Dave Pickard

Vital Statistics :

D.O.B : 25 / 05 / 69

Place Of Birth : United Kingdom Maritial Status : Single

Residencies : (Tue/Wed) Ocean - Nottingham (Fri) Heaven & Hell - Blackburn (Sat) Freelance

Music Style : Anything Uplifting & Pumping - Concentrating on Funky House, Trance & Techno.

Favourite Record Of All Time (And Why?) : Bizarre Inc - Playing With Knives - "A track that takes me back to when I did my first club, a tune way before it's time, which still takes the roof off even now when I play it…."

Most Memorable Moment : "Perfoming at Party In The Park in Leeds, where I played to 80.000 people! - It was the best laxative I've ever had..."

How Do You See The Future? : "Music will always be a part of my life. Music will continue to evolve and change and people will always want to dance, which means that there will always be a role for dj's like myself. I will continue to dj for as long as I can because I enjoy what I do and I love entertaining people…"

E Mail : dave.pickard1@ntlworld.com

Additional Info : Dave Pickard is without question one of the godfathers of the European commercial club scene. Internationally respected for his ability to cross boundaries and break preconceptions with his dj sets - Dave is literally in a league of his own when it comes to entertaining crowds and envigourating dancefloors. Dave is a dj who has travelled the globe with his most extraordinary repertoire and has played at some of the most prestigious clubs in the world - alongside some of the world's finest dj's - Carl Cox and Frankie Knuckles to name a few.

Technically, Dave is astounding - equally at ease either beat-matching or mixing on the break - Dave epitomises everything you'd expect from a Superstar Funky House connoisseur. Dave's talents definitely don't end there though - he has successfully diversified into the more commercial market and can deliver a crowd pleasing set of RnB, Chart & Party that rivals anyone performing on any of the UK's more accessible mainstream club circuits.

Dave has develeped the knack of 'reading the crowd' - knowing the right song to play and when - and with his exhuberant and undeniably slick use of the microphone - Dave really has every conceivable angle covered with regard to working any dancefloor in front of him.

With reference to his approach to each performance, Dave continually makes the effort to both look and smell good - in the knowledge - that he's the face of the venue and ultimately the person to whom the audience aspire to be.

Dave started dj'ing on the mobile circuit at the tender age of 16 in 1986. Two years later in 1998, Dave landed a warm-up set at The Rooftop Gardens in Wakefield - which was one of the largest clubs in the area at the time - where he later went on to become resident dj for over a year. 1999 saw Dave work for various leisure/nightlife companies around the UK - these include Rank Leisure, Brook Leisure, First Leisure, Punch Retail, Luminar Leisure and other various independents.

It was at this time Dave showed an interest in the marketing side of the industry and took up positions with both Taking Liberties and Cool It Promotions - two of the industry's leading promotion companies. In 1994, Dave left the UK for a season and headed off in the direction of the Greek Island of Kos where he gained valuable experience in entertaining people from all over the globe.

He returned to the UK in '95 only to leave the UK again in 1996 for Mallorca - where he became resident dj at the "world famous" BCM club as well as being resident at two of Mallorca's most respected venues - Bananas and Heroes. It was at this time that Dave went on to work alongside the "cream" of the World's Top Dj's - Carl Cox, Judge Jules, Frankie Knuckles, Danny Rampling, Deep Dish, Pete Tong, Jeremy Healy...the list goes on...! After a year in the sun, Dave returned to "Old Blighty" and landed a residency at Legends Nightclub in Newcastle - which unbelievably at the time was voted the 6th Party Capital Of The World! - Howay Man!!

After a year, Dave moved oversees yet again - this time he headed off to Singapore - where he worked for 6 months as resident dj at several venues for an internationally acclaimed nightclub chain. Upon his return to the UK, Dave was asked to be resident dj at the largest club in Leeds at the time - Evolution - where he enjoyed a great 3 years. It was at his time that Dave attended the Leeds College Of Music - where he completed courses in Music Production and Music Technology. 2001 saw Dave turn into dj/producer whilst he cut up a cheeky bootleg of David Morales's "Needin U" - which in turn went White Label and ultimately sold really well. In 2003 Dave went on to co-produce a remix of Maria McKee's "Show Me Heaven" which got signed to Inferno Records and became a massive Top 40 hit. Stardom beckoned and the release of the single led to Dave performing in some of the largest arenas in the UK alongside the likes of Girls Aloud, the Sugababes and Busted.

Having kept his feet firmly on the ground, Dave held residencies - playing between three to seven nights per week, during this manic, but openly states - memorable time... 2004 saw Dave travel to the White Isle of Ibiza where he played at Amnesia, Platik and Kanya, for him to return back in 2005 to play a couple of guest slots at Cream (Amnesia) alongside The Shapeshifters - of Lola's Theme fame.

At the moment Dave is currently working for two of the largest leisure organisations in the UK - Luminar Leisure and Candu Entertainment - where his talents are taking him all over the country.

 

Dave Pickard's Top 10 of all time:

  1. Alcatraz - Give Me Love
  2. Inner City - Pennies From Heaven
  3. Luther Vandross - Never Too Much
  4. Energy 52 - Café Del Mar
  5. N-Joi - Anthem
  6. Soul To Soul - Back To Life
  7. System F - Out Of The Blue
  8. Sugarhill Gang - Rapper's Delight
  9. Faithless - Insomnia
  10. Sound Design - Happiness

 

Dave Pickard is a true ambassador of everything that is great about the industry. A dj that has continually led from the front and by example. It goes without saying that we at thebigtune.com are enormously proud to have a dj of Dave's calibre in our team.