Norman Jay and Melvo Baptiste are headlining our Shoulder to Shoulder house party in London

We asked, you voted, our party planners listened: now we’re gearing up for the dance of a lifetime. We’re bringing Norman Jay and Melvo Baptiste to South London to play Shoulder To Shoulder at a next-level house party. Sign up for guestlist here.

As part of our Shoulder to Shoulder campaign with Monkey Shoulder, the 100% malt whisky made for mixing, we're throwing the ultimate house party in London, curated by you, our readers.

Headlined by Norman Jay MBE and Melvo Baptiste, with support from The Menendez Brothers and Common Ground DJs, our Shoulder to Shoulder party is set to take over The Master Shipwright's House in Deptford, London on August 24 — running from 7:PM to midnight.

Norman Jay MBE has been a leading figure in UK dance music since he first set up his soundystem, Good Times, with his brother in the late '70s — becoming a leading voice in advocating Notting Hill Carnival and giving London's Black underground music scene a voice via his work on Kiss FM, the BBC and - more recently - Soho Radio. A true aficionado of all things funk, soul and jazz — this is the chance to catch a legendary British selector in the flesh.

He will be joined by Glitterbox and Defected alum Melvo Baptiste, a DJ and producer who has worked to push forward-thinking soul into the modern underground sphere; alongside knock-out sets at venues such as London's Printworks and Ibiza's Hï, Baptiste boasts an imitable discography — counting the likes of Louie Vega, Dave Lee, Horse Meat Disco and Honey Dijon as supporters.

Shoulder to Shoulder is a movement created in partnership between Monkey Shoulder - the 100% malt whisky made for mixing - and Mixmag, endeavouring to rewrite nightlife and create a more equitable, supportive music scene.

As part of this mission, we wanted to give partygoers across the UK the opportunity to curate their night out. Everything from the drinks, to the vibe, to the layout — we've even selected a budding artist from our design competition to determine the aesthetic of the experience, with a £500 prize going to the lucky winner.

Earlier this month, we ran a series of polls on Instagram to hammer out the finer details of our parties — and we can now reveal the results:

We first asked what is the one thing you’d like to change about UK night for the better — we had a number of responses, but overwhelmingly you asked for more diversity on line-ups and more support for venues/promoters/parties. Therefore we’ve worked hard to ensure the line-ups to our parties will be representative and diverse, with a goal to support grassroots dance music.

You voted in your droves in favour of established DJs supporting local talent - 93% of you in fact. To tackle this, our parties in Leeds and London will feature sets from household names as well as up-and-comers — placing burgeoning new talent on the same line-up as huge names, helping them to elevate their career.

When we asked what the best room is at a house party, the majority of you voted between the kitchen, the living room and the garden — well good news, for our London party we will be bringing the party to the living room and kitchen areas, with Norman Jay MBE and Melvo Baptiste set to play their headline set in the garden. We’re focusing on dancing at our parties, due to the fact that 55% of you alluded to the fact your house party personality is all about the d’floor — as opposed to chatting (23%) and chilling (22%).

So what’s to drink on the night? Well 66% of you voted that spirit and mixers are your drink of choice on a night out, while 33% voted in favour of a tasty cocktail. Well, we’ve got both — with a selection of Monkey Shoulder beverages available for attendees on the big night.

We’re so excited to invite you all down to our party in South London next month, all made possible by our partnership with Monkey Shoulder — the malt-whisky that has been in the mix of all things nightlife for two decades; working tirelessly to support the nightlife industry — from hosting pop up stages at festivals to investing in the careers of bartenders and raising money for hospitality charities.

Shoulder to Shoulder is committed to support the hardworking organisations that make our nights out happen — and it looks like you are too, with 92% of you voting for more funding to UK nightlife. Therefore we are asking for support for the Music Venue Trust Night Time Industries Association and Free The Night.

RSVP to our Shoulder to Shoulder event headlined by Norman Jay MBE and Melvo Baptiste here.

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Donate to Music Venue Trust, Night Time Industries Association and join the Free The Night campaign