Adventures on the Wheels of Steel: The Rise of the Superstar DJs

Description

In this work, Dave Haslam travels Britain to meet clubbers and promoters: he hangs out with Sasha in Glasgow, Fatboy Slim in Nottingham, Paul van Dyk in Cardiff, Norman Jay at the Southport Soul Weekender, and Lottie in Newcastle. He meets influential DJs like Pete Tong, pioneers including Jimmy Saville, younger DJs, and unknowns. He interviews mod DJs from the 60s, Northern Soul DJs from the 70s and rare groove DJs from the 80s. He follows aspiring turntablists in the DMC mixing championship, from the heats in Birmingham to the world final. Among the exclusive stories and tall tales, we hear about the millionaire DJ who went to a friend's wedding dressed as a bee, the Radio One DJ who emptied a dancefloor in Ibiza, and the DJ who set a girl's hair on fire. A sweeping history of the rise of the DJ industry - from the amateur DJ in the local village hall, through the pioneering DJ's of the 60s and 70s, to the superclub DJ's of the late 1990s.

Dave Haslam has written for the NME, the Face, the Observer and the London Review of Books. He built his DJ-ing reputation over 450 nights during the Hacienda's golden age, and for the Stone Roses at Spike Island. He currently has a fortnightly residency at Britain's biggest superclub, Cream.

Praise for 'Manchester, England': 'Measured, inclusive, witty, thorough - a triumph.' Q Magazine 'Awesome' NME 'A new kind of political history, firmly rooted in the experience of popular culture.' Michael Bracewell, GUARDIAN