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Andy
began clubbing in 1995. It was from these
early days as a young clubber that gave
Andy the passion for music that he holds
now. The clubbing days ended in 1997 when
Andy pursued different carrer paths. During
this time, Andy got to know Stuart O'Donnell,
a DJ of 10 years from London. It was Stu
who got Andy back into the clubbing and
then into DJing.
Andy bought his first records at the end
of 1998 under Stuarts' influence. He began
DJing in a quiet Thursday night club where
he lived and worked at the time. This
went on for 6 months till Andy got his
first real gig. He was booked by Rob Vardi
to DJ @ The Engineers Arms in Coalville
(June 1999) - the Pre-club Bar to Passion.
This was an excellent starting block for
Andy as he had been going to The Engine
& Passion for the past 3 years. From
here he never looked back. After an impressive
first gig, Andy was booked for The Engine
on a monthly basis playing to a packed
bar of clubbers on their way to one of
the most successful clubs in the country.
The next step for Andy was in December
1999 when he played for Forbidden in Leicester.
Forbidden was an underground Hard House
and Trance club pulling in 800 people
a week on a Friday night till 6am. Alongside
the Residents Sarah G and Ian Willis,
Andy played as a regular guest for several
months until being taken on as a fortnightly
resident. Forbidden went on until it's
unfortunate closing in March 2002.
2000 was a steady yet productive time
for Andy as he had many exciting DJing
gigs throughout the year namely: Radio
1 Love Parade Afterparty in Leeds, Area
51 & Zoolu's(Gatecrasher After-clubs)
in Sheffield, Silk @ Enzo's in Salisbury
plus his residencies of The Engine and
Forbidden.
2001 was a great year in which Andy impressed
many promoters and clubbers alike with
his energetic, exciting sets and his absolute
dedication to his music and DJing. In
June 2001, Andy and Stu O'Donnell played
a 4 hour set back 2 back at the growing
night in Milton Keynes - Sensoria. Andy
had impressed the promoter Trish on his
debut in February and was asked back to
do the 4 hour set. It was in September
2001 that Andy got the big break he deserved.
Hotdog @ Time in Derby! On a line-up with
Lisa Lashes & Brandon Block, Andy
had the chance to shine. Andy played the
first 2 hours warm-up for Brandon Block
but Brandon played an hour of his set
then had to leave unexpectedly, which
meant Andy had to stand in for 30 mins
before Lisa Lashes arrived. He got the
chance to hammer out some monster tunes
much to the delight of the 50 + clubbers
who had travelled to see him. The night
was a huge success for Andy and Hotdog!!
Into 2002 and Andy was instantly picked
up by Hotdog promoter Roman as a Monthly
Resident. His next Gig for Hotdog / Bubblelove
was a Main Set after Anne Savage @ J21
in Leicester. With the backing of Hotdog,
other clubs began to take notice of this
rising star on the club scene. Gigs throughout
2002 included: Hotdog Bank Holiday Specials,
Escape in Leicester, Sensoria in MK, Whoosh
in Coventry, Mainframe Outdoor Experience
in Leeds, Storm in Coalville, Religion
in Long Eaton, Rubic in Derby, Insomniacz
3rd B'day in Sheffield, Naked in Leicester
as well as his ongoing residencies with
Bubblelove and The Engine. At one of the
Hotdog Bank Holiday events, Andy met St
John, a DJ and promoter of Motion, Rubic
& BPM Radio events. From this came
several gigs at Rubic and BPM Radio throughout
the last 6 months of 2002. In June 2002,
to his delight, Andy was asked to become
a new Monthly Resident at Sensoria. He
accepted without a moments hesitation.
It was through Hotdog that Andy eventually
got the chance to play at the club where
it all began for him - Passion! Passion
invited Hotdog to host a night in the
Back Room on a Saturday night in August.
Andy was asked to play for Hotdog. The
night was an enormous success and a further
2 Hotdog v Passion nights were held, all
DJ'd at by Andy in the Back Room. Through
hearing Andy at these nights, Passion
started to look at him as a person it
might be worth taking a gamble on.
In October 2002, Matt Hardwick was due
to play 1 till 3am at Passion but for
unknown reasons had to cancel. JFK called
Andy and Passion took the huge gamble
on him and Jon O'Bir (Passion DJ Comp
winner) to finish off the Passion Pure
Trance night. Jon played 1 till 2, Andy
2 till 3. The gamble paid off. Jon &
Andy absolutely rocked Passion for 2 hours
solid!!! For Andy it was a moment that
will live with him forever. 7 years since
first walking into the then much smaller
Emporium, he'd had the club eating out
of the palm of his hand till 3:15am!!!
Upto the end of 2002 Andy was a regular
guest for both Passion and the new spin
off night Baby Passion ran by friend and
promoter Dan Platten. Still a Resident
for Hotdog, Sensoria and The Engine his
DJing career was looking bright. He ended
2002 on a high with a busy schedule DJing
at Passion, The Engine, Sensoria, Sunday
Roast and Religion v TechnoJunkies all
in the space of about a week!!!
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