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NEWS: Sonya Mac axed from Mandela
DJ Sonya Mac has been removed from the Thursday night slot in SU’s Mandela Hall after just one week.
BY BRIAN QUINN
The Cool FM personality was scheduled to play for four weeks at the Union’s ‘Twisted’ club night, which takes place on Thursdays. However, after a poor reception on her debut night last week, Ents managment have hastily removed her from the slot.
Sonya Mac’s appearance was the latest gimmick introduced to the Union’s floundering ‘Twisted’ night. In recent weeks, SU have made admission free before 11pm and slashed drink prices in a desperate attempt to claw back student punters from rival venues.
Sources from the Union claim that Sonya Mac was paid two thirds more than DJ Deci. A staff member also commented that the much-hyped appearance of Sonya had “the worst turn-out in months.”
VP Gareth McGreevy said the decision to alter the entertainment provided in the Union came about at an EMC meeting. He stated that the EMC decided that there was a definite need for change in the music provided on Thursday nights.
“We looked at the example of Connor Phillips in the Bot, who is a good pull…We wanted to bring in somebody of a high profile,” he said.
It is believed that the decision to hire Sonya Mac was made without the approval of Entertainments Manager, Rod Martin, as he does not sit in on EMC meetings. Martin refrained from commenting.
SU’s Marketing Manager, Seana Skeffington, maintains that many students felt Thursday’s Mandela music had become, “predictable with the same tunes being played at the same time each week,” and that the introduction of a guest DJ was to offer variety. Skeffington declined to discuss wages openly, but said Sonya’s fee included mentions on the radio and on her nightly blog.
Tags: Brian Quinn, dj, Gown, Mandela, newspaper, qub, Queen's, queen's university, student, students, su, The Gown
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I sort of agree with Seana; Deci is playing the same stuff every week. 75% of the set is identical from my freshers’ week last year – there’s a laziness or complacency there.
However, Deci plays a good set, and should remain, and also wrote ‘The Evening Angels Gather Here’, so he deserves about as many breaks as he wants after that.
Sonya ‘Cack’ Mac was a terrible error – one of the worst Union nights I’ve had out – comfortably the worst I’ve had without any other influencing negative factors. Diabolical.
Think it might be worth discussing Rod Martin’s role; shouldn’t it be a VP position, (relatively) open and accountable? If he’s bypassed by the commercial/marketing side in as disingenuous a way as he was here (tactic = copy what the Bot are doing, only less well) he can’t hold much sway anyway.
Happy St. Plastic Paddy’s Day, world, by the way.
There’s a shock now!
rod martin WAS the vp entertainment – before it was made a full-time position.
to me it looks like the accountants are meddling with thing they don’t understand – and fucking it up. lol!
Rod is a hero.
Anyone who wants to base the Mandella’s music policy on the standard of the bot shouldn’t be allowed to make any decisions on music… actually they shouldn’t be allowed to make any decisions at all!
Decci gives the Mandella crowd what they want. If Seana can find one big student DJ that doesn’t play the same or similar songs every week then I’d be surprised! Sure you can set your watch by a connor phillips Bot night! If the music is the problem on thursday nights then how come its not a problem on Monday nights?
Gareth McGreevy should get out of the bot’s pocket and maybe address some of the union’s problems for a change!
Tonight will be so dead in Mandela Hall…
Anyone heard of the FAUX DJs?
Book ‘em!
Faux are class! Don’t think they’d work in the Mandella but they’d be great in the bar
3 people in Union last night
Rain abu
i thibnk the issue here is that the union is a pile of cack now…..
bring back denis…he got sh*t sorted
what are yous talking about!!!???? last year in the union, every thursday night was packed and it was the place to be. nothing has been done this year to freshen the place up! also if connor phillips is a poor dj, then why is scratch and the bot packed every monday and thursday night respectively? the music in the bot is the music students want to hear! mandella hall needs a makeover, it is too dark and stinks! get it sorted!!!!!!
poularity does not directly correlate with quality. Adolf Hitler was a massive success with the German public, it didn’t make him a good guy, did it?
Listen, to be honest the music that Decci plays is tripe and its the same as Connor Phillips would play.
The Union seems to take this a year around, last year Mondays were dead, the year before it was Thursdays, ok so it wa Thursdays the year before that too but the law of averages dictates that it’ll be Monday’s again next year that are finding it difficult to draw crowds.
No one asks why loads of people go to the Limelight on a Tuesday and not whatever crap Paul McAdams is peddling.