2002 - Classic Hot Club re-emerges

Following on from his re-emergence onto the gypsy/jazz scene the previous year, with the debut CD from his new 'Gypsy/Project' line up; Bireli Lagrene stamped his authority over the contemporary scene with a storming live concert with the top players of the genre, which would be released on DVD.
This DVD would make a considerable impact in spurring on the guitar led Hot Club, which in turn would re-emerge with a new confidence and determination in 2002.

Rehearsing hard with some new material and revamped classics; at Paul's suggestion we officially dropped the 'Trio' part of the name, and went with the name that most people had come to know the band by; simply: the Hot Club.
Our reputation was strong, and gigs quickly began to come our way, including long standing residencies at the Vat and Fiddle, Cafe Rouge, Victoria Hotel, Hand and Heart, and many repeat gigs at the Lincolnshire Poacher, which would become the 'local' for the band.
In order to push for more gigs, and to secure more lucrative bookings for private functions; we recorded a new Demo CD in 2002, and although we did sometimes play 'informally' as a quartet with clarinettist Mike Turner, and later with the highly esteemed Ben Martin; we stuck to the core 'trio' line-up and built our reputation further on that; and would ultimately be an influence on a new generation of local musicians; in bands like 'Maniere des Bohemiens', 'Swing Gitan', and 'Cafe Manouche'.