In a conversation with her Line of Duty pals, Vicky McClure and her husband, Jonny Owen, discuss how revolutionizing the clubbing scene can be achieved.
Trigger Point star Vicky McClure and her husband Jonny Owens have quite the side hustle. It involves getting those who don’t fancy rolling home at 3am on a Saturday night out, clubbing by day, having the time of their lives and getting home ‘in time for a nice curry.’ Day Fever started out as an idea on WhatsApp with their friend, Jon McClure of the band Reverend & The Makers, at the tail end of 2023.
Fast forward to the present day, and it’s a nationwide phenomenon, with day raves regularly selling out in cities across the UK “It’s like… a massive kitchen party at your nan’s”, laughs Vicky warmly, as the Mirror catches up exclusively with the actress and her Welsh film director husband on Zoom, from their home in Nottingham. “Just with an awful lot more people and… an unlimited bar.”
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Vicky, 42, has been front and centre of the biggest TV dramas of recent years (Line of Duty, anyone?) but is as proud of this initiative as anything else.
Beyond the music, it goes. She explains that we are told powerful tales. “We’ve met people at our events in the middle of cancer treatment, in remission, people grieving, caring for loved ones. They can find joy in the midst of their hair loss.
The best thing you can do is let your mates out when you or you are going through difficult times, according to my personal experience. Day Fever is somewhere you’ll get lost in music. People watch out for each other in a beautiful setting. The music can even save you.
Vicky speaks from experience, having set up The Dementia Choir in memory of her nan, who died from the cruel condition in 2015, something which led to the deeply personal, acclaimed two-part BBC 1 documentary, Our Dementia Choir, in 2018.
“I don’t say this flippantly – I really do believe music is medicine. In that series, we went into hospitals and scanned people’s brains. We saw the neurons firing, how music does work.
It’s very important to know that “you can’t stop people from feeling, you see.” I’ve always been a massive music lover, but from that moment forth, the penny dropped for me. Everyone should have music in their lives, especially those who have dementia.
Some fans turning up to one of their Day Fever events – with Sleigh Fever Christmas Clubs coming up for the festive season, are of an age where responsibilities and worries are sky-high, adds Vicky. “But the uplifting effect of music is magical. We never expected it, but at every show, there’s a story – everyone’s going through something.”
Huge music fans themselves, Vicky and Jonny, who married in 2023, have specific tunes that are guaranteed to get them on the dancefloor instantly. Vicky’s is the Whitney Houston classic, I Wanna Dance With Somebody. “It’s just a literal anthem, I feel like I’m in church. Whitney’s the number one for me. Then Young Hearts, such a cool song – it will never die.
She continues, “I was born in 1983, so I’m a true 90s girl; when we dance to the 90s hits, that’s when I get sucked in.” But my taste is varied, I’m also a massive reggae fan. However, “Day Fever is for everyone; you could start off singing Raining Men before Pulp comes on”!
For Jonny, 54, it’s A Town Called Malice, by The Jam. “When I saw Paul Weller on Top of the Pops it was like, ‘He’ll do it for me.’ Music was everything to me, still is. I went to see Oasis this summer and it was almost spiritual.”
Both were also big clubbers, ‘ back in the day’. Jonny says, “I used to be amazed that people could actually stay in on the weekend.” For the most part of 15 years, I went out every weekend.
“Yeah, I loved going out too”, adds Vicky. I have a passion for music and dance for many years, but I have always been a trained dancer. Day Fever is also reasonably priced. As Vicky puts it, “It’s a tenner a ticket, you can’t get much for a tenner these days”!
And there are a lot of different people who attend daytime concerts, including a couple who met there, fell in love, and are now getting married. Did Vicky and Jonny get an invite, then? “We did, actually,” the statement read. I might try to get there because it’s in Wales, Johnny says. “We’d definitely like to send one of our DJs for the reception”!
Someone else that springs to mind for Jonny is comedian Paddy McGuinness, who popped in for a boogy with them all one afternoon after wrapping on his Radio 2 show. “Oh, they loved Paddy! He was dancing on stage, then he went ‘Right, time for selfies’, jumped down into the crowd and spent a good half hour just taking selfies with the crowd. Beautiful thing to do.”
Unsurprisingly, both Vicky and Jonny are ardent supporters of the idea that “age is just a number” and adore how young and old, mothers and daughters, team up for their events.
Jonny’s mum even came along once, he recalls, laughing. She arrived at Cardiff’s one. Security called me with a slightly embarrassed look before I went down there and discovered that she was attempting to mug a bottle of vodka in… I said, ‘ Ma, I’ve got bloody vodka for you backstage, it’s OK! ‘ She said, “No, Jonny, I like this one.”
As for Vicky, she has moments when she forgets she’s in her 40s. How did I get to 42 on days where I’m like blimey? In my heart and head, I still feel young. I dont wanna party till 2 in the morning, but I do honestly think age is just a number”.
Of course, acclaimed ITV series Trigger Point has just returned to the small screen for a third series, Vicky reprising her lead role as bomb disposal expert, Lana Washington. Fans are already gripped, and Vicky couldn’t be happier.
“I’m so excited it’s back”, she tells us. The people I work with are the kindest, funniest, most talented cast and crew, and they’re a dream, in my opinion. Because we did series three and four consecutively, it’s been an amazing year.
This sounds gruelling, but Vicky smiles shyly at the idea. Because I work in a hospital, I don’t enjoy playing the violin on this. A little perspective is always good. It’s long hours and it’s tiring but it’s great fun.
Everyone looks after each other, and that is how it appears on the screen. You can dance with the camera in a way that makes the show better and bigger and stronger. “
The star is also pleased that Trigger Point’s cast and crew come from a variety of backgrounds. She explains, “Trying to create opportunities is my main passion.” Currently, just 9% of people in our industry are from working class backgrounds. Better work must be done. However, we were enthralled on Trigger Point that trainees were spent the entire day learning new skills while working on the job.
We won’t ask about Line of Duty, which she’s already said time and again she’d love to reprise with old cast members Adrian Dunbar and Martin Compston. But what of the travel series we’ve heard rumours the trio could do together?
Says Vicky: I’m certain we’ll get it going at some point. To be fair, it’s just something us three know that we’d love to do – travel somewhere together, cameras following us or not. I’m releasing it to the universe. What will happen, we’ll let you know.
Credit: Tickets are available at day-fever.com. Follow DAY FEVER on Instagram, X (@DAYFEVERUK), and Facebook.
Source: Mirror
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