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weekly tour diary
| During my career as a DJ I’ve probably traveled on more planes than a US Air Marshal, but it’s rare that my aviation adventures take me on light (4 seated) aircraft- more about that in a second… This instalment takes us from the tail end of the World Cup up to the arrival of Radio 1 in Ibiza- I hope you enjoy.
Wednesday 7th July was all about Spain v Germany in the World Cup. Since England’s defeat a week prior, my full weight was behind Spain (which after all is my second home, so hopefully I wasn’t being too much of a ‘fair weather’ fan).
I arrived into the Greek Island of Corfu mid afternoon and made my way straight to the Hotel to catch the match. Following 90 minutes of TV coverage with Greek commentary and a very positive result, I decided to get an hours disco nap ahead of the first leg of my 2 day Greek Island double header. It was the second time I’ve played at Futures in Kavos, Corfu this Summer and on arrival at the club I could tell we were in for a good one. The streets of the resort were teaming with people.
The promoter/dj JD, playing before me, worked with a live MC who bigged me up as I came on the decks. Under normal circumstances it’s not my style to play with an MC throughout my set but this guy was shit-hot and I was happy for him to continue- it worked fantastically and the atmosphere was electric.
A few weeks earlier when I visited the Greek islands touring with my wife Amanda, we where given 2 options to travel between islands. The first was a 2 Ferry and 6hr drive; the second was a tiny light aircraft direct. On the first trip of the season we decided on the ferry option but the hair raising Greek island roads were enough to put one off ever stepping in a car again in that part of the world. On this trip, traveling alone, I decided to go for the light aircraft option. Promoter JD accompanied me for the ride, which put my mind at ease slightly.
On arrival at the airport I wasn’t expecting a Learjet, but when I saw our 4 seat Piper Warrior the fear of god ran through me. Bling it certainly was not… We took off in the blustery conditions, and the one thing that took my mind off a very rattling experience was the amazing scenery, turquoise sea and stunning mountains
As we approached our destination at Zante, the Pilot had the air traffic control on loud speaker and we could hear countless British airliners approaching the Islands taking directions. Apparently, due to an earlier ATC strike there was an excess amount of aircraft coming in to Zante and not enough space on the ground to park them. It was quite worrying hearing the pilots say “we only have 15 minutes of fuel left” and the rather blasé Greek ATC diverting them to some random Greek Airports
After a hefty meal, I headed back to the hotel to prepare for the night ahead. As we arrived at Plus club in Laganas I saw an equal amount of people to the night before and an atmosphere that 100% matched Corfu. I span for 2 hours and loved every minute- well worth the “non executive” aviation trip to get there…
Following my live BBC Radio 1 show, on Friday 9th July my posse of Pete, Tristan and I headed up to Northampton for a regular gig I do at Fever. With my Radio 1 show finishing at 1am, the radius of possible gigs limits me to around 100 miles out of London- Northampton is just edging on that. The UK had been feeling a heat wave that week, and for once I wish the decks had been in the outside terrace as this is where a lot of the clubbers where heading to cool down. I enjoyed my set but boy was it hot.
On Saturday 10th July, Pete and I headed up to regular midlands Trance night Classique at Careys in Coventry. Promoter Paul Morrell had booked me to play an Ibiza back room style set and I started off in that vein, but it seemed to me that the crowd were all about the big room tunes, so the music progressed up to my usual main room sound. The atmosphere was great and I always enjoy playing for Paul. After I finished on the decks Pete whisked me down to London Stansted Airport for a bleary eyed 6am flight to Ibiza.
Sunday 11th was the day we had all been waiting for. Not only was it Judgement Sundays, but it was the World Cup Final for 2010, with the dazzling prospect of Spain v Holland. As you can imagine, everywhere you looked in Ibiza the Spanish flag was flying and Spaniards of all ages wore the national red shirt “la camiseta roja”. Contemplating where would be best to watch the match, I thought, ‘let’s get amongst it’. Along with a few mates we headed to a local Spanish bar to cheer Spain on to victory, as the only non-Spanish in a crowd of over 200 viewers.
At the final whistle, the atmosphere in the streets of Ibiza was something I’ll never forget. Anyone who has been to Ibiza before will know where the “Egg” roundabout is in San Antonio. When Spain won, every local in San Antonio seamed to congregate there, and some attempted to tip the giant egg statue over and roll it down the street. The local police got wind and decided to put an immediate stop to it, carrying batons and constructing a small picket fence.
Due to the commotion at the Egg roundabout, which is very near to Eden (location of Judgement Sundays), the club filled up slightly later than usual but soon reached capacity with an awesome JS atmosphere as always. I was joined on the decks by Marco V and Judgement new comer Leon Bolier. Leon has to be one of the most consistent producers out there and was great to have him at Judgement. I heard that the following day he went to visit Tiesto at Privilege and managed to fall over and break his leg- we wish him our best.
On Monday 12th I swung over to BCM in Mallorca with Judgement Sundays backroom resident Micky Slim for Judgement Mondays. BCM has a great DJ booth set up comprising of 2 mixers and 8 CDJ’s, which makes for the perfect back to back dj set opportunity. On this occasion Micky was using Krafty Kuts new Iphone application wired through a channel in the mixer as a portable effects unit. This works amazingly well as an atmosphere booster How weird that a dj set can be ramped up by an IPhone app… The Krafty Kuts app has given me loads of fun at home- definitely one I’d recommend.
The next morning I flew back from Mallorca to the UK to meet up with Amanda, Jake & Phoebe, from where we headed as a family back to the White Isle for the summer in Ibiza. That Friday was a DJ relay special on my Radio 1 show, which had to be pre-recorded as it was a montage of moments from the previous six months of my R1 offerings. Therefore I didn’t have to fly back to London, staying in Ibiza to help the family settle in.
On Saturday 17th I flew from Ibiza via Barcelona to St Petersburg for the mighty Global Gathering Russia. I was accompanied on both flights by John O’Callaghan, who was playing on the same stage. Our inbound flight from Ibiza was running slightly late, and with a tight connection time in Barcelona we had to race to grab the connecting flight to St Petersburg. Running with a tightly packed backpack full of dj and travelling stuff is like special forces training, and we both sweated and panted our way to the gate.
During my set it was just getting dark outside, and the atmosphere was amazing in a wholly outdoor arena. Gareth Emery was on after me, but due to his driver getting lost Gareth was running late, so I played on for almost half an hour extra. I had no complaints as the gig was so awesome.
Following my set, I had a few drinks with Simon Patterson & Jesse Voorn who handed me a new track “Everything is possible” which I’ve been supporting on my Radio 1 show. After the drinks it was time to head to the airport. Our local driver was visibly very tired and driving dangerously so we resorted to singing to him just to keep him awake, I was the most vocal and thankfully it did the trick. The minute we pulled up at the airport he fell straight to sleep- I hope he’s not still there outside Departures.
This time routing via Madrid, on Sunday 18th I landed back in Ibiza at 1pm well and truly ready for sleep. The date was one of the Eddie Halliwell’s 2010 appearances for Judgement Sundays 2010. Eddie’s combination of stand-out stage presence and technical ability sets him miles apart from the dj crowd.
Eden was busier than ever, and for my wife Amanda it was the first of her live “Angelic Amanda” PA’s for summer 2010. Not having performed live for 6 months, it takes a lot of confidence to deliver in front of 3000 people. Amanda rocked it and belted out the 2010 mix of Can’t Keep Me Silent. Following my set, we left the club at around 6am after drinks with Eddie and the crew…
On Monday 19th I headed back over to BCM, Mallorca this time with Judgement resident Tristan D. On arrival at the hotel I noticed that my favorite nearby Indian restaurant was open. This restaurant is very special to me as it’s where I was first introduced to my wife Amanda on a blind date 14 years ago. As a rule the restaurant is normally closed on a Monday, so we grabbed the opportunity and stuffed ourselves full of Indian.
Indian food is not a pre-djing meal that I’d recommend. It tastes great at the time, but leaves you feeling very bloated and far from in physically ready to bounce around. By the time we arrived at the club I was feeling like a lead weight with my stomach extremely fragile so Tristan had to take care of the bouncing, otherwise I might have exploded in the DJ booth. Not nice for anybody.
On Thursday 22nd July I headed over to Tramps in Tenerife. There is no direct flight from Ibiza, so I had to go via Madrid, which is no great shame as on this route they use an Airbus A340 (4 engine long haul aircraft) with flat beds in business class. For a 3 hour flight this was a real luxury, and I managed to get a nice bit of decent shut eye en route to the Canary Islands.
Our flight was scheduled to land into Teneriefe North airport but due to intense fog we where diverted to Teneriefe South. This infuriated the other passengers on the plane, but put a big smile on my face, as it was much closer to where I was headed, providing significantly more time for a disco nap pre set. My good friend and MC Ronnie Canada sang throughout my set whilst the crowd cheered accordingly. The following morning it was straight back to the airport for a Monarch departure to London, ready for my BBC Radio 1 show that evening.
On Saturday 24th Pete and I headed west to Swansea to the venue formally known as The Escape, temporarily now called “The Club”. It was refreshing, with the venue now under new ownership and the knowledgeable involvement of resident DJ & promoter Big Al, to get back to a legendary location. One can never go wrong in Swansea, and Saturday 24th was no exception. After my set Pete drove me straight to Gatwick for an 8:30am BA flight to Ibiza.
The weather in Ibiza was scorchio and the island getting extremely busy. For the first time at Judgement Sundays we had Dutch duo Showtek who are really slamming it on the hard dance scene at the moment. They played final set of the evening and held the crowd until the very last. As has been the case all summer, Eden was packed and Amanda once again sang a fantastic live PA. The following day it was back to Mallorca, this time with Krafty Kuts who had played Judgement the night before. Doing a back to back set with the king of bootlegs and the creator of that genius new effects IPhone app was a pleasure, and we rocked into a very late night.
On Friday 30th following my Radio 1 show Pete and I headed up to Peterborough for Liquid, it was co-promoted by Karl G & Jamesie who I’ve supported a lot of tracks from over the years. Tristan D was on before me and the club had a nice happy atmosphere.
Saturday 31st was the mighty Global Gathering UK, and following a short trip to Brent Cross shopping centre with Tristan, Pete collected us and drove us straight to Shakespeare country. On arrival at the show ground (Long Marston Airfield) we passed a collection of rather sorry looking disused military aircraft. It looked like they had been there for a few years as most of the them where vandalized. I’m not sure whether Long Marston is an operational airfield, but the planes were certainly going nowhere.
This year (as the only dj who has played all 10 UK Global Gatherings), I was booked to play 2 sets at Global. The first was on the mixmag terrace (which was more housey), followed by the mighty Godskitchen Boombox Arena. The Mixmag arena was all about getting DJ’s to play slightly different sets to there normal style and Fabio & Grooverider followed me, playing a 90’s Acid house set, which brought back many emotional memories from that era.
After my set on the Terrace we headed to the open air VIP area, where there where loads of good industry friends and DJ’s in attendance, creating a family atmosphere. After an hour of chewing the fat it was time to jump on a golf buggy and head off to the Godskitchen Arena. It was a similar lineup to the GG in Russia 2 weeks earlier, with John O’callaghan on before me and Gareth Emery after.
Once again, during my set it was just getting dark, and as the sun went down the Boombox reached capacity. Following my set and en route to the car we bumped into Chuckie who came and thanked me for being the first Radio 1 DJ to play ‘Let The Bass Kick ‘ back in 2008. Since then he has gone on to have number 1 chart success. It was touching that he remembered, and it meant a lot that he took the time out to come over to my arena and say hi.
We left the show ground of Global at around 9:30pm, with a midnight flight booked out of London Gatwick to Ibiza. I managed to get plenty of shut-eye en route to LGW and arrived at the airport in good time for the Monarch flight. We landed into Ibiza at around 4:30am and I headed straight home to bed. Spending Saturday night in my own bed in Ibiza is not something I’m used to.
After a relatively full nights sleep I went out for lunch with the family ahead of Judgement Sundays later that evening. For the first time this year my 5 year-old daughter Phoebe has been able to come to Ibiza Rocks Bar to see daddy DJ at the JS Pre Party. I’m pleased to say she loves the music and it was great to see her bouncing around behind the decks.
Later that night, Judgement Sundays was packed (as it continues to be every week.) Initially we were worried about a hefty 10hr flight delay suffered by Alex Kidd & Kutski from Manchester. Luckily they made it to the club just in time and played a wicked set as always, seemingly undisturbed by the hell they’d been through getting to the island.
The following day it was back over top BCM in Mallorca, this time with Richard Durand. The club was hitting peak season and the atmosphere was awesome during our 2hr back to back set - I managed to get some great pictures, which are now live on the site.
On Thursday August 5th I jetted back to Tenerife for the second and final time this Summer. I had planned to do 3 Tramps Tenerife dates but foolishly double booked myself with a mate’s wedding (had I missed the wedding it would certainly have guaranteed my removal from his Christmas card list).
On arrival into Tenerife North airport, the first thing that struck me was the cold temperature. Tenerife is all about micro climates- the north (in the shadow of vast Mount Teide) is cold and rainy, whilst the south (only 50 miles away) is warm and arid. Thankfully, I was headed to the south, and the northern region was merely a scenic drop-off point.
Tramps in Playa Las Americas was sweaty and loud, and after quick drink and catch-up with mates I hit the decks. Afterwards there was no time for hanging around, as I headed straight onto a 6am departure back to Ibiza through Madrid. I’m always wary that the airport staff might mistake a sleep-starved state for drunkenness, and a quick splash of water in the face before boarding did the trick.
On arrival back into Ibiza I headed straight home to bed, waking up around 9pm. Amanda and I then hit Ibiza Rocks hotel for installment one of the Radio 1 weekend, featuring Pete Tong and Annie Mac’s radio shows plus a bevy of live acts on stage. On arrival, the queue stretched all the way down the road- it was a free event and it seemed like the whole of Ibiza wanted to get in. What started out as just a sociable drink turned into a much later night out than planned. As my dad always used to tell me… ‘The road to hell is paved with good intentions”.
Saturday was the day of my involvement in the Radio 1 Ibiza itinerary. Following a short disco nap, I met up with my producer Tom and headed down to the studio above Café Mambo for my live Radio 1 show. It’s always a challenge presenting in a different studio with unfamiliar equipment and surroundings. However, things went well, it was a nice change to be on at 9pm Saturday night, and the text response from listeners was phenomenal. Afterwards, I headed back home for a few hours sleep ahead of a late set at the mighty Radio 1 event at Privilege.
I was playing the closing session at the self-proclaimed ‘World’s biggest club’, and headed down around 4am to do a couple of live vocal links over Above & Beyond’s set for the Essential Mix. Then it was my turn - as you can imagine the club was rammed and I could have carried on playing until at least 10. However, I was hosting a Radio 1 BBQ later that day so I decided to pop the resident dj back on at 7am. A memorable night was had by a crowd nearly touching 10,000, and I can’t wait til next year.
After a few hours’ sleep the caterers arrived for our annual Radio 1 BBQ at my house in Ibiza. In recent years due to BBC austerity measures there haven’t been as many R1 staff on the island for the Ibiza shindig, but, being such a complex weekend of broadcasting, there were still plenty of R1 folk in attendance. We had a Caribbean style cocktail bar and an array of BBQ food (paid for by personally, and not by the licence payer, I might add…) Mr. Hudson, who was performing later that night at Judgement Sundays, came along, as well as lots of mates. Due to the long evening ahead at Judgement Sundays I wasn’t drinking alcohol, so fizzy water was the only cocktail for me.
Normally on Sundays, Es Paradis (the club directly opposite Eden) has a free entry night in a last-gasp effort to drum up custom (faced with the considerable competition of Judgement Sundays), but on this occasion they staged a paid-entry special event with a huge urban dj line-up. However, their shopping list of djs had no affect on Judgement Sundays’ attendance, and Sunday 15th was the busiest night of the 2010 season. Eddie Halliwell guested in the main room generating huge reaction and Mr Hudson illuminated the backroom. Being the Radio 1 weekend, loads of the R1 crew were in attendance and my producer Tom aka LMP DJ’s spun the last set.
Following my main room set at 5.30am, I headed up to the VIP terrace, where Eddie and I got ever so slightly tipsy on Jagermeister. We ended up being the last ones to leave the club..
As you may already be aware DJ Mag is currently hosting it’s worlds Top 100 DJ’s poll, if I could kindly ask you to take a minute of your time to head to www.top100djs.net and cast a vote in my favor then it would be very much appreciated.
More next time… |
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