Christmas clubbing: Manchester, Liverpool & Leeds

OK, there's more than 12 parties here but who can resist a shit headline? Never us. Here's our guide to Chrimbo clubbing

Preview by The Skinny North | 07 Nov 2016

Pick of the advent calendar

Leeds appears to be wishing us a very heavy Christmas, with three beastly nights to look forward to in early December: dubstep original Skream at the Mint Club on the 3rd, garage gee DJ EZ at O2 Academy on the 9th, and big-top techno ringmaster Jamie Jones with his Paradise night at Church (also the 9th).

But if anyone knows how to spread cheer it's the HomoElectric crew, who're throwing a special Christmas edition of their scene-leading disco sweatfest at Manchester's Hidden on 10 Dec. Hot toddy residents Will Tramp!, Gina Breeze and Jamie Bull are all in attendance and they've invited Futureboogie's Dave Harvey along for the (sleigh) ride.

Meanwhile, Hidden throw their own seasonal do on 16 Dec: it wouldn't be Christmas without a good brass band, so for the Hidden Xmas Ting they've sourced one from the country's brass-band mecca, Sheffield. With eight horns, two percussionists, a scratch DJ and MC, the steel city's Renegade Brass Band will be delivering the very opposite of a silent night – joined by KOG & The Zongo Brigade, Banana Hill's Cervo and Martin from Loose Cuts. Ting and indeed tong merrily on high. 

Christmas week 

If the overpriced bratwurst, awkward social encounters and snarky commentary from London friends who seem to think they've entered the wilderness returning North for Christmas is all getting a bit much, take yourself off to the Caribbean with an Xmas special of regular club night Dancehall vs Soca at the Ritz, Manchester, on 23 Dec. Join #TeamDancehall or #TeamSoca as the two DJs battle it out – they're almost definitely going to throw in some jingle dubs. 

Boxing Day

When champion Manc selector Mr. Scruff put together an alternative Christmas playlist for The Skinny last year, he chose everything from 'Perky Ghanaian funk in a James Brown style' to a slice of 80s dancehall 'considerably heavier than your average Cliff Richard offering'. Who else would you want to sweat those figgy pudding pounds off with on Boxing Day? Fortunately for you, the man's at The Merchant, Liverpool on 26 Dec for a special edition of his iconic club night Keep It Unreal with No Fakin's Illson in tow. 

Also in Liverpool on the 26th, promoters Modu:lar celebrate their first Christmas (n'aw) at Buyers Club with extended sets from Romanian techno artist Rhadoo, Fathers and Sons label boss Julian Perez and residents Nerram and Brennan.

The festive perineum

You can always rely on Manchester's Electric Chair to more than competently fill the void between Christmas Day and New Year's, and this year they take their annual End of Year Riot to Mantra Warehouse on 27 Dec for a three-room fiesta with Move D, Maurice Fulton, Dicky Trisco, Red Rack'Em, Jon K, Chris Duckenfield, Kelvin Andrews, Balearic Mike and, of course, Electric Chair linchpins the Unabombers. Owch. 

If you'd prefer to relive the heights of Madchester's heyday, the Fac 51/Hacienda residents – Mike Pickering, Greg Wilson, Jon DaSilva et al – are out in force at Sankeys on the 27th with tickets ranging from £25 (standard) to £800 (16-person VIP booth), in case that spirit of Christmas excess hasn't quite worn off. 

New Year's Eve

If your New Year's resolution is to do more good, you could get 2017 off to a promising start by attending Islington Mill's Raise the Roof New Year's Eve party, where all profits will be going towards the Mill's fundraising campaign to fix its derelict, partially collapsed roof and renovate the fifth floor. The Mill's NYE bash is always one of the best – some would argue the best – in Manchester, and this year is set to be no different with those reliable hedonists from Sounds from the Other City festival, Fat Out and more all on curational duties. It's the ultimate house party.

Another regular fixture comes into its own this month as Leeds' HiFi Club hosts an Xmas special of its long-running Motown/Northern Soul/60s party MoveOnUp – definitely a good option if you're not in the pricey ticket game.

Liverpool meanwhile is in the capable hands of 303 at Constellations – the line-up is yet to be announced, but from the heads who've recently brought us Robert Hood and Henry Saiz, we'd expect nothing less than a luxury cracker. 

New Year's Day

As is becoming tradition, Leeds' Canal Mills gives Manchester's Warehouse Project a run for its money on New Year's Day, with Modeselektor, Floating Points, The Black Madonna, Motor City Drum Ensemble and Jasper James rounding off a compact but absolutely storming line-up on 1 January.

If you want to go harder for longer, though, The Warehouse Project has got you sorted with a bill of almost overwhelming choice, its 12-hour party welcoming Marcel Dettman, Ben Klock, DJ Koze, Midland, Boddika, Bicep and many, many more to Store Street, plus a live set from KiNK. 

Others barely get a look-in, although our (chocolate) money's on Percolate at everyone's favourite Manchester grotto Hidden, with Floating Points ably propped up by Aussie wunderkind Jordon Alexander aka Mall Grab, whose hazy lo-fi jams should ease you gently into the cold, dark days of 2017. Now to curl up in a ball under the duvet and not leave the house until February, yeah? 

We're sure there'll be plenty more great parties announced over the coming weeks – make sure to check our weekly clubbing round-ups for Leeds, Liverpool and Manchester at theskinny.co.uk/clubs http://theskinny.co.uk/clubs