ADMITTEDLY, Prestatyn will never be the new Ibiza. But take nearly 2,000 up-for-it Lancashire people, two clubs which open til 5am and a pub which seemed never to close and you have the best warm-up for a holiday on the White Isle.

And so it was that Prestatyn's Pontins became home to mad clubbers from across the county for the weekend.

It was the first ever Rock FM weekender. Plugged to death on the radio, the big question was always whether it was going to live up to the promises.

And by our reckoning the answer is yes -- from what we can remember, anyway. Which is always a good sign.

For the uninitiated, weekenders are the new festivals, only for people who like to have a bath and a bed on hand. And no queues for mobile toilets.

They've become big business over the last couple of years, with many of the big super-clubs relocating to holiday camps at various points during the year.

But until now we've been short of a weekender which brought commercial music to the fore and DJs we know from clubbing locally week in, week out.

But the Rock FM weekender filled the gap. Friday night saw a full-on commercial set fronted by, among others, Rob Ellis -- he who filled out Jumpin' Jak's on a Thursday last year with his Cheese Nation nights.

In the larger of the two clubs, called Unite, was the celebrated Fatboy vs Slim night, which was huge in Wigan last year. It pitted Rossendale's Mark Kaye against Baz Todd, with Mark walking out as the eventual winner. Baz's excuse was that he was a bit drunk. Mickey Blue Eyes, Saturday night resident at Tokyo Jo's, Preston, also filled the floor early doors and during his second set, which wrapped up at 5am.

Although the weekend weather couldn't have been further removed from Ibiza -- rain, grey clouds, strong winds -- the atmosphere Saturday lunchtime was comparable. There was one big collective hangover and a need for more alcohol.

Baz Todd proved possibly to be the star of the weekend. Already well-known for doing the party thing on a Wednesday in Tokyo Jo's and a stomping R'n'B set on a Sunday, he proved his versatility by playing a funky House set early on Saturday at what was the Ibiza Beach Party, before moving to the R'n'B venue, Chocolate, with smooth grooves going on there.

Flip 'n' Fill and K-Klass were guests at the beach party and didn't disappoint, while our own Mark Freejack whipped things up early on before finishing the night, and the weekend, in style just before breakfast on Sunday.

Our advice: If you get a chance to do a weekender this year, go for it.