Pete Tong

Last updated

Pete Tong
MBE
Pete tong head crop.jpg
Tong at the Glastonbury Festival in 2009
Background information
Birth namePeter Michael Tong
Born (1960-07-30) 30 July 1960 (age 64)
Dartford, Kent, England
Genres
Occupation(s)Disc jockey, record producer, radio presenter
Years active1981–present
Website www.petetong.com

Peter Michael Tong MBE (born 30 July 1960) is an English DJ who works for BBC Radio 1. [1] He is the host of programmes such as Essential Mix and Essential Selection on the radio service, which can be heard through Internet radio streams, for his record label FFRR Records [2] and for his own performances at nightclubs and music festivals. Tong has also worked as a record producer and is regarded as the "global ambassador for electronic music." [3]

Contents

The phrase "It's all gone Pete Tong", where the name is used as rhyming slang for "it's all gone wrong", was reputedly coined by Paul Oakenfold in late 1987 in an article about acid house called "Bermondsey Goes Balearic" for Terry Farley and Pete Heller's Boys Own fanzine. [4] [5] [6] It's All Gone Pete Tong is also the title of a 2004 film which portrays a fictional DJ's experiences as he realizes he is becoming deaf. [7] Tong appears briefly in the film. It is also the name Tong has adopted for his club night at the nightclub Pacha in Ibiza and his nightly radio programme in the United States on iHeartRadio's "Evolution" EDM format platform. [8] [9]

In 2008, Tong was involved with organizing the International Music Summit in Ibiza, [10] an event that has become an annual fixture (the 2016 Summit was held during 25–27 May). [11] In 2017, Tong won Radio Show of the Year at the Electronic Music Awards for "The Essential Collection".

Biography

Early life

Tong was born in Dartford, Kent in 1960 and was educated at King's School, Rochester, Kent. [12] [13] Tong is a supporter of Arsenal F.C. [14]

Tong's original musical interest was in drumming, but he soon moved on to DJing. He played his first public gig at a friend's wedding at age 15. [15] While at school he and a couple of friends earned some extra money by promoting a couple of local bands and booking halls for gigs.[ citation needed ] He also worked as part of the Kent "Soul Mafia" bringing soul weekenders to seaside towns such as Caister-on-Sea and Prestatyn. [16] In his early years Tong was heavily influenced by the late DJ Froggy. [17] The first album he bought was The Slider by T-Rex (1972). [18]

After leaving school, Tong set up a mobile disco based in a Ford Transit van, but he soon started his own club in Baker Street called Family Function. He also booked bands for an alternative night, the first of which was the then unknown Culture Club. Tong originally performed as a DJ using the name "Kickstart Roadshow" and then later "OHMS Roadshow" with an extensive sound system.

Later, he became DJ and promoter at the Kings Lodge club in West Kingsdown. Later moving venue to the Hill Top, also in West Kingsdown, he was responsible for breaking classics such as Lonnie Liston Smith's "Expansions" and Ritchie Cole's "Groovin on a New York Afternoon".

In 1979, Tong became an advertising sales assistant for Blues & Soul magazine. [19] After a year he also contributed some reviews, gossip and sales charts, which continued until 1983. He left Blues & Soul to join London Records as an A&R manager. Through his connections in London Records, Tong was exposed to the newly emerging house music sound from Chicago. In 1986, Tong organised a compilation album, The House Sound of Chicago, Vol. 1, the first British release to gather and expose this genre.

Along with Jules Buckley and the Heritage Orchestra, Tong was part of the 2015 BBC Proms season, performing the Radio 1 'Ibiza Prom'. [20]

Career

Radio

Tong's first appearance on radio was in the late 1970s on Radio Invicta, Europe's first soul music station. [21] Later, he appeared on local radio station BBC Radio Medway, as part of the 'Soul Mafia' and performed occasional mixes for Radio London.[ citation needed ] In 1981, Tong made his first appearance on Radio 1 as the host of a 15-minute feature on Peter Powell's show—he played new tracks and covered the latest gossip and news from the dance music industry.[ citation needed ]

When Invicta Radio started in Kent in 1984, Tong became the host of a regular soul show on the station. As Tong had joined the developing dance-DJ management company of DJ-turned-journalist Eddie Gordon, of the Kent Messenger , he built a prominent county profile and performed at Gordon's local club the Slammer. [13] Tong joined Capital Radio in 1988 to present a weekly dance programme.

In January 1991, [22] Tong began his Friday evening show, branded as the Essential Selection for its first 15 years, on BBC Radio 1. The show still continues every week (currently it is broadcast at 10 PM for two hours, either pre-recorded from Tong's garage at his home in Los Angeles or live from the eighth floor of Broadcasting House) [23] and Tong is now the longest serving DJ on the station (following the death of Annie Nightingale). Additionally, a one-hour Sunday edition of the programme, called "The Essential Selection - Part 2", was broadcast from April 1992 to April 1993. [24] A spinoff, titled The Rap Selection (featuring rap, ragga and new jack swing), aired on Thursday evenings [25] on the station from 9 to 10 PM from April 1991 until March 1992.

From October 1993, Tong oversaw the production of the Essential Mix show, which was devised and, until 2003, produced by Gordon. [26] The show was the first BBC production to broadcast live from Ibiza, Spain. [27] The 500th mix was broadcast on 23/24 April 2010, featuring solely Tong on the Friday night and Tong, plus DJs Sasha and Richie Hawtin, live from Circus nightclub in Liverpool, UK, for the second section. [27]

In 2011, Tong filed a restraining order against the Massive Attack singer Shara Nelson after she harassed him with nuisance calls and falsely claimed they were married. She was given a 12-month community order and 80 hours of community service. [28]

In November 2012, Tong was asked by Clear Channel Communications in the US to help launch a new EDM channel, on their iHeartRadio platform, called 'Evolution'. Along with the launch of the channel, Tong introduced a nightly two-hour programme titled Its All Gone Pete Tong, which is similar to his BBC 1 programme. The platform would later form the basis for Clear Channel to expand the Evolution brand, with the 20 December 2012 launch of the format on WEDX/Boston that included Tong's station promos and voice-overs. Likewise, Tong's iHeartRadio programme is also broadcast on WEDX.[ citation needed ] In addition, a supplemental 2-hour weekly programme, Evolution Beatport Show , is also aired on various Top 40/CHR and Rhythmic stations in the U.S. and in other countries and is syndicated by Premiere Networks. In 2019, Tong started a series for BBC Radio 2 called Pete Tong's House Nation, a personal exploration of house music.

DJ

Tong is one of Britain's most recognised DJs, having gained a large following of fans from his Essential Selection programme.[ citation needed ] He was appointed a Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire in the 2014 New Year Honours for services to Broadcasting and Music. [29] [30]

From 2003 to 2007, Tong was the resident DJ at Pacha nightclub in Ibiza, where he oversaw the Pure Pacha events. In 2008, Tong left Pacha and signed with Eden nightclub in Sant Antoni de Portmany to host his own Wonderland night. Tong explained in a 2009 interview that he, "from a UK perspective", has played in Ibiza since inception (1991) and, as of the time of the interview, divided his time between the UK, Ibiza and the US. [31]

In March 2011, he announced that he would be returning to Pacha on Friday nights with a new event named 'All Gone Pete Tong'. [32] Tong played the Together Winter Music Festival in London, UK, at Alexandra Palace on 26 November 2011. [33] He appeared in the 2016 Grammy-nominated documentary film about American DJ and producer Steve Aoki, titled I'll Sleep When I'm Dead . [34]

Tong has returned to DJ in his native Kent several times in his professional career, including several stints at The Loft in Maidstone. [35]

Additionally, Tong hosts a pool party each year during Miami Music Week at one of the hotels on South Beach. In 2018, Tong was joined by Idris Elba, The Black Madonna, Black Coffee and The Martinez Brothers, among others. [36] [37]

Discography

Mix albums

All chart positions are in the UK Compilation Chart [38] except for Classic House (2016), Ibiza Classics (2017) and Chilled Classics (2019) where the chart positions are for the UK Albums Chart.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Oakenfold</span> British record producer and trance music DJ

Paul Mark Oakenfold, formerly known mononymously as Oakenfold, is an English record producer, remixer and trance DJ. He has provided over 100 remixes for over 100 artists including U2, Moby, Madonna, Britney Spears, Massive Attack, the Cure, New Order, the Rolling Stones, the Stone Roses and Michael Jackson. Oakenfold was voted the No. 1 DJ in the World twice in 1998 and 1999 by DJ Magazine.

The Essential Mix is a weekly radio show on BBC Radio 1 currently broadcast between 0:00 and 2:00 a.m. UK time on Saturday morning. Originally broadcast on 30 October 1993, the Essential Mix features contemporary DJs and music producers of electronic dance music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trevor Nelson</span> British DJ and radio presenter (born 1964)

Trevor Ricardo Nelson, MBE is an English DJ and presenter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Max Graham</span> Musical artist

Max Graham is a British-Canadian DJ, composer, and producer of dance music. Known for fusing progressive house, trance, and techno, he is most famous for his open-to-close DJ Sets, his Cycles CD series/radio show, and his remix of the classic song "Owner of a Lonely Heart" in 2005. He is also the founder of record labels Re*Brand and Cycles.

<i>Its All Gone Pete Tong</i> 2004 Canada, U.K. film

It's All Gone Pete Tong is a 2004 British-Canadian mockumentary-drama film about a DJ who goes completely deaf. The title uses a rhyming slang phrase used in Britain from the 1980s, referring to the BBC Radio 1 DJ Pete Tong who cameos in the film.

Balearic beat, also known as Balearic house, Balearic, Ibiza house or Ibizan chillout, is an eclectic blend of DJ-led dance music that emerged in the mid-1980s. It later became the name of a more specific style of electronic dance/house music that was popular into the mid-1990s. Balearic beat was named for its popularity among European nightclub and beach rave patrons on the Balearic island of Ibiza, a popular tourist destination. Some dance music compilations referred to it as "the sound of Ibiza", even though many other, more aggressive and upbeat forms of dance music could be heard on the island, such as Balearic trance.

The Essential Selection is a radio show on Friday evenings on BBC Radio 1, originally conceived by producer Eddie Gordon and hosted by Pete Tong.

Danny Rampling is an English house music DJ and is widely credited as one of the original founders of the UK's rave/club scene.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fergie (DJ)</span> Musical artist

Robert Ferguson, known professionally as Fergie, is a Northern Irish DJ and electronic music artist from Larne. He has been an internationally touring DJ and a music producer for over 20 years. He presented a radio show on BBC Radio 1 for over four years while recording 13 Essential Mixes for the station. He was featured in the DJ Mag Top 100 DJs poll seven consecutive years and currently holds the record for the highest new entry since the poll began, achieved when he was voted 8th in 2000.

<i>The Goa Mix</i> 1994 remix album (DJ mix) by Paul Oakenfold

The Goa Mix is a two-hour DJ mix by British musician and DJ Paul Oakenfold. It was originally broadcast on BBC Radio 1 as an Essential Mix on 18 December 1994 after the producer of the show, Eddie Gordon, chose Oakenfold to produce an eclectic DJ mix for the show which featured a burgeoning variation of electronic styles, having begun the previous year. Oakenfold had, at this point, developed his own unique Goa trance sound, influenced by his time at hippy gatherings on beaches in Goa, and employed it heavily into the mix, which also made pioneering use of film score samples. Oakenfold used the mix as an experiment in which he tried to fuse electronic music, especially trance music, with film score music, and then to overlay the result with vocal parts, samples and additional production. The mix was split into two parts, later referred to as the Silver Mix and the Gold Mix respectively. Reflecting the Goa influence, the album title did not evolve beyond its simplistic working name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dave Dresden</span> Musical artist

Dave Dresden is an American electronic dance music DJ and producer, co-founder of the collaborative acts Gabriel & Dresden with Josh Gabriel, and Dresden and Johnston with Mikael Johnston.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eddie Gordon</span> Musical artist

Eddie Gordon is an English music journalist, producer, DJ and music business personality.

<i>And the Beat Goes On</i> (film) 2009 Canadian film

And The Beat Goes On is an English-language documentary film directed by Steve Jaggi. It was shown at various film and music festivals between 2009 and 2011. And The Beat Goes On is set on the Mediterranean Island of Ibiza.

Wonderland is a club night concept created and developed by UK-based DJ Pete Tong. In 2007, Wonderland had its debut at London's Ministry of Sound and has remained a resident party at the super club. In 2008, Wonderland was launched at Eden in Ibiza where it has spent three seasons.

Tristan Ingram is an English House DJ and EDM music producer & remixer from Kent, England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sonny Wharton</span>

Sonny Wharton is a British house and techno DJ and record producer. In addition to his artist career, Wharton now manages a range of electronic DJs and producers alongside running his newly founded record label, Strength In Numbers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Francesco Rossi (DJ)</span> Italian DJ & Producer

Francesco Rossi is an Italian DJ & Producer. His recent success "Paper Aeroplane" was released on the Italian record label d:vision in May 2013. It was selected as Pete Tong's Essential New Tune and was featured in Maya Jane Coles' BBC Radio 1 Essential Mix. In September 2013, Francesco Rossi won the 2013 special DJ Awards, "Paper Aeroplane" is nominated best Track of the Season during the winners ceremony at Pacha in Ibiza. In January 2014 Francesco was selected as "Future Stars" by Pete Tong during his radio show on BBC Radio 1. In January 2016, his new single "Revolution" coming out inside the new Steve Angello album "Wild Youth".

Frank Thomas Knebel-Janssen, better known by his stage name Thomas Gold, is a German DJ and producer. His first productions were trance-based, which eventually evolved into progressive house and tech house in recent times. He was ranked at number 82 in the Top 100 DJs survey conducted by DJ Magazine in 2012.

Nicholas Anthony "Nic" Fanciulli is an electronic musician, DJ and label owner.

BBC Radio 1 Dance is a British online-only radio stream, owned and operated by the BBC and run as a spin-off from BBC Radio 1. The station plays a mix of back-to-back current, future and classic electronic dance music, and broadcasts exclusively on BBC Sounds.

References

  1. ↑ "Pete Tong". BBC Radio 1. BBC. 28 September 2012. Retrieved 4 October 2012.
  2. ↑ Richard Smirke (25 May 2011). "Pete Tong Teams With Warner U.K. To Relaunch FFRR Label". Billboard.biz. Billboard. Archived from the original on 15 January 2013. Retrieved 4 October 2012.
  3. ↑ "ARISE, SIR PETE OF TONG!". DJMag.com. 6 January 2014. Retrieved 29 June 2016.
  4. ↑ "The Story of Boy's Own: The Acid House Gang Who Changed British Clubbing". VICE. 25 March 2014. Retrieved 29 June 2016.
  5. ↑ Romero, Dennis (7 April 2015). "Pete Tong Wants to Save EDM From Itself" . Retrieved 29 June 2016.
  6. ↑ "Pete Tong Issues a Wikipedia Correction and Announces Concert at Mansion October 27" S. Pajot "CrossFade, the Music Blog", 19 October 2010, accessed 19 October 2010, Miami New Times
  7. ↑ "It's All Gone Pete Tong (2004)". IMDb. IMDb.com, Inc. 1990–2012. Retrieved 4 October 2012.
  8. ↑ "Evolution 101.7 – All Things Dance for Boston | Listen Live | iHeartRadio". Iheart.com. Retrieved 13 July 2014.
  9. ↑ "About All Gone Pete Tong". Evolution. Retrieved 29 June 2016.
  10. ↑ "Pete Tong - IMS" . Retrieved 29 June 2016.
  11. ↑ Antwan Shalom (2012). "Pete Tong Interview for IMS 2012 (English)". electrocorp (in English and French). Electrocorp – Le Magazine des Musiques Electroniques. Retrieved 4 October 2012.
  12. ↑ "Index entry". FreeBMD. ONS. Retrieved 28 January 2017.
  13. 1 2 "It's all going Pete Tong". BBC Kent. 25 August 2007. Retrieved 17 June 2014.
  14. ↑ "10 Things You Didn't Know About Pete Tong: TomorrowWorld Edition". Complex . 25 September 2014. Retrieved 6 March 2021.
  15. ↑ "Pete Tong". Clubber.gr. Archived from the original on 27 May 2012. Retrieved 29 June 2016.
  16. ↑ "U.K. Jazz Funk/". Culturesofsoul.com. Archived from the original on 5 August 2016. Retrieved 29 June 2016.
  17. ↑ Brewster, Bill (7 September 2004). "Froggy". DJ History. Archived from the original on 20 August 2016. Retrieved 29 June 2016.
  18. ↑ "20 Questions With Pete Tong". Billboard. 2019.
  19. ↑ "Blues & Soul Magazine". Bluesandsoul.com. Retrieved 13 July 2014.
  20. ↑ "Prom 16: Late Night with ... BBC Radio 1".
  21. ↑ Kevin Cooper (24 November 2019). "INTERVIEW: Pete Tong". UK Music Reviews.
  22. ↑ "BBC Genome" Friday 11 January 1991
  23. ↑ Interview on "Steve Wright in the Afternoon", BBC Radio 2, 29 November 2016, 4:39 pm (GMT)
  24. ↑ "BBC Genome" Pete Tong's Essential Selection Part 2
  25. ↑ "BBC Genome" The Rap Selection
  26. ↑ "BBC Genome" Pete Tong
  27. 1 2 "Radio 1 celebrates 500th DJ to take part in Essential Mix with special live broadcast". BBC Radio 1. 2 April 2010.
  28. ↑ Hastings, Rob (12 August 2011). "DJ Pete Tong gets restraining order against singer Shara Nelson". The Independent .
  29. ↑ "No. 60728". The London Gazette (Supplement). 31 December 2013. p. 24.
  30. ↑ "BBC News – Radio 1 DJ Pete Tong honoured with an MBE". Bbc.co.uk. 30 December 2013. Retrieved 13 July 2014.
  31. ↑ "Interview: Pete Tong, Wonderland, Ibiza" (Video upload). DJSounds.com. 12 November 2009. Retrieved 1 September 2014.
  32. ↑ "Confirmed: Pure Pacha All Gone Pete Tong". Ibiza Spotlight. Ibiza Spotlight S.L. 18 March 2011. Retrieved 1 September 2014.
  33. ↑ Elliott, Catherine (31 October 2011). "DJ AT TOGETHER WINTER MUSIC FEST". Mixmag. Development Hell Ltd. Archived from the original on 21 June 2012. Retrieved 1 September 2014.
  34. ↑ "Steve Aoki 'I'll Sleep When I'm Dead' Documentary Hits Netflix". thenocturnaltimes.com. The Nocturnal Times. 24 August 2016. Retrieved 27 July 2017.
  35. ↑ "It's all going Pete Tong". BBC Kent. 22 August 2007. Retrieved 5 January 2018.
  36. ↑ "All Gone Miami Pool Party!". Petetong.com.
  37. ↑ "All Gone Pete Tong". Miamimusicweek.com.
  38. ↑ The Complete Book of the British Chart: Third Edition p.1275 (2003)
  39. ↑ "Pete Tong/Heritage Or/Buckley". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 7 December 2019.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.