Pete Tong

about the dj

It’s fair to say that Pete Tong’s history is intertwined with the history of acid house and electronic music itself. His career mirrors the story of dance music over the last 25 years. A true renaissance man, Pete has never been about one thing and 2011 represents a significant milestone. The year has seen Radio 1 hold a special 12 hour takeover on the station celebrating Pete’s 20 years on their airwaves, in March he held his Miami Pool Party (with Hawtin, Luciano, Joris Voorn, Riva Starr and others), and he’s released two new compilations, Future Underground, (mixed alongside Riva Starr) and All Gone Ibiza ’11 (mixed alongside Felix Da Housecat) on Defected.

His announcement about returning to Pacha, Ibiza this summer with Pure Pacha presents All Gone Pete Tong has quickly become the biggest story of Ibiza 2011 – with guests including Seal, Aloe Blacc, Dev, Yasmin, 2ManyDjs, Gui Boratto, Derrick Carter, Laurent Garnier (L.B.S), Guy Gerber, Calvin Harris, Felix Da Housecat, Paul Kalkbrenner, Steve Lawler, Laidback Luke, Paul Oakenfold, Stacey Pullen, and many more. Over coming months he’ll split his time between UK, Ibiza and Vegas where a 6 month Residency at Wynn is in full flow!

Pete has also been chosen to close the East Dance stage at this year’s Glastonbury festival. On the Sunday night he’ll round off proceedings with a set featuring special edits and more than a few surprises. Add to all this his constant touring, production work, remixes, music supervision, film scoring, and a weekly Radio 1 show, and he’s without question the busiest man in dance.

At the heart of all of this, is Pete’s ability to push and nurture new talent. From Guti and Benoit to Maya Jane Coles and Deniz Kurtzel – there are few electronic artists who haven’t had the Pete Tong Push ™. “That’s a big remit of my Radio 1 show,” smiles Pete. “But I don’t turn water into wine – all I ever saw myself doing was fanning the flames of something that I thought was inevitable. I’d like to think that by backing the special ones that I can help it happen for these artists… a little bit quicker”

It’s been a long, tumultuous ride for Pete. “I left school at the end of the 1970s and always wanted to be a DJ,” he starts, “To make a name for yourself back then you had to have the coolest and rarest records – if you managed to get hold of the hottest tune in the record shop, it could be months before any other DJ managed to track down a copy; your status and ability to call a tune in the underground record stores was very important, it’s hard to conceive that today with the instant access available online”.

Pete’s radio shows are revered around the world. Now the proud host of the 9pm-11pm Friday night slot on BBC Radio 1 – ‘The Pete Tong Show’ (or Essential Selection as it is still tagged internationally) regularly attracts over 2 million listeners via a combination of live feed and ‘listen again’ courtesy of the BBC i-Player and international syndication. On 8 April, Pete celebrated two decades at the station, with a 12 hour special including live sets and guest spots from the biggest figures and hottest new stars in electronic music. Tong also hosts and co-produces the legendary Essential Mix show, and as part of the 12 hour takeover, he delivered his first ever studio Essential Mix.

In September (2009) Pete flipped his time slot with Annie Mac. Pete says he’s honestly more energized than ever. “The move turned out to be one of the most invigorating things I’ve experienced. The show ran in the same time slot for 18 years, which is quite incredible, and I don’t think that will happen again… Of course, there is a stylistic change from broadcasting at 7pm. That show was about bringing through the daytime audience to the night and starting the weekend. Now I feel the show is a more consistent and often more adventurous listen, it has no other job than to entertain you with the best
electronic dance music I can get my hands on.

“We have some new features that are going down very well. “15 Minutes Of Fame…” and “24 Hour Party People” – are about getting familiar with the new names on the scene and the voices that go with them. I think people got to know the major DJs’ personalities via my show over the years, figures like Sasha and Carl Cox, Tiesto, The Chemical Brothers and Daft Punk were all first heard on my show and I want to carry on that tradition in 2011 for the new generation”

In 2008 Pete moved from Pacha, for a new adventure at Eden in Ibiza. “I was under the cherry spell for five years and had a really good time with them,” he says. “Our Fridays at the club were pretty special. However after five fantastic years I decided I wanted a new challenge.

So, when Eden came calling, Pete made the unprecedented move of jumping ship to the shores of San Antonio. “I wanted to try something different. It was the 20 years anniversary of acid house and the birth of the Balearic scene and it felt right to take myself back to where the story started – San Antonio. It gave me the opportunity to get much more hands on in terms of running the night and booking the talent, and experimenting with mixing up the lineups. I enjoyed the challenge of being part of the rejuvenation of San Antonio too, and I think we succeeded – mission accomplished!”

Wonderland changed the clubbing landscape of San Antonio over the following three years. “Changing peoples perceptions about San An had been the biggest challenge but we got there slowly and surely. We brought Bryan Ferry, Luciano, Fatboy Slim, Deadmau5, Riva Starr, Felix da Housecat, and Lady Gaga – the biggest pop star on the planet. People sat up and took notice all over the world.”

2011 represents another gearshift in Tong’s longstanding relationship with the White Isle, and the island rumours can now be confirmed… The biggest story for Ibiza 2011 is set to begin as Pete returns to Pacha this summer to launch his new Friday night, ‘Pure Pacha all gone Pete Tong’. The weekly night will run from 27th May for 19 weeks until 30th September. More details are imminent – stay tuned.

Pete is as enthused as ever: “I’m very excited and proud to be returning to host Pacha on Friday nights this summer – in so many ways the club feels like my ‘spiritual’ home. ‘Pure Pacha All Gone Pete Tong’ will be a brand new night with an adventurous music policy and a very fresh look. I had a fantastic 3 years with Wonderland but it’s the right time to move on to the next chapter of my Ibiza love affair…. hold tight!”

Pete’s own music output is starting to become more frequent and free flowing – working alongside the likes of Paul Rogers, Dave Spoon and Steve Mac, Pete’s fast-becoming a production powerhouse. “Sometimes I have to explain why I didn’t do more of it before,” says Pete, who has been in the studio with Rogers almost every day this year – it’s an important part of his career now. “Running a record company from 1983 – 2000, I didn’t have time to make music before and I come from an era where DJs didn’t always make music – which would be very unusual today. Back in the day, trying to make a record was more difficult and expensive”.

Recent remixes include; Gorillaz ‘Stylo’, Phoenix, Underworld and U2 with Paul Rogers, and Robyn, Madonna, Cheryl Cole, James Blunt and Razorlight with Dave Spoon.
Pete is also finding more time to combine his twin loves of music and film. Historically, he was the soundtrack supervisor for Human Traffic, Event Horizon, Shopping, The Beach and 24 Hour Party People and executive producer (with a cameo role) in the seminal It’s All Gone Pete Tong. Recent work includes the music and score for Beyond The Rave for Hammer Films and supervision and score for the award winning Harry Brown which starred Sir Michael Caine. More projects are currently in the pipeline.

Which just leaves one last question: did he ever see such longevity being possible back in the early 80s? Pete ponders the question for a moment. “If we’re fortunate of one thing, it’s that we were in the right place at the right time. Without wanting to sound crass, in our own way in our own world, it was a bit like being in The Clash or The Sex Pistols around the time of punk. We all loved music before acid house, but when the rave explosion started, we were in the right place at the right time – and we made the right moves.” He’s still making them now.

http://www.petetong.com/
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old bio

PETE TONG is Britain's best-loved dance DJ. He doesn't need an award to prove his popularity and he won't act cool to keep his credibility. The host of Radio 1's ground-breaking Essential Selection show for a staggering eight years, he works within the mainstream, but is respected by the underground.

Born in Dartford, educated in Rochester and inspired in his teens by the underground soul scene of the late seventies (and the music of the time...by the likes of Funkadelic, James Brown & Evelyn "Champagne" King) Pete's first DJ job was at a wedding. He was 15 years old. A natural born entrepreneur, he began promoting local bands, booking gigs in a nearby town hall and - as part of the Kent 'Soul Mafia' - playing black soul & dance music in every club that would give him a gig. After leaving school, he bought a Transit van and set up his own sound system.

In 1979, Pete became a journalist for monthly magazine Blues & Soul. By the following year, he was features editor, a position he would hold until '83. At the same time, he was appearing on local radio stations such as BBC Radio Medway and London. Then he got his first break with Radio 1, presenting a regular 15 minute 'magazine' feature on dance music on Peter Powell's show. "That was a strange experience, but also very exciting," says Pete. "Radio 1 was at the peak of its popularity. I had to say what was happening on the streets. I was the first person to play Malcolm McLaren's Buffalo Gals on the radio."

Pete's knowledge of the dance underground, coupled with his ear for a crossover hit, saw him appointed A&R manager at newly-founded independent label London Records in '83. While looking after the careers of pop acts like '80s girl group Bananarama, he continued to pursue his budding radio career. Put off daytime shows by the discovery that the DJs didn't pick their own playlists, Pete accepted his own programme on Kent's newly-launched Invicta station in '84. Influenced by radio DJ heroes such as Robbie Vincent, Greg Edwards and Emperor Rosko, he hosted a soul show there for three years, before briefly returning to Radio London. Almost immediately, however, he was poached by Capital Radio, where his weekly dance programme became cult listening with London clubbers.

In '88, in the wake of Acid House, Pete launched his own record label, FFRR, through London Records. His aim was to both embrace the new wave of electronic music flooding into the country from cities such as Detroit and Chicago, and continue to promote his first love, black dance artists. "The first record I put out was a very cool, quite sexually-explicit single from Chicago called Baby Wants To Ride," he recalls. "I had a rule which was to sign one relatively-indulgent record to every potential big hit. I was aware from the start that you can be hip, but you also have to balance the books."

Inevitably, Pete managed to do both, simultaneously. FFRR's next releases were cut'n'paste production 'Bass (How Low Can You Go?)' by Simon Harris and Salt'n'Pepa's 'Push It', both cool club tracks which went on to storm the charts. They were followed by a stream of influential hits from signings such as Steve 'Silk' Hurley, D Mob, Smith & Mighty, Cookie Crew, L'il Louis The Brand New Heavies, Orbital and, of course, Goldie.

In '91, with an indigenous club culture now thriving in cities across the UK, Pete quit Capital Radio to go national. His Essential Selection show every Friday evening instantly established itself as a welcome to the weekend for a new generation of young clubbers. Heavy on house, but with room for the best breaking techno, jungle, hip hop, funk and soul sounds from both Britain and around the world, it appealed to all tastes in contemporary dance music. Moreover, it merged the cutting-edge with the mainstream. Pete became the country's best-known dance DJ, while keeping his credibility intact. "I'm not too concerned with credibility," he claims. "When I started out, I was obsessed by jazz-funk and soul. I couldn't see life beyond the end of a Donald Byrd album. I was prepared to punch anyone who tried to talk to me about other types of music. But I grew up and discovered that I love hearing new sounds and having my perceptions changed. I didn't want to be pigeon-holed. I also realised that I could achieve much more by staying on the edge of several scenes, rather than being immersed in just the one."

Perhaps Pete's biggest contribution to British pop to date was his involvement in the reshaping of BBC Radio 1. When the nation's biggest radio station decided to re-invent itself in the mid-'90s, controller Matthew Bannister knew precisely who to ask for help. After Pete's ideas were taken on board, the likes of Tim Westwood, Danny Rampling, Judge Jules, Carl Cox and, more recently, Fabio and Grooverider, started to appear on Radio 1's DJ roster. In addition, the station's daytime playlist began to reflect the extent of the impact of modern electronic music on British kids. In January '99, Pete enters his eighth year as the presenter of Essential Selection. With over a million and a half listeners each week, it remains the UK's most popular dance music radio show, thanks to its host's consistent ability to change with the times. Its success has also spawned a series of compilation albums, released by FFRR, which to date have sold over 750,000 copies. The latest - which boasts a tangerine-themed cover and the mixing talents of Tong, Paul Oakenfold and, if you're lucky enough to bag a limited edition copy with a bonus CD, Carl Cox - comes complete with Madonna's seal of approval. It is the first time ever that the singer has sanctioned the appearance of one of her songs (Drowned World) on a dance mix compilation.

During '98, Pete made his first forays into television, an area he is keen to explore. In November, he donned different guises to present Clublife, a 90-minute, BBC-broadcast documentary based on Mixmag magazine's annual dance awards. However, when he does appear with his own TV programme, it won't be for want of publicity. In the past, he has turned down offers to present Radio 1's high-profile breakfast and Top 40 shows, not to mention Top Of The Pops.

In the meantime, Pete has plenty on his plate. He is a director of Wise Buddah, the production company which makes radio programmes presented by Danny Rampling, Seb Fontiane and Judge Jules and continues to work in A&R for London Records. His pop star credentials include A&R-ing Shakespeare Sister's hit Stay, which topped the charts for six weeks in '92, and played a big role in signing All Saints, whose career he continues to oversee. He was recently musical director on films, Human Traffic and The Beach.

The year 2000 proved to be a milestone for Pete - he toured the US for the first time which saw queues around the block, he played on the terrace at Space in Ibiza for the first time, he played in Cape Town and Johannesburg and hosted his own float at Radio 1's 'Love Parade' - "standing on my float with Jon Carter and Darren Emerson in front of 250,000 Radio 1 listeners was just the best feeling ever - a real moment in history".

2001 is proving to be an equally exciting year for Pete with another tour of the States starting in March and his first tour of South America scheduled for later in the year.

Keeping his feet on the ground in the UK, Pete continues to be a valuable part of the British club scene with regular gigs scheduled at Tribal Sessions at Sankey Soap in Manchester, Code in Birmingham and many other credible commitments. He still remains a key figure at the UK summer festivals including for the first time a performance at T-In The Park as well as his yearly appointment at Creamfields and Homelands (Foot and mouth permitting).

Pete's Radio 1 show "The Essential Selection" is now the most listened to radio show on the internet attracting a global audience of over 12 million.


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