Festival Q&A:
Dave Pearce

The dance DJ, record producer and broadcaster is playing at Blackpool’s Back to the Old Pool festival (8 July) this summer. He tells Big Issue North he’s looking forward to the reunion party

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Who else are you excited to see?
Wow that’s tough – so many great acts! Probably Chicane because I haven’t seen them for a few years. I remember putting on Chicane on my Radio 1 dance parties when Nick Chicane was starting out. He was so young he used to come with his mum. Now many of those tracks like Saltwater and Offshore are regarded as timeless classics.

What’s your best festival memory?

One of my favourites was a festival called Homelands in the South East. I had to come straight from doing a Radio One show so they laid on a helicopter and I missed all the event traffic. I think Faithless and the other acts were thinking, blimey, how the hell did he swing that one? I remember playing Underworld’s Born Slippy to a crowd of 15,000 all going nuts – one of those goosebumps moments.

What are your festival essentials?

Bottle of water, bag of Hula Hoops, waterproof.

How does playing a festival differ from playing your own gig?

It’s one of the few occasions you get to bump into and check out other acts, so in some ways it can be a bit like a reunion or a party as you get to see old mates you haven’t seen for years.

What’s your favourite part of playing a festival?

For me it’s about that shared moment, the right record at the right time, a sea of smiling faces and hands in the air. That second when everybody gets caught in the moment and we are together as one – priceless!

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Dave Pearce

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