DJ KID

01/04/2025

Following my previous post about The Scene Magazine (Double Dipped) event I played at Bagleys in London—the night one of the doormen tragically lost his life—this clip is taken from Terry Stone's documentary United Nation: Three Decades of Drum and Bass – The One Nation Story.

Adrian, one of Terry Turbo’s iconic Turbo Promotions flyer crew, explains how he was sent to interview me that night. Little did he know, he'd turn up to find the venue shut down before being caught up in the ensuing mayhem.

While I was interviewed for the documentary and even shared my thoughts on the incident, it unfortunately didn’t make the final cut—such a shame. On a brighter note, I played at the London premiere and was involved in the Scottish screening at the Cameo Cinema in Edinburgh, where I took part in the Q&A session alongside Terry.

31/03/2025

31/03/2025

The Night I Played In London And A Doorman Got Killed

By 1995, I had been travelling up and down from Scotland for about 4 years to play for people who were way more enthusiastic about the music I was known for at the time. On this day 30 years ago, I drove the furthest journey to date for a double gig for Terry Turbo’s Stone’s (Terry Stone) The Scene, a magazine he started from his bedroom at his mum's in Camberley, Surrey. The first was at the Rythm Station in Aldershot, followed by one at Bagleys in London. Both these gigs were to mark the magazine going on sale nationally.

Sometimes, I made the trip south on my own. On other occasions, I would have people with me. On this occasion, I had my trusty co-pilot Marco, who came to many of my gigs in the 90s, who was tasked with changing cassettes from the multiple tape packs we would have and, more importantly, skinning up joints of which many were smoked.

Already running behind schedule, I missed the turnoff for Aldershot off the M4 with no cars in sight and already behind schedule. With that, I just hit the brakes and reversed up the motorway. Then, just as I came off the slip road, I came across a police car. I flashed my lights, stopping them to find out how to get to the Rhythm station. Explaining how far I'd driven, they escorted me to the club.

As you can see, the lineups for both events were on a happy, hardcore tip. By this time, I was fully invested in the Jungle sound. However, as with other gigs I found myself on in the early 90s, I could adapt a set to suit the crowd, something I learned very early in my DJ career.

After my set, we quickly set off to London to play at a night called Double Dip, which was hosting The Scene magazine. Terry had also arranged for one of the Turbo Promotions crew to interview for The Scene at Bagley’s.

This was my first time playing at the infamous Bagleys film studios at the back of Kings Cross station, so I was looking forward to playing. I was impressed by the size of Bagleys, a venue I had heard lots about. I played in the main room, where the DJ booth was up high, overlooking the crowd.

Ramos followed me that night, but the event was cut short for unknown reasons. As I made my way out, the venue in front of us was Dean Gaffney, who played Robbie Fowler in Eastenders at the time and turned and said to his mate, and I quote - “That DJ Kid was sh*t!” which was such a funny and, in some way, surreal moment.

As with most events back then, the car park was almost like a second scene, with cars blaring music and people dancing about. Sitting in the car, taking in the sights and sounds, Marco got to skinning up a few joints for the return journey.

Just as we were preparing to leave, I noticed a group of about 20-30 men, many wearing what looked like trench coats, walking down the ramp. As they passed, I saw one man carrying what looked like an axe inside his jacket. They walked around the corner out of sight towards the main entrance before absolute mayhem ensued, and with it kicking off, we felt it would be a good time to leave, so we set off on our long journey back to Scotland. With the event shutting down early, I never met whoever was supposed to be interviewing me. the

It would not come to light until many years later what happened that night, in particular, the death of one of the doormen. This feud was associated with the running of doors in London then. Dave Courtney brought the men down to Bagleys, and one of the men targeted inside the venue was renowned West Ham ICF football hooligan Carlton Leach.

This event was documented in Terry Stone’s documentary, United Nation: Three Decades Of Drum & Bass, where the person tasked with interviewing me explains what happened to him when he arrived at Bagleys and found himself caught up in the madness that night. I would eventually get interviewed for The Scene.

In 2022, I went to London for the premiere of Terry's documentary, for which I was interviewed but sadly didn't make the cut. I met the person who was supposed to interview me that fateful night in 1995. I will post that clip and leave Adrian to tell you what happened and how he escaped the venue unharmed.

26/03/2025

You may have seen me mention before that I've been writing my autobiography. There’s a chapter about my time at Gracemount Primary School when I lived at 11/1 Soutra Court. Last year, Headteacher Greg Dimeck, who has since retired, invited me to visit the first school I attended between 1978 and 1982.

Having left the school all those years ago, I must admit it was a bizarre feeling, first and foremost, to walk through the gates and the main entrance and to be shown around the school's corridors, particularly the gym hall and dining room where I once sat refusing to eat particular food. I also had the opportunity to meet and speak with other staff members. I even got a Gracemount Primary School beanie hat.

I spent well over an hour chatting with Greg Dimeck, not just about the school's history from 1960 to the present day, but also about Gracemount as an area and all the fantastic things the school does for the local community, including its connection with Gracemount mansion which is undergoing a restoration.

Writing my book is, without a doubt, one of the most challenging things I’ve done. I am writing it myself, but my approach is to take it a chapter at a time and slowly but surely, it's coming togther. Fingers crossed, it will be completed by the end of this year. Of course, I’ll keep you posted as it nears completion.

24/03/2025

When I began my quest to become a Hip-Hop DJ in the early 1980s, my bedroom was my sanctuary for learning my craft. As was the case for many of us, it was customary to cover our bedroom walls with posters, and for me, rap Legends, the Beastie Boys, Run DMC, Public Enemy, and LL Cool J were most definitely my idols of the time.

As the 1980s drew close, a new age of rave culture was upon us, which saw my DJ career take off. Down came the posters of those Hip-Hop greats, replaced with flyers from events I was playing at here, in Scotland, and down south, where I would find myself playing regularly. This was like putting certificates of your achievements up. Based on the events, these photos were taken around 1995.

Alongside my trusty Technics 1210s, which I still have today, the mixer I used then was the Phonic MRT60. This was the first mixer I had with a graphic equaliser. I found the crossfader on this stiff, which made scratching challenging, although spraying WD40 helped somewhat. The line faders were also a bit long, but the line switches were decent for transformer scratching.

The speakers are the Tannoy 603s, among the best-sounding bedroom speakers of that era. If memory serves me right, I bought them from the Littlewoods catalogue, which came in handy for other reasons—wink wink! 😁

18/03/2025

The legend that is Mad P - Top Buzz

I'm sure many of you will agree that Mad P is the Master Of Ceremonies personified and one of the best to have ever picked up the microphone and graced the stage. His lyrical content, delivery and how he compliments a tune are second to none.

Patrick is also a nice guy with a great character and one of my top five favourite MCs I've had the pleasure to work alongside throughout the last 36 years I've been DJing.

17/03/2025

Murray Beetson

Today marks 29 years since the sad loss of legendary UK rave promoter Murray Beetson.

Murray's journey in dance music culture began in 1988 when he met Richard Clarke (DJ Clarkee). Together, they formed ESP Promotions, starting events at the Roadmender in Northampton. It wasn’t long before they created the packed-out Bounce nights at Castaways in Bedfordshire, later renamed Milwaukees.

Murray hosted nights at Milwaukees in Bedfordshire (Fun House) before moving on to stage the iconic Dreamscape events at Denby Leisure Centre, which would later become the Sanctuary Music Arena in Milton Keynes.

I had the privilege of playing for Murray several times throughout the 1990s. I’ll never forget him picking me up from the train station when I played at Dreamscape 20. He was a true gentleman who was always passionate about the scene and put on some fantastic events. His untimely passing left a significant void, and he is deeply missed by all who knew him.