The new monthly club night at Atlantis plays the finest old skool house tunes, has been a fixture at Ibiza's hottest club for three years running, and will soon be releasing its second compilation CD.

And it all started 10 years ago in a nightclub in Burnley. NICOLA MOSTYN talks to Retro founder and DJ Paul Taylor (right) to find out why history is where it's at.

How did this whole night start off?

"We started out at Angels playing older classic house tunes on the last hour of a Friday night. Soon it was a whole Saturday night, then a tour, and now we are in Ibiza." explains Taylor, clearly delighted with his club night's success. We seem to have captured a certain market. People are getting the bug for coming back out again and they want to go to a quality house night and that's where we come in.

"We play 'hands-in-the-air' anthems, from Lisa Lisa & Cult Jam to Mory Kant's Yecke Yecke."

So how do these old tunes go down with a new generation of clubbers?

"We actually get a good mix of young people, 19 and 21-year-olds who would only have

been 10 when these tracks first came out, as well as older clubbers, and they all mix really well because, basically, it's all about the music."

After Storming it at Eden In Ibiza last year, is the new residency at Atlantis living up to expectations?

"We knew it would be popular," Taylor admits, "because we have a large following in the north, but we were totally surprised at the first event we did, because we doubled the number of people. Loads of people follow Retro religiously, taking time off work to come to our tours, so it was a great mix of regulars and Retro followers. The main room was absolutely rammed, so we knew straight away it was going to work."

And what can a Retro virgin expect from the night?

"Because we don't offer big name DJs, we want to make our customers feel that they've spent their money wisely," explain Taylor. "So we put on Ibiza style entertainment, with stilt walkers and fire eaters -- giving the whole thing a 'Manumission' kind of feel."

With a solid history behind them, and the club night thriving, what does the future hold for Retro?

"We'll be back at Atlantis on the first Friday of every month, at Homelands in June and the second album, Retro Part 2, is due on June 1.

"If we could get into a big London club, then the whole thing would go huge -- because nobody else is doing it," he explains. "People have tried to jump on the bandwagon, with old skool albums and club nights, but we created the bandwagon. And no one is doing it as well as us, because we were there at the beginning."

And that, after all, is a qualification you just can't fake.

The next Retro, featuring DJs Paul Taylor and Jay Floyd, is on May 3 at Atlantis, The Valley, off Waters Meeting Road, Astley Bridge.