WHAT would you do if your first customer as a new clubnight founder and DJ was a respected figure in the music industry?

On August 16, 1991, Keiron Mellotte had to answer that question on the spot with no forewarning.

As he launched EVOL at the Music Box in Edinburgh, he was confronted by what he felt was the ‘enemy’, as he opened the doors for the first time.

“The first customer we had, on the first night of EVOL, was a face I recognised straightaway,” he told Press:On.

“The person he was with asked me if we let celebrities in for free. I said no.

“This guy at the door was Pete Waterman, and Sonia was with him, too.

“I took one look at him and given the age I was at and having just left university, I just thought to myself that he’s the enemy and embodies everything I’m against.

“We charged everyone £2.50 to get in, but we charged those two £25 each! It was just such a bizarre moment.”

EVOL developed a large history in the capital, attracting lovers of “good music, not commonly heard in an indie club”.

The DJ set is still an attractive draw, with PJ Molloys now running the night every Saturday for the foreseeable future from 11pm to 3am.

After many years at the Music Box, EVOL made the move to Electric Circus before its closure earlier this year.

In stepped Calum Traynor, of PJ’s, who offered Keiron a space to continue the night.

Keiron has never conformed to pressures and demand and was delighted with the success he achieved in Edinburgh.

“I always played what I wanted to play, like Blur and Pulp.

“We never fully embraced Britpop.

“We stayed away from that, really.

“I remember one journalist who tried to slight us by saying all we were good at was making girls dance.

“They wrote that as an insult in a review.

“We ran a club with 65 to 75 per cent women on the dancefloor all night? How is that a bad thing?

“A lot of indie clubs at the time were just a bunch of guys just standing in a circle flicking their fringes.

“But, you would come to EVOL and it was like a dance club that didn’t play dance music. I was very proud of that.

“During the Britpop years, you would have around 900 people shouting, cheering and screaming the songs.

“It felt quite rock n’ roll as something different was happening. Those were very happy years.

“I’ve been doing this for 26 years and I still have the passion I had when I started.

“There’s a lot of great bands in Dunfermline right now, and I’m all charged for my set after hearing them.

“What makes PJ’s for me is the people.

“The staff are great and the people who come through the door know good music. They come in for a good night with good music.

“You can’t buy that.

“The set is still building, but we’re getting more people through the door every week. The after-shows in PJ’s are always superb. I thrive off that buzz.”