Alex Lloyd reports on a York club where the music is always dark.

IF YOU'RE out of dark eyeliner, it's time to nip to Boots because a York Goth night celebrates its first birthday tomorrow.

Darklands, a monthly night of Goth and underground sounds at Gillygate rock pub Certificate 18, is a place for those who believe black has always been the new black.

Resident DJ and organiser Jared Hardwick has been promoting events for the past six years, putting on different DJs and playing various clubs himself. He is also a member of band 616 Abortions, previously known as Squid, who play Industrial Goth and have supported groups from all over Europe and America.

Jared, a screen printer by day, originally set up Darklands in his home city of Liverpool two-and-a-half years ago, bringing the night to York when he moved.

Music on offer at a typical Darklands night is a wide mix of Goth, Darkwave, Industrial, Electro, EBM, alternative 80s, New Romantic, Punk and Deathrock.

Sounds to be heard may include Siouxsie And The Banshees, The Damned and Sisters Of Mercy, and Jared plays requests from the crowd if he has them.

The 27-year-old says Darklands has really established itself since moving to the city.

"It's going really well. We get a regular crowd of between 70 and 100 people.

"It is quite a specialist scene and people tend to travel for the events. There are lots of people who come here from Leeds and Liverpool."

He describes the fashion at Darklands as "lots of eyeliner and big hair" with plenty of the obligatory Goth black.

"The scene died down in the early Nineties but has started to pick up a bit more. There are lots of sub-genres," he says.

"We are a friendly bunch and everyone is easy to talk to. We have a lot of people who come along who are not Goths but still enjoy the night."

Darklands runs on the second Saturday of each month and has also featured live bands in the past.

This will become a regular feature of the line-up from September, with French deathrock act The Sleeping Children among those already confirmed.

Tomorrow night's one year anniversary party will feature a guest set from DJ GlennPsychosis of Strange-Angel, along with giveaways of T-shirts and CDs.

Darklands, Certificate 18, Gillygate, 01904 627679, Saturday, 7pm-1am, £3, www.darklands.org

Updated: 08:36 Friday, July 09, 2004