Black Box Boys

Est. 1998 at a school disco · Bedfordshire

The Black Box Boys

Retiredfrom bookings

Spinning since 1998. These days it's just the very occasional personal appearance. Thanks for all the dancing.

Father & son. Discos, events and more stages than we can count.

Our original promise: Music, Lights & More to Suit Your Occasion

Dig through the archiveWhere are they now?

Side A

The story so far

Meet Darren and Colin: son and dad, and the original Black Box Boys.

Our original promise: Music, Lights & More to Suit Your Occasion.

What started as a father and son mission to save a local school disco turned into years of discos, parties and events, a nightclub, and more stages than either of us can count. There were matching shirts (lots of them), sparkly disco booths, monkey puppets, Santa hats, and one memorable chat with Beetlejuice.

Along the way the Black Box Boys grew into the BBB Group, with Event Production Live doing the big, loud, brilliantly lit stuff. These days the two of us only get back together for very special occasions. Think of this page as the greatest hits album: all the best bits, none of the lugging speakers up stairs.

Black Box Boys promo shot: Colin and Darren in matching black Route 66 print shirts, Colin pointing and Darren laughing, under the Black Box Boys logo and the words It's Party Time
The official promo shot. Matching Route 66 shirts, one pointy finger, one big laugh. It's party time.

Logo evolution

  1. Early disc logo with four coloured discs and musical notesEarly daysThe disc logo, from our 2008 business cards, with our original promise: Music, Lights & More to Suit Your Occasion
  2. Cartoon drawing of a black box with coloured discs on its sideEarly daysThe actual black box
  3. BBB logo with coloured discs inside the letters and musical notesLaterThe BBB disc badge
  4. A later Black Box Boys logo on a speaker grille background with the strapline Production, Design, Party DJsLaterShiny logo with grill: Production. Design. Party DJs.
  5. Stacked Black Box Boys logoLaterThe stacked logo
The Black Box Boys' first ever gig: a school hall disco with children dancing, a speaker stack and fairy lights
Exhibit A: the first ever gig, 1998

Where it all began · 1998

The First Ever Gig

Every legend has an origin story. Ours is from 1998, and it has wood panelling.

  • 🔊 One speaker stack, positioned with total confidence.
  • ✨ Fairy lights: the original light show.
  • 🕺 A packed dancefloor. Well, a dancefloor. With people on it.
  • 🎨 Artwork on the walls by the most honest critics in the business.

No haze machine, no LED walls, no idea what was coming next. Just a dad, his lad, and a room full of kids who wanted to dance. Somewhere in that school hall, the Black Box Boys were born.

Where are they now?

Then & Now

ThenColin and a young Darren posing together at a disco in October 2002, Darren in a bold dolphin print shirt
October 2002: the earliest photo of us together. Shirt: dolphins. Hair: lots.
TodayDarren and Colin today, smiling together in a sunny back garden
Darren & Colin today. Lights: the sun. Hair: we don't talk about it.

The headphones are hung up, but the Black Box Boys are still very much a double act. Darren is still on the mic as a compere and host, both of them still pop up at Swirl Nightclub, and the pair of them reunite for the very occasional personal appearance.

Side B

The Memory Jukebox

Eight singles from the Black Box Boys back catalogue. Pick a record, drop the needle, and watch a memory spin.

The record crate: pick a single

Permanently in the crate: Vengaboys, ‘We Like to Party!’ Played at every job. Every. Single. One.

Silence on the dancefloor…

Pick a record from the crate and drop the needle on a memory.

The scrapbook

The Photo Archive

Rescued from old hard drives. Tap any photo for the full size version (shirts may be loud).

Projects & productions over the years

  • Black Box Boys Circus logoBlack Box Boys Circus
  • Media Madness logoMedia Madness
  • New Year with the Black Box Boys logoNew Year with the Black Box Boys
  • Party Dance Mayhem logoParty Dance Mayhem
  • Halloween Spooctacular logoHalloween Spooctacular
  • One Big Night logoOne Big Night

Strictly limited edition

Available for very special occasions only

The Black Box Boys no longer take bookings. We've played our last disco, but every now and then the two of us reunite for a very occasional personal appearance.

Things that might just tempt us out of retirement:

  • A ribbon that urgently needs cutting (giant scissors preferred)
  • A supermarket that needs opening. Yes, really. We've thought about it.
  • Anything where matching shirts are actively encouraged
  • Cake

Small print: personal appearances are rare, entirely at our discretion, and do not include bringing the disco.

Where you can still catch us

Darren, hostingDarren is still on the mic as a compere, host and voiceover artist.darrenwoodhouse.co.uk →Swirl NightclubBedfordshire's biggest disability club night, started by the Black Box Boys in 2009 and still going at The Hat Factory, Luton. Look out for the odd guest appearance.swirlnightclub.com →Colin, behind the wheelColin is still driving the team around and fixing things for BBB Group. If it needs a lift or a spanner, he's on it.bbbgroup.co.uk →