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It takes more than having a few good records and the ability to mix them to stay at the top in the competitive world of the premier league DJ. To really succeed, you need to live and breathe the clubbing lifestyle and, most important of all, you have to love the music.
For Tamworth DJ Andy Farley, music - and in particular hard house - is an all-consuming passion. And in a few busy years, he's built up a reputation as one of the best in the business.
A regular at Birmingham's Sundissential and with a packed diary at weekends, Farley, 35, is also one of the hardest working DJs around. With four or five bookings every Friday and Saturday, he's seen more of the M6 than most, clocking up more than 22,000 miles last year.
As well as his long sessions working the decks, Farley also produces his own club tracks. He's currently working on a cut for the respected Frantic label and a remix for hard house leaders Tripoli Trax.
The hard house phenomenen has swept clubland over the last few years. Starting at the big gay nights at London's Heaven club in Charing Cross, the tough, cranked up tempo sound is the perfect soundtrack for the full-on party animals who pack out Code and Sundissential in the Midlands each week. Made strictly for the dancefloor, hard house only really makes sense at 3am on a packed and sweaty dancefloor with a crowd that's really up for it.
Birmingham has taken the sound to its heart. Pioneered by the...