I got really into music at a young age and I played bass in a series of bands when I was younger (sadly none of them made the big time!). I know it’s an overused term but my musical tastes have always been eclectic as I was lucky enough to be exposed to a range of musical influences when growing up in Dublin. My childhood was sound-tracked by my traditional musician father and the varied vinyl collections of my older brothers who were into bands like Jethro Tull and Kraftwerk.
As a teenager I loved indie bands such as the Smiths and Joy Division but I always had a soft spot for the great artists of the twentieth century such as Nina Simone, Ella Fitzgerald and Otis Redding. I became a fan of electronic music in my late teens, but also started exploring genres such as soul, swing and lounge.
Following a brief spell in London (which coincided with the second ‘summer of love’) I returned to Dublin in the early 1990s where I first took to the decks in Club Egg, a cult night I ran with a few others in the infamous Sides nightclub. There I played go-go music as well as soul and latin beats. I then lived in Spain for a few years before moving to Scotland and did a bit of dj and broadcast work in both places.
When I returned to Dublin in 1998 I began a long-term residency in the newly-opened Sugar Club. I really enjoyed my years as Sugar Club resident, the club attracted a great fun crowd every weekend and I have wonderful memories of those nights. During my time there I put together a number of Sugar Club CDs to capture the atmosphere created.