Inevitably this got on to my DJ’ing. For the previous couple of years I had owned some vinyl turntables and a mixer. I wish I had a photo of this set-up, but seeing as the days pre-digital cameras meant that each photo was precious and expensive, something that my set-up was not. 2 vinyl turntables; 1 belt driven, 1 mechanical, both had previously been part of a home hi-fi set-ups; the cheapest 2nd hand mixer available, complete with wonky volume sliders and a loose crossfader, and to top it off, the set up was on a wonky table that shifted left and right at will…;) 

This was 97/98, I wish I remembered how much a 12 inch cost at the time, but I don’t. What I do know is that I couldn’t afford much of it, or very often. So what I did have was a) treasured and b) very random. From bits and pieces on Positiva like Judy Cheeks – Reach, Hyper Go Go – Never Let Go , Outrage – Tall and Handsome and anything by Barbara Tucker! to Sasha and Maria – Be As One, a track called Dancing Daffodils, early Moby tracks like Go and Soft House Company – What You Like . 

For me my decks and vinyl were everything. I must have conveyed this pretty well to my new boss and I do remember being a little sad to leave my beloved music back in northern England. It’s important for the story that I get across at this point that a) I was very shy and b) I had a grand total of a maximum 4 stoned teenagers at any point listening to me DJ.

So we arrive in my new wintery home and I get to work trying to learn how to snowboard. It’s mid December and a few weeks until the lifts open and the tourists arrive. All good. Christmas arrives as do our first guests. The company I am working for also staff a local bar and use it as their meeting point for their guests. At the time there is a DJ who plays in the bar a few times a week, he also works behind the bar on other nights. It’s a few nights before New Years Eve and I hear that there has been an argument between the DJ/Barman and the owner which has left them with no DJ.

Now some wannabe DJs may see this as an opportunity to get an audience. Not me. I knew what was coming. I.Shat.My.Pants….I wasn’t so much asked if I would DJ, as told I would DJ! My first night DJ’ing in front of a crowd, using equipment that wasn’t mine, for a new boss, at a new company, in a new country; New Years Eve. New Years Eve. Fuck. 

Have you ever found yourself in a situation where you are like ‘how the fuck did I find myself here?’, ‘What have I done’?,  ‘How can I get out of this?’. I honestly considered trying to break my leg to save me from this hell!!