I first met Chunky at ‘Friends and Family’ at Kro bar when he must have been about 15. Even then, when he absolutely shouldn’t have even been allowed in the bar, he jumped on the mic to host a set to a crowd of drunk people going absolutely mental.
Ever since, Chunky has been an huge personality and presence on the Manchester music scene for well over a decade, from hosting and performing legendary club nights Hit & Run, Riot Jazz and SWAMP 81, as a member of the inimitable LEVELZ crew, and as a solo artist and producer in his own right.
Following the release of his excellent Lyric Mi single last year, 2020 will see the launch of Chunky’s debut album as a solo artist, and this was marked with his Pre ‘n’ Tea event last week. Never heard of a Pre n Tea? Me either. Largely because I don’t think it was actually a thing until now…
The idea being, get a load of people into a venue, serve food, drinks and play a sneaky first-ever peek at the incoming album to an intimate crowd to get some initial feedback, but mainly just to have a party and eat loads of food. What’s not to like about that?
The event was billed at a secret location, revealed on the day as Pull Up in the Northern Quarter, who would be serving a Caribbean feast, with Jerk Chicken, Goat Curry, Jerk Haloumi and Veggie Curry options and a dessert included within the £10 ticket.
As always with Pull Up, the food was great, yet much of the latter part of the eating was a mixture of a meal and a rave once the album had been put on. Entirely self-produced, the album is a banger, and I’m really looking forward to hearing it again, sober.
With a host of familiar Manchester music faces in attendance, both the event and the album went down an absolute storm.
I’m now absolutely an advocate of the Pre ‘n’ Tea format. Keep an eye out for more information on the album release and follow up events coming soon.
