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Born in Kent in 1960, Tong took to Djing from an early age and played his first public gig at 15. Never sticking to just one thing though, Tong took on many roles while he was coming of age. He and school friends used to promote local bands for extra cash, he booked for a local alternative night and even became held the ‘features editor’ position at ‘Blues & Soul’ magazine. He left this role to become an A&R for London Records and this is when he was first introduced to the new sounds of Chicago House.
Tong fell in love immediately and arranged a compilation album ‘The House Sound of Chicago, Vol. 1’ , a first for the relatively new genre in the UK.
Tong helped to further popularize the genre when he took the helm at a new Electronic Music radio show the BBC were launching and in 1993, alongside producer Eddie Gordon, the ‘Essential Mix’ was launched. The show gained popularity among the booming House music crowd both in the UK and internationally and before long, Pete Tong was an in demand DJ.
He has had residencies in Ibiza, been appointed MBE for his services towards Broadcasting and Music and was behind a number of popular compilations that were all over the charts in the late 90s.
Anybody who listens to BBC Radio 1 (and that’s everybody surely?) will have heard of the global ambassador of dance music himself: Pete Tong. A DJ legend, his arrival on stage was greeted with the mandatory chant of ‘It’s all gone Pete Tong’ from excited festival goers who may or may not have been more than just a bit tipsy. Our excitement was perfectly understandable, I mean the man’s had a movie made about him for Pete’s (get it?) sake! Excited for the likes of Tong’s ‘Essential Mix’ and ‘Essential Selection’ programmes, I was not disappointed. One of the most prestigious DJs of our time, Tong had the decks nailed to a fine art. He span us quite the party and the crowd loved every second of it, becoming wilder and wilder as the night went on. With a seamless blend of dance, house and electronica Tong worked his magic, with every single track fitting perfectly together and not a single second of awkward pause time. Perfect for club nights, festivals or the ultimate Ibiza night, any young fan of dance music/ djs/ fun in any form has to go and see Pete perform. I promise you won’t regret it.
It is such an honour to see Todd Terry perform live as he is one of the most legendary house producers ever with such a distinctive sound that can be heard a mile off. It’s safe to say that this heavyweight has been on the scene for the best part of about thirty years now and has maintained his fantastic reputation along the way. His sound is very much a sampled haven of crossing over dance and disco. I can’t believe he even performed a boiler room set. He is so composed when he performs, just letting his music do the talking whilst he triggers samples on the decks that induce mass sing alongs and drops. He performs one of his biggest hits, “Keep On Jumpin’” which brings the house down. This huge audience can’t contain their excitement and the floor erupts, with everyone jumping up and down with their hands in the air, singing along to any melody that they hear. It’s retro but fresh, sounding as though it could have come out any time between 1980 and now and it would be considered “current”.