?

Part 2 of our ‘Who is…’ DJ profiles, we spoke to DJ Karl Brown to get a bit of an insight into the man with a record collection which if laid out end to end would stretch to the Moon and back (well maybe not, but it’s pretty huge!)

How would you describe the music you play?

Across the Tracks …. a melting pot soul / disco / jazz / funk / hip hop / house.  

Give me 5 – name five tracks that you recommend we should listen to…

Too many to choose from (he gave us 6) but;

1. Ben Westbeech – Something for the Weekend
2. James Brown – Stone to the Bone
3. Jamiroquai – When You Gonna Learn
4. Masters at Work – It’s Alright I Feel It
5. Tommy Stewart – Bump and Hustle Music
6. Cymande – The Message

What inspired you to DJ?

Probably a DJ called Chris Bangs (coined the term Acid Jazz along with Gilles Peterson ). It was inspiring to see him play tracks by the Jackson 5 / Eric B & Rakim / 808 State / Gil Scott Heron / Sergio Mendes all in the same set. An eclectic mix of just great music no matter what genre - Soul, Hip Hop, House, Rare Groove, Jazz…whatever.

Most memorable DJing memory?

Played in the backroom at the Special Branch Doo at the Zoo (London Zoo). Djs that night included Gilles Peterson / Norman Jay / Pete Tong / Paul Oakenfold / Nicky Holloway. I had a room of about 300 people going ballistic. It was great except the main room was half empty. I was politely asked by a famous dj to turn the music right down (or off) so that people would start filling up his main headlining room!

What do you like about DJing here at Clayton’s Marlow?

It’s a cool place to hang out and hear good music. It’s got a lovely friendly vibe.

What’s your Vinyl Confession? (a track that you shouldn’t really like but secretly love)

Wham – Club Tropicana

Anything else we should know about you???

I was dj’ing once and the England Team turned up. John Barnes requested Luther Vandross – Never Too Much (nice choice), Chris Waddle asked for the Jam (good lad), Glen Hoddle wanted George Benson (nice) and Peter Beardsley asked for some Tina Turner (no chance!).

DJ Karl Brown will next be up on Saturday 30th June here for our 1st Birthday party warming up for the legendary Jazzie B from Soul 11 Soul.

Who is DJ Joelus?

In our last post we talked about the importance of music in the bar and waxed lyrical about our DJs.

Last Saturday DJ Joelus stepped into our Secret Bookshelf so we took the opportunity to ask him a few questions to give you a little insight into the man behind the music.

How would you describe the music you play?

Balearic - A little bit of everything good.

Give me 5 – name five tracks that you recommend we should listen to…

1.  Never Gonna Reach Me (Hot Toddy Mix) - Crazy P
2.  Baltimore - Nina Simone
3.  You Stepped Into My Life - The Bee Gees
4.  Reckless With Your Love (Tensnake Remix) - Azari & III
5.  Knee Deepen (Salt City Orchestra Mix) - Moloko

What inspired you to DJ?

Year 2000, Ministry of Sound, Jazzy M playing “Salsoul Nugget” by M&S (the original non-vocal version) - THAT’s what made me wanna be a DJ!

Most memorable DJing memory?

Too many amazing memories to select a single one.

What do you like about DJing here at Clayton’s Marlow?

Playing a mixed bag of music to suit all kinds of people.

What’s your Vinyl Confession? (a track that you shouldn’t really like but secretly love)

Diana Ross “My Old Piano”

Anything else we should know about you???

I love miniature things….yeh yeh i know what everyones gonna say!

If you’d like to hear DJ Joelus play, he’ll be back in our Secret Bookshelf on Saturday 23rd June but if you can’t wait until then, have a listen to the tracks he’s recommended, there are some real gems there.

Last night a DJ saved my life

Really? Probably not.  (Well maybe if they were a moonlighting Fireman and the bar you were in was on fire.) However… a DJ can definitely make or break your night. I may be particularly hard to please but I’ve actually dragged my friends out of a bar before when the DJ played Rock DJ by Robbie Williams.

Music in general gives a place identity, personality and most importantly, atmosphere. The wrong music for the venue can completely alter your perceptions of a place and your experience there.

One experience in particular springs to mind when I went to what was supposedly a ‘high-end’ Thai restaurant In Manchester. As I walked in, they were playing the Titanic theme tune ‘My Heart Will Go On’ by Celine Dion. My immediate thought was if their taste in music is this bad, what’s the food going to taste like?

We definitely appreciate the importance of music within a bar. There are plenty of venues that can give you a round up of the top 40 both in Marlow but also in any local town and beyond, but here at Clayton’s Marlow, we’re trying to be a little different, playing a mix of funk, soul, disco, jazz, grooves as well as other bits and pieces. Music you’d struggle to find anywhere nearby. We spend a lot of time putting the playlists together for the bar and we are fortunate to know some fantastic DJs that play here on a regular basis in our Secret Bookshelf. In fact, we would like you to get to know them too so over the next few months we’re going to be profiling all of our DJs, giving you an insight into who they are, what influences them and most importantly, what music they’re likely to play when you next visit. 

But if you can’t wait until then, we recently recorded one of DJ Jim Sharp’s sets here and had a few CDs made up so if you’d like to be reminded how good he is or are just curious, just ask us for one next time you’re at the bar.

Dates for the diary

Sunday 3rd June – Clayton’s Undercover Party

Saturday 9th June – DJ Jim Sharp

Questioning Creativity

What makes a good quiz? Is it the questions? Is it the quizmaster? Is it the quizzers?

The monthly quiz here at Clayton’s Marlow is anything but your average quiz with the emphasis on enjoyment rather than providing geeks the opportunity to be smug as they recite the periodic table or laugh as others cannot recall the latin name for a goat.

The rounds reflect this, taking inspiration from some of the finest game shows TV has had the decency to give us. The ‘Can I have a P please Bob’ round draws inspiration from the hexagonally challenging Blockbusters whilst the Going for Gold round tries to recreate the magic of Henry Kelly. All rounds, including the music, film and very current affairs rounds, work towards the deciding Family Fortunes round, the hurdle where many weaker teams have fallen.

Quizmaster Tosh, adorning a bow tie and chequered blazer, harking back to the golden quiz show era of the 80s, pre X-Factor and The Voice, looks to entertain and involve. At last night’s quiz he even got a member of each team to sing a children’s song to earn a bonus point.

This time the winners were ‘Let’s get quizzical’ (pictured) in a very close finish but was the quiz a winner?

In all honesty, I don’t know whether it was a winner and I’m yet to decide what makes a great quiz however, what I do think is that if it’s not fun, why bother?

Hopefully if we stick to that philosophy, we’ll at least get those that appreciate a laugh coming back for more.

The next quiz is on Wednesday 16th May at 7.30pm.

Do you think you’ve got what it takes to be a Clayton’s Marlow Charity Quiz champion?

Here are a couple of questions to give you a taster…

1. What ‘P’ is a tasty nibble for those wanting fun with snacking adventures guaranteed! Light and crispy with a mild taste. It is Germany’s most popular children’s snack. 

2. A sausage and mash (cash) machine in East London has started offering cockney as a language option when you withdraw your money.

What would be the correct Cockney terms for the following amounts?

£5

£10

£20

£25

Answers on a postcard please…

It’s a gorgeous day in Marlow, the sun is shining, and people are enjoying our beautiful garden. It may only be March but it’s already starting to feel like summer

Come down and have a cool glass of wine, something to eat, and relax. That’s what sunny Friday afternoons are for.

As 5.46pm marks the official beginning to the weekend in Clayton’s Marlow, it’s the perfect time to come in for a cocktail, before partying on to the early hours with DJ Tony Smith playing in our secret bookshelf, spinning sounds to remind you why you look forward to the weekend…

See you at the bar later?