How To DJ

In this episode Chris Hawkins catches up with Steve Davis, Snooker World Champion turned radio & club DJ. Steve’s always been a massive music head but it wasn’t til his fame was at its peak that he was able to use his clout to promote one of his favourite Prog Rock bands, Magma. From then on a similar obsession for music as snooker has seen him easily fall into the role of radio and now club DJ. I...

In this first episode of a brand new series, Chris Hawkins catches up with Bob Harris, one of the most respected and enduring DJs and broadcasters in the industry. It's an epic tale of total music passion coupled with Bob’s ability to befriend some of music & broadcasting’s legendary figures along the way. Expect charming stories and some invaluable tips from one of the very best in the business!...

Chris is back with more chats with stars from the world of music for another series of How To DJ - here's a quick taste of what to expect! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this final episode of this series, Chris Hawkins catches up with legendary radio and club DJ Dave Pearce. Dave has been at the forefront of dance music from his earliest days on GLR and Kiss through to Radio 1 pioneering new dance shows and he’s still filling the clubs wherever he plays. A huge music fan, his stories encapsulate the passion, skills and energy it requires to be a DJ that always...

In this episode, Chris Hawkins gets some deep insight into the life & work of DJ Paulette. The former Flesh resident from the Hacienda’s heyday details her until now largely untold story of rising through the ranks of mostly male peers to establish herself at some of the biggest clubs internationally alongside the headliners of the profession. It’s a hugely inspirational tale, packed full of tips...

In this episode, Chris Hawkins chats with TV Presenter turned Radio Academy award winning DJ Dave Berry. From his formative years as a kid who loved his ‘high jinx’ and fashion, Dave’s energy is infectious and clearly drives his work as current host of the Absolute Radio Breakfast show. Just don’t get too close or he might claw your back to bits! From club to radio and every other music DJ in betw...

In this episode, Chris Hawkins chats with the wildly talented Scroobius Pip. A poet, musician, actor, podcaster, and obviously DJ who’s ‘can do’ attitude to everything he’s set his mind to has birthed so many creative and exciting projects! It’s an exhilarating listen which will inspire everyone and certainly anyone who’s ever felt held back in any way. From club to radio and every other music DJ...

In this episode, Chris Hawkins chats with Capital Radio’s Lauren Layfield about her career that began on hospital radio before she landed her job as Hacker The Dog’s co-host on CBBC where she certainly was no ‘normal’ presenter! A lover of music and now also a DJ for big events; her insights on her profession prove to be just as infectious as her humour! From club to radio and every other music DJ...

In this episode, Chris Hawkins catches up with DJ, Producer & Author Mark Rae.  From his early years as a budding scratch DJ in his hometown of Newcastle to his arrival as a student in Manchester where he created his own scene around clubs, record shops and then a record label; Mark has always been a pioneer. His remixes as one half of Rae & Christian made them the people to go to in the mid to la...

In this episode, DJ and Broadcaster Mark Radcliffe speaks to Chris Hawkins about his esteemed career in the radio industry. From his early days as producer at Manchester’s Piccadilly Radio, through the highs and lows and then highs again at BBC Radio 1 to his time now at 6 Music and Radio 2; Mark’s story is a fascinating deep dive into the mind of a music obsessive that informs his talent as a muc...

In this episode, one of the original Superstar DJs, Norman Cook AKA Fatboy Slim details his amazing journey from wanting to be a pop star at the age of eight, to being an actual pop star, before becoming one of the most successful club DJs on the planet. What started as a hobby, became playing weddings … then clubs where he had to make his own music to fill out his sets and then before long he was...

Chris is back and in Series 4 he lines up eight more episodes of life stories & experiences, tips & techniques, to find out just how the minds of much-loved DJs work. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

In this final episode of Series 3, Chris Hawkins catches up with Greg James who he first met when he gave a talk about radio at Greg’s school. The only pupil to express any kind of interest was to become the current host of Radio 1’s flagship Breakfast Show. From exploring the fascinating rhythms of radio, to understanding the mindset required to present the nation's most dynamic, successful & fun...

In this episode, Chris Hawkins catches up with American Anglophile DJ & Producer Colleen ‘Cosmo’ Murphy who’s fascinating story starts with her falling in love with radio at an early age to playing the coolest of clubs in New York before moving to the UK and making ‘Classic Album Sundays’ a thing to ensure that longform art of music remains in the forefront of listener’s experiences. She recounts...

In this episode, Chris Hawkins chats with producer, musician and DJ Mark Archer from rave pioneers Altern8. From humble beginnings in rural Staffordshire where he was given a choice between becoming a butcher or following ‘the music thing’, to writing and producing anthems that are now part of people’s lives from when dance music began to explode into the mainstream. These days Mark’s passion is f...

In this episode, Chris Hawkins taps into the mindset of current World DMC Champ JFB for a fascinating exploration of musical & technical obsession that covers his early days as a bedroom DJ to Pirate Radio resident to playing some of the most revered festivals across the globe. There’s a deep dive into his favourite tech ‘toys’, with stories & insights aplenty to illuminate what it takes to be an...

In this episode, national radio presenter Emma B chats with Chris Hawkins as she charts her passage from helping Timmy Mallett out with a radio drama aged 8, to taking her first paid job right at the top on Radio 1 and then finding her feet afterwards in commercial radio on Heart & Magic. As well as embarrassing her teenagers with her Tik Toks, she crams this episode with some really insightful ti...

In this episode, recorded live at 'Vinyl Adventures’ from Freight Island in Manchester: musician, club & radio DJ, Clint Boon tells Chris Hawkins how a young lad who thought coming from Oldham meant he’d never amount to much turned his fortunes up to eleven on his keyboard amp! Clint’s got stories, insight and creative perspective all bound up in this romp through his long and varied career that p...

In this episode, award winning Techno DJ & Producer Chris Liebing tells Chris Hawkins about his journey from student discos where he was pulling beers whilst spinning tunes, to becoming a revered specialist of the genre. It’s a fascinating career that has taken him from (somewhat disastrously) running his own club to playing 16 hour sets at one of the world’s most respected. A self confessed ‘tech...

In this episode, former Sunday Best founder Rob Da Bank charts his fascinating journey of ‘happy accidents’ from being a corduroy trousered trombone playing ‘geek’ to a Radio 1 DJ and then onto being a renown Festival Curator. From curating spaces for the likes of David Byrne & Björk to hang out, to having to pick up the mantle of one of his heroes, Rob’s story is as eclectic as his musical palett...

From club to radio and every other music DJ in between; Chris Hawkins warms up his guests before asking them to pick a set of 5 questions from a box of 45. In Series 3 Chris lines up eight more episodes of life stories & experiences, tips & techniques, to find out just how the minds of much-loved DJs work. Guests to come include Rob Da Bank, Greg James, Chris Liebing, Clint Boon, Emma B., DMC Cham...

In this episode, former Radio 1 launch DJ Tony Blackburn chats with Chris Hawkins about his journey to that acclaimed position, what still drives him at the venerable age of 78 to keep him broadcasting on BBC Radio 2, and how his love of Soul music brought a wholesale change to British popular culture.   In Series 2 Of How To DJ; Chris has cued up eight more episodes of life stories & experiences,...

In this episode, acclaimed techno producer & DJ Laurent Garnier chats with Chris Hawkins about how fairgrounds fed into his musically formative years, before catering college led him to The Hacienda, and then into a stellar award winning career that hasn’t been hampered by his total disregard for technology! In Series 2 Of How To DJ; Chris has cued up eight more episodes of life stories & experien...

In this episode, recorded during COP26 especially for the Eden Project’s Festival of Discovery, Coldcut’s Matt Black talks to Chris Hawkins about his life & career as a DJ and Producer and how he gradually woke up to the increasingly important issues facing us all environmentally. As part of DJs for Climate Action Matt is hoping to use music as a force for change that will educate us all to think...

In this episode, pioneering Northern Soul DJ & broadcaster Richard Searling talks about the scene he was front and centre of in its heyday, the importance of owning the records that no one else has, and why he feels he’s paid his dues filling dancefloors but won’t stop playing the music he loves! In Series 2 Of How To DJ; Chris has cued up eight more episodes of life stories & experiences, tips &...