What do you get when you put five Hard Dance pioneers on one CD? Simple – Hard Dance Anthems! Compiled by Andy Whitby, Scott Attrill, Anne Savage, Mark EG and Sam & Deano (aka Tidy DJs), the release celebrates all genres of the harder variety from Bounce to Hard Style, Trance to Hard House, Hard Dance to Scouse and beyond. All CD’s are packed with some of the biggest anthems from ‘back in the day’ along with the most upfront tracks from the worlds leading labels and producers. So what do you get when you ask these DJs their most memorable clubland tale from the last year . . . HarderFaster is about to find out.
ANDY WHITBY
A few years ago I was playing a set in London at a certain club in Brixton. I wasn’t aware the club had two entrances, with two separate nights on. I walked to the entrance, past the bouncer . . . said hello to the promoter, into the club and onto the stage, put my record bag down and got ready to play. It wasn’t until I really looked around and listened to what was being played I realised I was about to go on the decks at the wrong event. An event full of people who had no idea who I was or interest in what I was about to play. The promoter didn’t even bother telling me! Safe to say I packed up and shipped out quick-sharp, embarrassing.
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ANNE SAVAGE
Funny things happen to me on a weekly basis. Apart from recently looking up whilst in the shower to see my window cleaner merrily polishing the glass in my adjoining bedroom and having to crouch down til he'd finished, I think being pulled over by the police with my trousers round my ankles tops it! The trousers were too tight and uncomfortable to drive in so I took them off – it was the most embarrassing and difficult thing to explain. I couldn't get them back up quickly enough as they were PVC leggings. A traffic officer came over and knocked on my window whilst shining a light on the situation. I was on my own which made it look worse!
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SCOTT ATTRILL
There have been so many funny and cool stories to tell, some that spring to mind are turning up the wrong day to the airport for a flight! And getting stuck in my car for 17 hours in the snow last year while on the motorway . . .
One that sticks out was when I was touring Japan, the promoter of the event in Tokyo took me out for a meal and invited all his friends - what I didn’t realise was that we were going for dinner and doing karaoke at the same time! Karaoke is massive in Japan and this was a massive skyscraper looking over the city! So I had a few drinks realising I had to have a go at some point and knowing that I am in no way any good at singing. So I started with an Oasis track and the place exploded, the guys actually thought I was brilliant so I played along and actually after a few more drinks had convinced myself I was my own rock icon in a karaoke room in Tokyo with people I had never met in my life, thinking I was somehow actually good or were they just humouring me? haha . . .
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MARK EG
The funniest and the worst thing all rolled into one for me this year was probably late Oct/Nov. I had booked the wrong date on a budget flight to the ‘Hard Dance Event’ in Amsterdam and only realized two hours before. Booking myself on another (cost - £300), I missed that one at the gate due to traffic and had to rebook another (cost - £300). Two weeks later I was returning from Belgrade and due to tight connections, missed the flight. Again, I had to book another (cost £200) but just as I was about to board it was told I had missed the ‘eye scan system’. Running at the speed of light to the scanner, I had to pass through security and they lost my belt in the machine. The next 10 minutes was spent running top speed through the airport to the gate with my trousers down by my ankles and my tackle hanging out. Needless to say, I missed the flight (cost: £200). And that belt was worth £30 you mother fuckers (but the look on people’s faces was priceless haha!)
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SAM & DEANO (TIDY DJS)
The funniest thing for us both was catching one of the Rave On crew in Leeds realizing the hot 'girl' he had just pulled and taken to the toilets was actually more of a man than him! He had been swooning some 'girl' giving it all the big licks and had managed to convince her he had 'something special' to show in the unisex toilets of the club. The penny must of dropped as they were getting down to the (in his own words) 'light hearted conversation' and we saw him legging it out of the toilets with most disturbed look on his face, he goes mad every time we mention the 'incident' as we refer to it now. LOL.