An investigation into the infamous Jimmy’s Jerusalem remix

It’s T minus ten days until the start of Freshers’ Week 2022, which means the return of ridiculous queues at Marketplace Tesco, Overheard being drowned in posts by ‘silly fresh’ losing campus cards, and the inevitable question of “Jimmy’s?” half an hour into pres.

For those not in the know, Jimmy Allen’s is a staple of the Durham clubbing scene, attracting queues rumoured to be nearly three hours long last year. The appeal of Jimmy’s is simple: it’s haunted by the ghost of James Allen, the last person to be executed in the former gaol; it’s free and does a £4 treb; and the infamous DJ Dave B plays a banging remix of Jerusalem.

Durham clubs are known for their signature anthems, such as Klute’s ‘That’s Amore’ or ABBA megamix, but Jimmy’s Jerusalem remix is biblical, literally. Durfess is eternally inundated with requests for the release of the remix, so to give alumni a walk down memory lane at parties in their Clapham and Tooting graduate houses, and fresh a taste for what’s in store next week, we’ve found it for you.

Waiting for the beat drop

‘Jerusalem – Pet Shop Boys Mix’ is a remix of the British supergroup Fat Les’ original recording of ‘Jerusalem’ by three-time Brit Award winners and six-time Grammy nominees, the Pet Shop Boys. Fat Les’ version of ‘Jerusalem’ was recorded as an anthem for the 2000 Euros, following their smash hit for the 1998 World Cup, ‘Vindaloo’.

Fat Les consisted of Blur bassist, Alex James; the artist Damien Hirst; and Lily Allen’s dad, the actor Keith Allen. Their vocals are accompanied on the track by the  London Community Gospel Choir, New London Children’s Choir, Syncopeters and London Gay Men’s Chorus. The music video for it features a bizarre range of cameos from Lily Allen, Danny Dyer and David Williams and the reminiscently grainy videography is absolutely full of noughties nostalgia. You can watch it here.

If you absolutely can’t wait until next week to listen to the remix at Jimmy’s in person, you can find the track on Spotify here.