- Mon, 2009-01-26 16:14
Andy Pickles and Amadeus Mozart, better known as the Tidy Boys, are proof that entertainment, stage presence and packed out venues are still alive and kicking in hard dance today. The Tidy Boys are living legends in the scene, as proven by the crowds that flock to their roof-raising headline DJ sets at every leading club event and festival around the UK and beyond.
Founders of the Tidy Trax label empire, this dynamic duo’s entrepreneurial skills and forward thinking have established Tidy as the undisputed brand leader in hard dance. The Tidy label and offshoot imprints, their numerous compilation CDs, award winning www.tidy.com website, massive Tidy Weekender and Magna events, not to mention their Big Night Out solo events, have meant that the Tidy Boys have been at the centre of all things good in hard dance for a decade now.
ILM: Firstly, you're nominated for the Outstanding Achievement award at this year’s Hard Dance Awards. How does it feel to be nominated?
TB: It’s always nice to be nominated for something no matter how big or small. An outstanding achievement award may have come our way as we are very old – we’ve been producing for 20 years and DJing since Countdown was first shown on Channel 4!
ILM: How has The Tidy Boys sound grown and developed since you began your career?
TB: Yes, it has changed over the years, from our early Handbaggers campness to the hard stuff and through to the untidy dubs. We also - alongside Paul Janes - were responsible for inventing the bounce sound back in ‘97, although we were inspired by people like the Klubbheadz, Sharp Boys and the Candy Girls etc. We are back in the studio this year, so maybe something new for 2009 too.
ILM: How do you work together? How do you approach your music making?
TB: We were always a good team as producers. In our day, it was all about outboard keyboards, 46 channel desks and midi, so we had to work hard at engineering as well as writing the music. We always had fun and would both write, although the pop factor in us always came out, we had to work extra hard to make it underground.
ILM: What do you look forward to the most about playing sets?
TB: I think it’s about the fact we have fun, we don't take it too seriously and we enjoy what we do. We used to love going out and playing or breaking new tracks, however as a DJ, particularly ourselves, we find it hard now: people expect us to play the tracks we originally broke back from 2001. We have fallen into a small trap of not moving forward as fast as we like, every night seems like a classic night, but we still get a buzz being out in the clubs meeting fans new and old.
ILM: Out of all the sets you have played which will you never forget and why?
TB: Has to be Tidy Weekender 2 live set, we did it once, got away with it and it was a very special night.
ILM: What is the strangest / maddest thing that has happened to you whilst playing live?
TB: I pissed into a glass and Gay Darren (driver) drank a mouthful thinking it was lager.
ILM: How do you prepare for your sets? Do you still get nervous?
TB: With exception to the live set at TW2, we never prepare for a set or work out what are going to play, it makes it more exciting that way to make it up as you go along. We have never really got nervous at gigs, maybe the odd weekender intro, but as a rule we have each other to laugh at if something goes wrong, so nerves is something we have missed out on.
ILM: What/where is your favourite club/soundsystem to play on?
TB: We love playing at both The Opera House in Bournemouth and Pontins in Prestatyn, both seem to be our spiritual home. However the best sound system was at Turnmills when Trade was there on a Sunday morning.
ILM: You must have been to some amazing places around the world - where is your favourite?
TB: I must say we have been lucky having the pleasure of travelling the world while DJing. We loved Las Vegas, if only for the sheer madness of the place, and we also loved San Diego in the USA. Australia was very nice and we fell in love with Melbourne, we also love Norway, a very beautiful country. Lets not forget Ibiza too, a fantastic place that has more to offer than just San Antonio, but to be honest there is no place like home... we love the UK.
ILM: What are you listening to at the moment?
TB: Waltz for Koop by Koop
ILM: What is your earliest musical memory? When did you first realise this was what you wanted to do?
(Amadeus): My first musical memory is my dad playing me Moog albums back in 1971. They were ground breaking and full of electronic sounds way ahead of their time. From here I knew I wanted to make these mad sounds and great music through technology rather than a trumpet, flute or recorder.
