Dave suggested the Entertainments department should consider staging big house nights in the summer when the students were away so he and Henry booked up DJs like Nicky Holloway, Ashley Beedle, Clive Henry and Paul Oakenfold and a night called “Spice of Life” kicked off on Saturday 3rd July 1993. Craig Bartlett and Paul Lyons were also recruited as main room resident DJs alongside Dave while Pete “Nobby” Nuttall from Bassment took care of business in Room 2.

The Spice events were an overnight success with the clubbers of South Wales flocking to these parties and showing massive support. Illegal all night parties would often take place following Spice and these were held in nearby hills and forests and on local beaches also. When the students returned after the summer the numbers for Spice swelled further meaning a lot of the town crowd couldn’t get in.

This was the cue to promote a second big night in Cardiff so Gareth and Henry secured the Coal Exchange venue in the Docks. On January 22nd 1994 they launched “Tempus Fugit” in this magnificent 19th century building and installed Dave Jones and Craig Bartlett as resident DJs. The name of the night was taken from the gold inscription beneath the large clock above the dance floor that is still there today. After three events the party moved to the equally magnificent City Hall building in the heart of Cardiff’s Civic Centre and the name of the night was changed to “Time Flies” – the English translation of Tempus Fugit. The City Hall was used to more conservative events such as Royal Family receptions and the Lord Mayor’s Banquet, however the venue was unrivalled on the UK dance scene for its beauty and splendour with sweeping staircases, massive oak chandeliers and marble statues of Welsh legends. The crowds that Time Flies attracted consisted of the best dressed and most up-for-it clientele the city will ever see.

Henry and Gareth went their separate ways by the end of 1994 and the City Hall events continued until the Autumn of 1997. During this period Time Flies also staged Cardiff’s first legal allnighters at the Astoria Nightclub on Queen Street plus various other events around Wales and the West of England. Richard Hitchell was made resident DJ in 1995. In September 1997 Time Flies moved in to Emporium Nightclub on the High Street in Cardiff and this was to be their main venue for the next few years. Gareth Cortez, Tim Russell, Ian Dundgey and Rick Latham all became resident DJs as Time Flies now had two solid rooms of music – House and Trance in the main room and U.S. House in Room 2.

In August 1999, with the help of Swansea-based promoter Paul Whittaker, Time Flies held a 4000 capacity sell-out event at Wales National Ice Rink as part of Cardiff Festival which took house music in South Wales on to an even bigger stage. Prior to this Henry had been appointed Events Co-ordinator for Mixmag in London as well as running Time Flies and had gained experience of staging arena events in Bournemouth, Brighton, Manchester and Newcastle. In May 2000 they combined with south coast club brand Slinky to stage an event at the 5000 capacity Cardiff International Arena.

Time Flies was now a household name in Cardiff and remains so today. In October 2000 Time Flies promoted two back-to-back events for 6000 people on behalf of BBC Radio 1′s “One Live in Cardiff” with DJs Pete Tong, Judge Jules, Seb Fontaine and Timo Maas. Then in September 2003 they co-promoted the 10,000 capacity sell-out Radio 1 “One Big Weekend” event in Coopers Fields behind Cardiff Castle with Chemical Brothers, Basement Jaxx and Erick Morillo headlining.

Between 2001 and 2004 they diversified in to the Urban scene under the names “Funkin Marvellous” and “Feva” and, with the guidance and expertise of promoter Mark Tregilgas, created a completely new side to the business with DJs like Heartless Crew, Westwood and Mike Ruffcut Lloyd among the regular guests. In July 2003 local businessman Anton Woodhouse became a shareholder and chairman of Time Flies and oversaw the launch of a new city centre venue called Stylus.

Time Flies is one of the UK’s longest standing house music promoters in the company of the likes of Cream, Ministry of Sound, Renaissance and Miss Moneypennys. Since 1994 they have influenced many other promoters in the South Wales region and provided tens of thousands of people with some top quality and memorable nights out!