The Tokyo Jo’s reunion is set to return to Preston this April with original DJs and a brand-new location.
It will take place on Thursday 2 April from 9pm at Stage City, an event arena on Tithebarn Street which opened in March last year.
Familiar names will return to the DJ booth, with Dave Jones, Brian Hudson and Rock FM’s Mark Freejack and Baz Todd.
Read more: Five things you only know if you went to Tokyo Jo’s in the 90s
The nightclub, affectionately known as ‘Tokes’ took in 1,500 to 1,600 people a night at its height in the 1990s.
Brian Hudson owns the Tokyo Jo’s brand and told Blog Preston: “It’s always had a special place in my heart as well as it has for quite a lot of people in Preston.
“Even though it’s not the same building, you know it’s the same. It’s the music. It’s the vibe.
“You try and do something good for the community and put a smile on people’s faces. There’s not enough for that generation now.”
After two sell-out reunions in the original Tokyo Jo’s building in 2019, he planned another, celebrating the nightclub’s 30th anniversary for 2020, but Covid put a stop to the plans.
Luck was yet again not on his side when disaster struck in 2022, and the venue burnt down.
The fire began in the Odeon cinema, spreading to the building which then was another nightclub called Evoque.
It took 12 fire engines to control it, forcing roads to close and leaving the building partially demolished.
Brian started working behind the bar in 1991, just a year after the nightclub opened, where he grew the passion that formed his career.
He told Blog Preston: “I used to DJ in Preston way before Tokyo Jo’s opened, so I already had a love for music.
“Listening and looking at the experience of what the other DJ’s had, [I would be] trying to recreate it and do it better.”
Brian is set to join headliners Paul Oakenfold and Joel Corry on stage at The Preston Weekender in May.
It will be his third performance there and one he is looking forward to, he said: “To perform at the Flag Market is something not a lot of DJs can say, but to do it with Paul Oakenfold is like wow, yes please.”
Tickets are available for the Tokyo Jo’s Reunion night at Stage City, priced from £10 on the second-release round of tickets as it stands.
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