Dahn The Ace Caff

The legendary Ace Café (always pronounced ‘caff’) was well famous even before 1960s pop stars went there for their after-gig bacon rolls. It has an amazing heritage of motoring history. Starting by dint of its location alongside what was once a really fast road and is now littered with Gatsos, (London’s North Circular) it was the place for the Ton-Up Boys as the hardcore bikers were called back then, to meet up, thrash off from and drive back to. No matter what else is going on at the Ace, there will always be a few motorcyclists and their machines outside. You can buy the tee shirt and even branded packaged sausages at the Ace. It is a very clever and deeply unique operation. They film TV’s Fifth Gear there with Vicky Butler-Hendersen who is definitely mature and posh totty. I go a bit weak watching her on the telly.
A cool Wednesday night in October and the lads from Sutton were out in full force at the Ace and I got invited along to record the event for posterity on Talk Audio. Brain Steer, proprietor of Brian Car Sound & Security in Sutton, Surrey is great mates with Neil Knight and Scott Humphries who are the chaps behind the speednbass.com website.

They have got a really good local crew of adhesive mates, customers and web heads who had nowhere to groove and meet up. They were long time fans of the Ace café and thought that it’d be well nice to have a night, call it Modified Street Night and invite their crew along. The Ace is the other side of town for them but they have gone up there on Max Power nights, Old School and Jap nights and really wanted to be a part of it. Brian told me he’d said, ‘It can’t be that hard!’ And I gather it wasn’t Claire, the boss at Ace Café is lovely to deal with which has to be part of the continuing huge fame and success of the place.

The first night they held, back in May was a roaring success. Especially so as their jolly chums from the Liquid night club showed up. They roll in an 8.4litre Dodge V10 (500bhp) engined pickup truck and they are the club’s official corporately-sponsored dance team. They showed up by direct invitation on this night (bit less organic and like, viral but still well cool) and they had some loud, clear and deep-bass PA speakers booming across the car park so folks could have damn good frug. They were as tight as a duck’s butt for timing and everything from pin-sharp robo to fully boneless box in their moves. I was well impressed. As well as made to feel as uncool as a freshly laid one by merely being nearby their presence. Well ‘ard.
Funny thing is, that very morning I had been on BBC Radio 5 live after people in Plymouth had become upset by ‘Cruisers’. I was left waiting listening to the others invited to take part until I was growling about their over reaction and aching to tell them the solution was just like what they did to raves. Legalise it! I was in fact deeply offensive to the bloke from Plymouth who had been given a video camera and had been called a ‘Paedo’ by the youngsters he’d filmed. I’d pointed out that filming like some vigilante was why they had been so provoked and he said he was deeply offended at my attitude, especially as I was a journalist. I wonder if you’ll ever see me as pundit on the BBC news in the morning ever again? If you do, I’ll be the Very Fat One.

I was livid, though, because this sort of event is simply chuffing brilliant and is the answer to the Problem. It was noisy and crowded and had lots of girlfriends there, too. (Who I figured I should collect up and photograph as much as possible as they are better looking than most of the blokes although Mr. Ultimate Street Car was there, but more of him in a moment.) There were daughters and dads. Really young kids who should have been in bed by then even though it was half term. And I met a nine year old who was a car nut. We exchanged views on cars and I asked him what his Best Car was. He is the Real Deal as he immediately became a bit distant as he started to think about it and realised it was a toughie. A mini Clarkson in the making, Dude! Mr. Ultimate Street Car entered the silliness at ‘Pod’s USC show last summer on a whim and won. Named Wesley, he was there with his jeep. The Kenwood one with the 32 inch woofer in the back. On sale at eight grand, mate! (email here )
It is hard to find places where you can make a noise. But it can be done. You need location, organisation and security and PA and litter pick up and well it might be a bit of a job versus just descending on Asda’s, so I think the lads were just being cool about being pretty hot embryonic promoters. We need things like this and dudes who can pull it off. This was a static event but had energy oozing out of it. People were having a really fun night. Having the Liquid Dance Team and a big-assed PA there was the making of it.
I loved it lads, thanks and here’s to many more of them.
If you want work in the back of your whip like that blue MTX bad boy install and you are within spitting distance of Sutton in Surrey (just off the M25) call Brian at Brian Car Sounds & Security on 0208 641 5300 or brian car sounds
And here’s where to click to see a funky cool slideshow in the newly imported gallery system. We LOVE this! link