Like A Virgin
Showtek give us the lowdown on their first gig...
“We can remember our first gig that we did as a duo very well! We were just 17 and 18-years-old when we first played together...
We ask Flux Pavilion about a crazy early gig
“Playing the Congress in Chicago was really special for me. I had a real bad toothache and needed root canal work done, but was so...
Ben Sims on his first ever gig
“My first-ever public DJ set was the annual school end-of-year disco at Chadwell Heath High School, Essex in 1986 (I think). It was my first...
Replacing a cassette loop at Pushca
“My first-ever DJ gig was in 1979, but my first house gig was for Pushca — the rave thing in the ‘90s. It was somewhere in west London. I went to one of the raves and they had this chill-out room that was playing a cassette tape that was just going round and round and round.
Soap bar, mosquitos and brillo pads...
“It was Ibiza, 1998, and I had spent several days ligging behind the decks with the world’s best DJs desperately trying to figure out how they did it, but no-one showed the least bit of interest in letting me have a bash on the wheels of steel until Edinburgh’s Voodoo Club offered me a gig out of the blue. I took a flight there.
DJs look back to their early days
“My first gig was in 1994 at a squatted Salvation Army building opposite Hackney Town Hall on Mare Street. The building was called The Spiky Thing With Curves due to some of the sculptures on display, alongside a cafe and several rooms for bands and DJs. I had a selection of acid house/early hardcore vinyl, mostly acquired from the local Record & Tape Exchange.
Autokratz tells us about their first gig
“Our first ever live show was completely mental. We’d done a single and got booked for this big East End rave in London, so thought we needed a warm-up the day before.
Ex Azuli man tells us about his first ever gig
One of the first ever proper gigs in Ibiza was on the Space Terrace on a Friday night for Azuli
Acid Monday's tell us about their first gig
Our first-ever gig as Acid Mondays was at the Zoo Project in Ibiza. We'd played together before loads over the years at various parties, but that was our first official gig.
Justin Robertson's first gig!
"I think my first DJ 'gig' was when i was a student in Manchester, it was classy 'Snakebite & Speed' kind-of affair. I got asked to play as i had the most records and a 12-inch of 'Jack The Groove'. The 'booth' was two ironing boards, and the system was two separate music centres [remember those?].
We ask Top DJs about their first gigs...
NICK LOMAX (LOADSTAR)
It was 2003 and I had my first DJ gig, a freezing cold night in Manchester. I already had a few records...