Like To Get To Know You Well - Tom

(Image: Charlie Campey Photography)

Wedding Jam: Let's start at the beginning. What was the first record - single or album - you bought with your own money? HONESTLY! We know that hardly anyone starts off with something achingly cool like the Velvet Underground or DJ Shadow - we've all gotta start somewhere!

Tom: I'm not sure if this was the first record I ever bought, but one of the most tragic purchases I remember in my early teens was the kids' TV show Rainbow had a horrible cheesy dance version of the theme tune out in the charts and I remember rushing to the Virgin Megastore in town to spend £1.99 of my hard-earned car wash money on that absolute monstrosity! Thankfully, my taste in music has erm....matured, since those days!

Thankfully indeed! So how did you get into DJing?

Oooh, good question! I was always a lover of dance music. Growing up in the 90s in Liverpool, dance music was everywhere - all over the radio and in all the different bars and clubs. When I was 17, I worked in a solicitors as an office junior and the guy who had that job before me was a bit of a DJ just for fun. He used to make mixes for me and bring them in on tapes which I absolutely could not get enough of! One day, he told me he was getting new decks and asked if I wanted to buy his old ones and he'd teach me how to mix. I said yes of course, and that weekend he brought them round (along with a handful of records to get me started) and showed me the basics...21 years later and the rest is history! Gary, if you're out there, thank you mate!

What for you are the key cornerstones of a great DJ set?

For me, it's the connection with the crowd. Music is obviously so important, but it's that relationship with the people in the room which matters the most. It doesn't matter if it's a huge set to thousands or an intimate gig to only a handful, the ones that stick out in my memory the most are the ones where the DJ and the people in the crowd are absolutely on the same page. When you get that trust, when you know what to expect from each other and you share that energy, those are the best DJ sets, hands down.

What 3 records are impossible for you to leave out of any DJ set?

This probably changes year on year, and I try to keep my selections fresh (just for the sake of my own enjoyment / not getting bored!) but recently I'd have to say:

1. ABBA - Gimme Gimme Gimme (Fat Tony & Medun Remix) - just a big, hefty, bassy, re-drum of a disco classic, which never fails to get a big reaction!

2. Sophie Ellis-Bextor - Murder On The Dancefloor - still riding high off the resurgence from being in that end scene of 'Saltburn' in 2023!

3. Tina Turner - Proud Mary - it's a wedding DJ cliche, but in my experience, if this don't get the party started, that party ain't starting!

Tell us about a favourite wedding DJing experience of yours...!

Ahh, there's so many! One recent one that springs to mind though was in the summer of 2023, at the Invisible Wind Factory in Liverpool. Incredible playlist, huge guestlist (250+ I think), and I got to play on stage with a full club sound and lighting install at my disposal, in a place where I've seen some of my favourite DJs and bands play in the past. Having a crowd like that in front of me, partying into the small hours, reminded me of my club DJing days and was one of those nights that genuinely made me remember just how lucky I am that I get to call this my job!

What 5 artists best represent your variety and diversity of musical tastes?

Limp Bizkit, Chic & Sister Sledge, Fred Again, Billy Joel, Ultrabeat!

What one track is your surefire guaranteed floorfiller?

I'm a big fan of keeping things familiar and fun, without being cheesy. But this one has to be a go-to in most wedding DJ's sets: Earth Wind & Fire - September. Just a solid, well-loved disco classic, that's as much a hit with the younger age group as it is with the 'oldies'!

Do you think DJing a wedding differs in any way from a regular DJ set - and if so, how? - or do the core principles remain the same?

Interesting question! I think the core principles are the same - DJing is, and has always been, about knowing the right music to play at the right time, and telling a compelling story. But with weddings, versus say a club gig or a festival set, that story is about the couple. My job as a wedding DJ is to take the music you love, and stitch it together in a way that tells your story over the course of the night. That's the challenge, and one of the parts of the job I love the most.

What's the most unusual or memorable first dance record you've ever played?

One of the first to my mind was a few years ago at a tiny little country pub on the outskirts of Blackburn. The couple were really into their glam-rock, pop-punk and rock music, so a lot of the playlist was big classics from the likes of Blink 182, T-Rex, The Darkness, Nirvana etc. But the jewel in the crown was their first dance, which they did to Metallica's 'Enter Sandman'. I'm a big fan of wearing your colours loud and proud on your wedding day, and this was one that stands out because that first dance was absolutely, completely Jen & Duncan... and it was epic!

What 10 albums would be your Desert Island Discs?

(In no particular order)

1. Limp Bizkit - 'Significant Other'

2. Eminem - 'The Marshall Mathers LP'

3. Funeral For a Friend - 'Casually Dressed & In Deep Conversation' (or 'Hours', sorry for cheating!)

4. Linkin Park - 'Hybrid Theory' (or 'Meteora', again, sorry!)

5. Billy Joel - 'Greatest Hits Volume I & II'

6. Pendulum - 'Hold Your Colour'

7. Weezer - 'The Blue Album'

8. Crowded House - 'Together Alone' (or 'Woodface', not very good at this am I?)

9. The Killers - 'Hot Fuss'

10. Fatboy Slim - 'You've Come A Long Way Baby'

Do you have any big DJing no-no's?

Talking over songs! I'm not big on formality or tradition. I try to bring a more relaxed, informal style to the proceedings so as far as I'm concerned, anything goes. Bring the vibes and let's have a good old rave up! But when it comes to mic-work, I'm a believer in "less is more". I don't mind jumping on the mic and getting people hyped up throughout the night, but at the end of the day, it's the music which should always be the focus. So talking over songs is, in my opinion, an absolute no-no!

Fundamentally, what can a couple expect from you as their wedding DJ?

For the 15 years prior to focussing on weddings full-time, I played at all sorts of different spaces and events - from dubstep and drum 'n' bass raves, to hip-hop and r'n'b spots, and from upmarket lounge bars to filthy little dive clubs playing rock and metal! I always try to bring some of that energy to the dancefloor. For me, your party should be how you want it. No genre is out-of-bounds. No era or vibe should be off the table. I've got plenty of experience to help guide you as to what will work (and what might not), but what's most important to me is that we work together so you get to hear the music you want at your wedding.