It’s pouring with rain when I speak with musician Tom Billington about Electric Umbrella.

Set to run every six months, the event is being touted as a new kind of club night for over 18-year-olds, with music, lights, dancing, performance, karaoke, visual art and a bar. Nothing new there.

“I suppose what makes it different,“ says Tom, slightly out of breath as he seeks shelter from the rain, “is the fact that it’s being run by adults with learning difficulties.

“There was a session, run by someone from Three Rivers District Council, called Get Set Go.

“Adults with learning difficulties, some from Mencap, other from other disability groups, would meet every Friday and go on trips to the cinema or bowling.

“This group disbanded, so I was brought in to run a creative session with members every week.

“Originally, I thought I would make an album with the group, as it’s something I enjoy doing, but then we decided we’d like to showcase that music somewhere, so we started to look for opportunities to perform and we discovered there were few places available to do that.

“From there, Electric Umbrella was born.“ Every Friday since November last year, Tom, along with the group’s 15 members, has been working tirelessly to write a number of songs that will be performed as part of the Electric Umbrella event.

And for the past four weeks the collective has been touring different day centres and organisations to showcase their efforts, and generate interest in the club night.

“Everything we’ve done has been leading up to this point,“ says Tom, 34, excitement rising in his voice.

“There are loads of people doing really great events for adults with learning difficulties, but they’re all over the place. Our idea is to pull it all together, to show what we can do as one. In terms of what’s available at the moment, it’s really lacking, so we wanted to find an opportunity to do something that is greater than the sum of its parts.

“It’s going to be loud, full of performance and full of laughter. There will be things to get involved in from installation art to an awful lot of dancing. And as we’re all grown-ups, there will be a few beers too.

“But this is not a night just for adults with learning difficulties, it’s all-inclusive.

“If I think about what I’ve learnt the most, about this whole process, is that it’s not a them and us situation. If I say we’re all the same, that’s not going to do it justice. In truth we’ve become a really good group of friends, who hang out and have a brilliant time together.“ l Electric Umbrella will be held at Watersmeet, High Street, Rickmansworth, on Thursday, June 6, from 6.30pm until 10pm. Details: 01923 711063 or www.watersmeet.co.uk