Groove Is In The Heart

Dave on the Woodland’s drive 2019

or some of us, it feels like only yesterday that we were straightening our shoulder pads and filling up our pocket holy water bottles with vodka as we headed on down to where paradise was found.

And if you didn’t quite manage to get your hands on paradise, chances were, once the music went up to 11, and the clock went up to 1.50am, standards went rapidly down.

And sure, after that, the only way was up.

For Dave Purnell, DJing at Cabana’s from 1986 to its final day on May 4th, 1991 – the man’s 40th birthday, no less – provided him with some of the happiest nights of his life.

And some of the funniest.

Man, what we wouldn’t give to see Tommy Mitchell in his prize-winning dress. Especially when that full moon fever kicked in.

We’ve managed to showcase many of the beautiful people who graced and disgraced Cabana’s dancefloor over the years – thanks to the notorious, and clearly always curious, Farrelly brothers – but, what was it like for the guy who was driving that beat every night?

Over his five years at the helm in Cabana’s, Dave Purnell only ever took one sick day off – so, his love for that Greystones groove thang was obviously all-consuming.

And it’s clear from our conversation this evening on that long road to Cabana’s that, some 30 years after the party was finally over, Dave Purnell is still happy to celebrate…

You can jump to Cabana’s opening night here, to the Farrelly’s personal stash of Polaroids here, and here, enjoy the Rugby Club and beyond here, and check out Dave Purnell’s latest adventures on the wheels of steel right here.