NICK LOMAX (LOADSTAR)

It was 2003 and I had my first DJ gig, a freezing cold night in Manchester. I already had a few records out under the name Holdtight — and received quite a good booking through Metropolis, who run the biggest drum & bass nights up in the North.

So I played after Bailey, and it was a late slot, 3-4am. I remember turning up at the club and it was going off seriously hard!

I had that mixture of fear and excitement; but mainly fear, as I basically couldn’t mix for gash. I lived with some mates that had some decks, so I practiced a bit and I had some good promos in the bag.

Despite trainwrecking most mixes after opening with Fresh’s ‘Tomb Raider’, I managed to hold it together just about. It felt like the longest hour ever! It wasn’t the best start, but I learnt a lot and soon fell totally in love with DJing.”