BIRTHDAYS are a strange event, literally designed to allow us to celebrate another year of staying alive.

For club nights, however, that survival truly is an enormous achievement. A club night carves itself a niche in the local scene and frantically attempts to provide consistently great entertainment for a certain group of people to keep coming back week after week, which is a difficult charge for any night.

So it’s got to be said that for Simple to reach its 10th birthday is remarkable; to do it with such astonishing success is nothing short of miraculous.

M-Simple and J-Dubya are the house Simple DJs, while elDOKO of Eclectricity kicks things off.

The calibre of these DJs alone is enough to have me paying on the front door, getting absurdly drunk and dancing my butt off till four in the morning, but I’m afraid to say that they paled in comparison to tonight’s main attraction.

German indie dance gods Digitalism grace the Bullingdon with their divine presence, a booking that has had me salivating for the last few weeks at the mere idea of how much fun I’m going to have.

If you’re unaware of Digitalism, please stop wasting your life; go to HMV as soon as you read these words and grab yourself a copy of their brilliant LP Idealism.

Or check out their myspace page, or anything, it doesn’t matter, just make sure that Digitalism are in your life.

As expected the music is incredible, and when Digitalism finally take to the stage I’m already worn and broken from hours of dancing, and yet with the first track of their stupendous DJ set, they breathe new life and energy into me, summoning up reserves I never knew I had.

Honestly, it was just amazing. In truth I feel like this event would have worked better at a venue like the Cellar.

But this is a personal gripe – I don’t like the Bullingdon. It’s too dark.

That usually works well for a club – low level-lights plus beer goggles equal good fun, but the Back Room at the Bully is darker than night itself.

Being in the place is like wearing a vaguely translucent blindfold; you can see the stage, but as for moving around the crowd you stumble, wildly groping for a familiar face or landmark so you can figure out which way it is to the bar.

However, the quality of the music allows all my reservations about the venue to melt away, and all that’s left is dance floor, the beer in my hand and the next song, until all too soon it’s four in the morning and I’m being ushered away by exhausted staff.

The night was stunning, so I tip my hat - ten years on, Simple is getting better and better.

So all that’s left to be said is happy birthday Simple, and here’s to another glorious decade.