Through four decades at the pointy end of electronic music, the Secret DJ has seen it all. In this hilarious, gripping and at times deeply moving follow-up to the smash hit first book, the mysterious insider pulls no punches, wryly lifting the lid on misbehaving stars, what really goes on backstage, how to survive in the DJ game, and where the real power lies in rave.
Above all, they chart how capitalism bought and sold the utopian dreams of the Acid House generation – and whether those dreams can still be saved.
Essential reading for anyone who cares about the dancefloor; past, present and future.
Praise for The Secret DJ…
“I loved The Secret DJ – some all-too-familiar characters mixed with the highs and lows of what this industry can throw at you. Excited and intrigued to read the second instalment… how much more extreme can it get?!” – Denney
“I never read books about electronic music, why would I? But I guess The Secret DJ is more an anarchist handbook for shattered dreamers than a manual on how to make it big on the scene. Can’t wait for his new adventures.” – Ivan Smagghe
“We all have war stories, us jobbing night-lifers. From having sets ended by soldiers with automatic weapons in Juarez to coming-round in Glasgow city centre suddenly best pals with a gangster who’s most affectionate nickname was ‘Wolf’. I’ve bagged a couple over the years. And yours are undoubtedly more vivid, funnier or more ludicrous than mine. The Secret DJ’s are better still.” – Ewan Pearson
“I loved book one, waiting to live the DJ life vicariously again thru book two!” – Arthur Baker
“The Secret DJ’s first book managed to do something very different to the existing dance music memoirs (and I should know as I have read them all). It functioned not only as a hilarious jaunt through the insanity of the glory years of dance music – i.e. when there was still money in music – but as a harrowing portrayal of the emotionally, physically and mentally taxing straits an international DJ will find themselves in. Anyone with even a passing curiosity about ‘the industry’ should read it and await its follow up, especially if they have any frankly dangerous notions of joining up professionally, which I cannot in all good conscience recommend.” – Manu Ekanayake (music and culture journalist)
“It’s rare for a writer to capture the excitement and absurdity of dance music culture at the same time, but the Secret DJ did that to great effect in the first book. This latest chapter in the story promises to be every bit as exhilarating, providing an important critical voice at a time when ‘the society of the spectacle’ threatens to suck the life out of those clinging to the acid house dream.” – Justin Robertson
“The first book is a raw, effective and bizarrely emotional tale of ‘the life’. Superbly true and direct. I can hardly wait to hear the tale of the music movement being told by The Secret DJ in Book Two!” – Miguel Campbell
“The Secret DJ returns to once again pull back the curtain on the world of dance music and the sometimes harsh, but always hilarious, realities of what lurks behind it. Get ready for a second descent into the far(cical) side.” – Neville Watson
“Really enjoyed the first book, both hilarious debauchery and insightful commentary on a world usually kept behind the curtain. I’m looking forward to the next instalment, hoping for a lot more righteous anger within.” – Posthuman
“Every participant in the music industry will wince at the thought of falling under the glance of the Secret DJ’s withering pen, but still find themselves avidly leafing through his pages for the merest mention.” – Carl Puttnam (Cud)
“I once spent a fine and wonky evening at Claridges Hotel with this Secret DJ fellow and a less secret, ultra famous superstar DJ type, who you’d think would be the centre of attention. But no, it was Mr Secret that kept us very amused and highly illuminated with his many tales, theories, and a steady supply of vodka and tonic. If his second book contains a tenth of the wild imaginings and brain expanding possibilities that he told us that night, it’ll be a solid gold winner.” – Richard Norris