Pete Tong
Pete Tong, known to thousands as being the only
person playing music relating to the scene on national radio, also
known by others in the music business as being as hard to get hold
of as a bar of soap in the bath. So down to sheer persistence we
finally met up with the busy man himself at his equally buy FFRR
offices in downtown London to talk, smile and take notes. Is he
really Mr Nice Guy?
How did your DJ career first come about?
When I was 15 at school I was a drummer in a heavy metal band and an
opening came for a DJ for the school disco so I dropped my
drumsticks and volunteered as the DJ. This was back in the seventies
and from here I literally became a mobile Jock and started doing
weddings and private parties. Back then my musical influences were
really broad but when I began to form hard opinions about what I did
and didn’t like. I started getting drawn into the club scene of the
time, I do hate being asked about my musical influences because it’s
so broad, anyone from Mark Bolland, Donald Burg to John Coltrain.
I got my first radio experience at the end of the seventies when
‘pirates’ really started taking off in London. I was interviewed as
a feature guest on a BBC radio Kent show. I also started doing some
things with Robbie Vincent who was regarded as the God of radio
shows in London. After getting recognised on the pirate stations, as
a club DJ and as a writer for Blues and Soul magazine, I landed my
first paid radio job as a contributor for a radio 1 show hosted by
Peter Powell. This involved a short spot in which I played three hot
new records and spoke about various gigs around the country. I
eventually got my present day radio 1 show with help from Robbie and
Geoff Young. With a past music history scanning back as far as the
early seventies, involving being part of the Soul Mafia (the 70’s
version of the Groove Connection) Pete really is one of the modern
day music veterans, with very strong personal music preferences.
I don’t like to be known as a one music DJ, playing the radio is so
different to playing a club, you can’t play them both the same way.
On the radio you have a big personality, the BBC being a public
service station so therefore you shouldn’t really worry about
audience size but at the same time, you should, as you don’t want to
play in order to fuck everyone off and just have 2000 listeners.
Down to personal preference I’ve always wanted the radio to reflect
what music I feel is the most exciting for that time, and show
what’s happening on the dancefloors at the cutting edge of the
scene. Change always excited me so if a new field of music was to
come onto the scene tomorrow, I’d play it. But if I’m not getting no
public pressure from the street and not seeing it out there on the
dance floor, then it doesn’t get played.
When I got onto Radio 1 back in 1991 thousands of people heard me
for the first time and automatically labelled me as a mellow House
DJ and I don'’ accept this at all. When music was at its most
dangerous when Acid House first broke in 1987/88 I was playing it on
the radio, Capital Radio. If you listen to the show on a Friday you
often hear the last 15 minutes being really hard and fast. For
example two weeks ago I played a track called ‘Sputnik Sundauz’, a
150 bpm mad track.
How do you explained the big parties like Universe which draw in 25
to 30 thousand people and always having the hardcore arena with the
higher capacity than the other music arena’s?
Well just have a look at who they’re booking, if you listen to Fab
or Groove they’re not playing that and they’re booking Paul
Oakenfold. I think if you listen to what they’re playing, really out
there techno from San Francisco or Germany and not really playing
Breakbeat. I don’t think they’re playing it that hard to be honest
that’s what I’m saying. I don’t know why the hardcore tent was the
busiest at Universe. I think one of the biggest problems for Carl,
Fab or Groove is that they’re so well known for one particular type
of music they find it hard to get bookings for other styles of
music. For example they wouldn’t necessarily get bookings at Golden,
Chuff Chuff, The Arena or Venus. People think they play just
Breakbeat, they don’t but they’ve become so well known for playing
this years after they stopped they’re still perceived to be doing
so.
30th April 1993 – Perception
In a way I was conned into Perception, I heard abut it through
Sasha. When Paul from Universe found out I’d agreed to play an
outdoor event he was gobsmacked and said if he’d have known he’d
have booked me for Universe. The night I played at Perception I was
confronted with faces I hadn’t seen before and I knew no names. I
was in an area I’d been in a lot though, Leicestershire. I didn’t
know any of these people who were at all totally monged off their
faces and it was like going back in time to the late 80’s. I
followed Christyan Woodyatt in the main tent and when I was there
hardcore wasn’t being played.
The gigs I play around the country, if I’ve heard Breakbeat being
played I’ve thought to myself I just don’t want to be near that room
playing that music. When I played at Perception I wanted to get as
far away from the people there as possible.
Present Day Scene
Musically I think it’s more song orientated and more enjoyable up
North as opposed to London being Dark, dull and not much fun, the
music seems to cater for the boys only. Luckily there are still
people like Danny Rampling playing High Energy and big songs. The
scene seems quite diverse in that there isn’t one particular thing
that’s happening. Whenever things go into a period of change it’s
always people with good change that you see surviving.
Does it get a bad media image?
No not really, I think that passed years ago. Kids out of their
heads on drugs is an old story now and I think the tabloids have had
their day with it all really, some clubs do deserve bad press, when
you heard of club dance floors being run by hooligans and E dealers
are not my idea of fun. If this is what it takes to enjoy breakbeat
then….
Do you not think the scene wouldn’t be the same without drugs?
Wouldn’t be as good or as bad? The scene certainly wouldn’t be the
same. I think the places I play it wouldn’t really matter. Quite
often its easy to have an intense atmosphere in a small place with
people getting off on what your doing. This is the reason I don’t
like playing at big places. Perception certainly would have been
affected, its got too silly in London, stopping at Ecstasy and
starting something else.
Future for the dance scene, good or bad?
Hmm, hard to say. I haven’t got a crystal ball, if I knew this I’d
be a millionaire (said with a snidey smile). The cynical side to
being in the music scene for so long is when every year people ask
you is it going to change or go away? It just rolls on but will
never go as people will always want to dance.
If you could change one thing?
I’d make the DJ’s bigger risk takers. Too many DJ’s play safe,
scared to take a chance. I wish more DJ’s would worry about
entertaining themselves instead of the crowd. However there are some
Mavericks out there, the type that wouldn’t bat an eyelid about
clearing a dance floor, the type that plays an hour of Dub when
booked to play House. Like Andy Weatherall did at Universe.
What keeps you going?
In general the people up North, they’re so friendly, appreciative
and really up for it, some of the best crowds I ever played in front
of. That keeps me going.
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