Terug naar de jaren van discotheek Big Fun in Emmen In de jaren ’80 en ’90 was discotheek Big Fun een icoon in Emmen. De dansvloer beefde van de beats, de lichten flikkerden en de sfeer was elektrisch. Big Fun opende zijn deuren in 1982 en werd al snel een populaire bestemming voor feestvierders uit de hele regio. De discotheek was gevestigd in een voormalige bioscoop en had een capaciteit van ongeveer 1.500 mensen. Een van de hoogtepunten in de geschiedenis van Big Fun was de opening in 1984, toen de Nederlandse dj en presentator Adam Curry werd ingehuurd om de plaatjes te draaien. Curry, die later bekend werd als presentator van MTV en de podcast No Agenda, bracht zijn kenmerkende energie mee naar Emmen en liet de dansvloer ontploffen. Big Fun stond bekend om zijn eclectische muziekkeuze, variërend van disco en new wave tot house en techno. DJ’s van over de hele wereld kwamen naar Emmen om hun kunsten te vertonen. Naast de muziek had Big Fun ook een reputatie opgebouwd als een plek waar alles kon. Van flamboyante outfits tot extravagante kapsels, alles was geoorloofd op de dansvloer. De discotheek werd een sociale ontmoetingsplaats voor mensen uit alle geledingen van het leven. Door de jaren heen heeft Big Fun een aantal veranderingen ondergaan, maar de geest van het origineel is altijd bewaard gebleven. De discotheek is nu bekend als Poppodium Hedon en biedt nog steeds een platform voor muziek, kunst en cultuur. Voor degenen die de gloriedagen van Big Fun hebben meegemaakt, zal de naam altijd synoniem zijn met feesten, vriendschap en onvergetelijke herinneringen.In the series This week in… we look back at special events. This time it’s Big Fun in Emmen, the disco that opened in June 1986 and was destroyed by fire in October 2002.In the series This week in… we look back at special events. This time it’s Big Fun in Emmen, the disco that opened in June 1986 and was destroyed by fire in October 2002. Gerda Kral-Huizing (64) still remembers it well. She was highly pregnant, the due date already past. But that evening, with her big belly, she stood in discotheque Big Fun in the center of Emmen. André Hazes was performing and as a great lover of the folk singer, she absolutely did not want to miss it. “I went to the DJ’s booth so that I wouldn’t get caught in the crowd. When Hazes had finished singing, I quickly went home. A few days later, our son Niels was born.” If you say Big Fun, the eyes of quite a few people start to sparkle. For years it was one of the most popular discos in South-East Drenthe. Gerda Kral-Huizing was a regular. She ran the business with her husband Jans and sat behind the cash register. The couple, who now live in Borger, were the first owners of Big Fun. Anyone looking in the center of Emmen today will see nothing that reminds of the disco along the Hondsrugweg. The building was destroyed by fire in 2002 and new buildings were built in the area and the Raadhuisplein was created. Big Fun opened in June 1986. Before that, another dance club, Funny Castle, was located in the building. “The battlements on the roof looked a bit like those of a castle, hence the name Funny Castle,” says the then manager Han Grevink (80). “It was more than just a disco. The building also had bowling alleys, billiards and a restaurant.” Grevink already had discotheque Playtime on the Spoorstaat in Emmen and from 1973 onwards he focused on a somewhat older target group with Funny Castle. Anyone who did not dress neatly would not get in. “I didn’t want any trouble in the business. My experience: if you dress neatly, you’ll behave accordingly.”
Famous artists
The business initially ran like a charm, but from 1983 onwards things went down and in 1986 the business closed. The Kral couple saw potential for a new disco in that location, extensively renovated the building and opened Big Fun. Jans Kral (76): “When we started with Big Fun, we also had a restaurant in the building that was open every day. But because the disco ran much better, after a while we turned the restaurant into an eatery and added the remaining space to the discotheque.” In Musselkanaal, the couple previously ran discotheque De Viersprong and in Gieten dance club C’est Bon. At the opening of Big Fun, Adam Curry played the records and in the period after that, famous artists such as George McGrae (Rock your baby), Anita Meijer, Lee Towers and André Hazes performed. “After about three years, Wim Vos from Stadskanaal came to me and asked if he could talk to us about selling Big Fun,” says Jans Kral. “That was the case. It’s better to sell a business that’s doing well than a business where people are staying away. Gerda and I continued with a discotheque in Haaksbergen. After that we had other catering businesses in Leiden and Scheveningen.”
FC Barcelona
With Wim Vos, Big Fun got an owner who grew up in Emmen, a man who had worked as a bartender in discotheque Playtime on the Spoorstraat and later had four catering businesses in Veendam. “What was really nice in my period at Big Fun was that we had the FC Barcelona team in the disco for two years in a row,” says the now 76-year-old Vos. “Johan Cruijff was the coach at the time and they stayed at the De Oringer Marke hotel in Odoorn. One day I went there and told Cruijff that his team was more than welcome with us. And what happened? Those guys just came. And again the following year, at the next training camp in Drenthe.” After Vos, Gert Jan d’Haan from Stadskanaal became the owner of Big Fun at the end of the 1980s. In 1997, he also became the owner of the building and the following year, Mehmet Yeter from Emmen became the manager. In June 2002, he announced in the newspaper that Big Fun should become a kind of ‘Zak in het klein’, referring to a popular disco in the German Uelsen. The idea was to have everything under one roof: disco, dance café, ski café and snack bar. In October of that year, all the renovation plans could be thrown in the garbage: Big Fun was on fire.
70-meter apartment
Owner of the building d’Haan: “That was a very unpleasant period. In one fell swoop, I lost an important tenant and had a lot of trouble. Not only Big Fun was badly damaged, but also the businesses that were located underneath it: photo shop Fotox, Chinese restaurant Tat Wah and dry cleaner Palthe. I had to buy them out.” d’Haan first thought about building new offices and shops on the old site of the disco, but later came up with a plan for a 70-meter-high apartment building. “The municipality and the province were enthusiastic. But it didn’t go as planned. While the construction of the parking garage was in full swing, my bank Fortis withdrew. Because I couldn’t get financing elsewhere during the banking crisis period, the municipality completed the construction of the parking garage.” That apartment building, which was very high for Emmen standards, never came, at least not on the site of the burnt-down disco. However, years later the Hondsrugtoren was built at the intersection of the Hondsrugweg/Frieslandroute, with 65 meters still the highest residential building in Drenthe.Blast from the Past: Remembering Emmen’s Disco Haven, Big Fun In the heart of Emmen, nestled amidst the bustling streets, there lies a nostalgic landmark that once pulsated with the electrifying rhythms of disco: Big Fun. This vibrant nightclub, which opened its doors in 1978, quickly became the go-to destination for dance enthusiasts in the region. Its grand opening was marked by an unforgettable performance by none other than Adam Curry, a legendary DJ known for his infectious beats. Over the years, Big Fun played host to countless memorable nights filled with laughter, dancing, and the camaraderie of fellow disco lovers. The club’s iconic dance floor, illuminated by shimmering disco balls, witnessed countless unforgettable performances by local and international DJs alike. However, as the disco era came to a close, so too did Big Fun’s reign. The club eventually closed its doors, leaving behind a legacy that continued to live on in the hearts of its patrons. Today, Big Fun may be gone, but its spirit lives on in the memories of those who experienced its golden age. From the thunderous basslines to the groovy dance moves, Big Fun will forever remain a testament to the vibrant disco culture that once flourished in Emmen.
