Our guest DJ in March is Andy Dennison, one of the top DJs on the Scottish scene at the moment with English venues jostling to book him too. Tickets here: https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/caledoniasoul
Andy says: “My music policy is across the board, 60's and 70's, R&B, anything that sounds good to me, it's a case of using your imagination. I have always played a bit of everything in my sets, a lot of the material I play now has been influenced by the great DJs I danced to back in the day, I make no secret of the fact I’m still collecting some of the sounds those guys played.”
From the scooter scene Andy attended his first ‘nighter at the Glenrothes YMCA in 1984. Within 12 months he was DJing at that event following a legendary appearance at his local soul night where the dancefloor was packed solid for his debut DJ set.
The big break for Andy was everyone’s good fortune. How many lucky enough to have attended remember walking into the Allanton allnighter, positively tingling with anticipation for the night ahead, and hearing Ted Taylor’s searing vocal intro to ‘Somebody’s Always Trying’ – a track forever linked to our guest.
“Allanton, also known as Shotts, was my favourite night,” said Andy. “It was here I was given a real kick of the ball. Firstly, it was the crowd, they responded to anything that was new or semi-known that was bursting to be played. The punters were right on top of anything any of the DJ's played, it did not matter if a record cost £1 or £100, if it was quality it got jumped on and accepted. The old quote, "It's what’s in the grooves that count," certainly applied at Allanton.”
Unrivalled at the time, the event closed in the early 90s and since then Andy has set about assembling one of most impressive rare soul collections in existence. Although laced with some of the rarest 45s on the planet, his DJ sets still have space for those underplayed cheapies. “The paying punter is not daft, playing the same old sounds month in, month out will eventually burn itself out,” says Andy. “All that is needed is a bit of imagination and balance, thankfully more upfront sounds are catered for up here in Scotland along with classics, it's a case of picking the right night.”
Join us on Sat 29 March as Scotland’s own Andy Dennison, currently one of the hottest properties across the UK, hits the turntables at our superb new venue. Tickets from https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/caledoniasoul priced just £8.oo. Tickets already selling fast.
