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MEET: POPS
Well, where do we start?
Music is an escape it’s a way of distancing yourself for a short period of time from the trials and tribulations of day-to-day issues. It’s no different for me whether singing along in the car to tunes, playing on the radio or in front of a lot of people, I have been lucky to have done all of that and more.
I’m 57 years old now so have seen a lot of changes over the years with the transition from vinyl to digital, its been a great ride. My first gig was a wedding at the Swallow Hotel in Waltham Abbey for around 400 people, I was around 20 yrs old. I remember it clearly, as I was on the stage messing about scratching and this moving wall opened while I was in full swing to an audience of 400+ diners, who all started cheering and clapping. I was extremely embarrassed, as I thought I had no listeners, well that certainly broke the ice and I was off. They enjoyed the night so much I was asked to do an extension and of course I did.
In the early days my go to record store was Street Level records in Tottenham, North London.
Whilst in the shop I met a lot of DJs, guys who directed me along a path I’m entirely grateful for. Mike Thompson was my main inspiration, A DJ at the time who wasn’t in the limelight but knew his beans and had some great contacts. Mike introduced me to WNK Radio, where I ended up doing the drive time show. WNK was an illegal station back then, along with Kiss and Laser, I’m not sure if Centreforce were even born at this time, yes I’m getting on a bit 😊. Lots of gigs passed, I had lots of opportunities doing big pubs and small clubs, which I grabbed with both hands. Mike was also responsible from memory for that classic tune Yeke Yeke, he introduced me to warehouse parties Darnley Road Hackney. He also got me on record label mailing lists, which ensured I was fed tons of music, life was looking great………………….
I’m blessed in having a great wife, one who sticks by me for everything I do but at some point children were going to be included in our lives and so they were. 33 years ago, my son Martyn was born shortly followed by my two girls, this put a little strain on DJ’ing and I decided to have a break. Family is important, going out at 5am to work going straight to the station after work and getting home at 8pm, I was never seeing the children, something would eventually break if I didn’t make that choice. 3 kids and 7 grandkids later i’m back on the decks and my DJ name was born via my grandchildren 😊
30 years seem to have passed very quickly.
In November, 2021 I purchased a DDJ400. I searched the internet on best practices and how to use it and stumbled across a guy with the most infectious smile, a guy that is so passionate about what he does, it kind of reminded me of my early years, that guy was Andrew Duffield. I was hooked I signed up for his course. It was a matter of hours before I was mixing in digital. despite being a hardcore vinyl junkie, I found the transition smooth. I decided to make a mix and post it on Mixcloud this charted very highly and gave me the drive I needed to push harder. Since then i’ve had two in the top 15 at the same time, one of which got to no 9, there is no better form of encouragement to see it in black and white, it drives it home.
I’m very open format, if something makes my feet move, then the chances are I will have it in my collection. I do have favourite genres like soulful or funky house. I like to sing along but I’m open to at least listening to all formats and genres. I spent my earlier years playing at gigs so didn’t really do as much clubbing as I would have liked. However, Paradise Lost, 100 club, Camden Palace, Septembers, Beachcombers, and following Tony Blackburn and Steve Walsh around was where I was at.
I can’t really say I have many favourite artists but if I drop a tune and people sing or dance then I’m happy with that.
I’m writing this as I have a regular slot on Club Ready Radio, Mondays 8 till 10pm and I do the show with my partner in crime GB (Glen Butler). We seem to gel well and have a great music relationship. We like to have a laugh and if you tune in you will find that if there is one thing I have learnt through this journey, life is too short you need to grab every opportunity and with both hands.
Myself and Glen along with another friend PaulyG have set up a small company called Tres Hombres, basically 3 dudes on the road sharing our passion. We had our first gig on the 26th of Feb 2022, a Fundraiser for the England Disabled Angling Team, another passion of mine.
Age has no reflection on music or your dreams. At 57, you could say I have been around a bit but if you have a dream it’s never too late to follow that dream. There is a lot of help out there from these young DJs, the talent is awesome and there are a lot of older DJs who can pass on their wisdom. Hesitation = it will never happen.
See you Monday evenings 8 to 10pm GMT
Pops
Check out Pop's Socials
When to catch Pops live
Monday evenings 8 to 10pm GMT right here on clubreadyradio.com
