I STARTED my love of music as a child, at the age of 11, when I became Bandsman of the Year for the Acton Hall Colliery band. Following this, I slowly put together my collection of 45s and invested in a Gerrard twin deck. Once I left school and saved up enough money from my butcher’s job, aged 18, I decided to follow my dream, and with the support of my parents, bought a mixing deck and amps and expanded my music collection.

And so my DJ career began! Starting off at children’s parties then moving into local pubs and clubs, I knew for sure that I’d found my passion. In the years to follow, I found my niche playing in high end golf club lodges, where I learned how to read the audiences and end the night on a high.

As my confidence and experience grew, I realised that with all the gear I needed (the best of audio-visual equipment, a van etc), just working a Friday and Saturday night would not provide enough income. This is where the event organisation and management side of my career was born.

From starting and growing iconic Friday nights at the Swiss Cottage in Wentbridge, I helped to create hotel entertainment during the week. For Monday nights, I created an extremely popular singles night for the over-25s and Thursday nights for the over-40s , each with a different set of music. With this and my Sunday nights at the Midland Hotel in Bradford, Pennington’s Variety Club and Tramshed, I soon became known as the ‘Mobile Maestro’.

My next career move was taking over a DJ slot at Painthorpe Country Club, on the last Friday of the month. Using my marketing skills, I took the night from an audience of barely 100 to over 1,500. This iconic evening survived for almost 20 years, and at the same venue a midweek ballroom evening also flourished.

Venues where I have held residencies include Garforth Hilton, the Midland Hotel, Pennington’s Variety Club, Leeds United banqueting suite, Queen’s Hotel, Leeds, the 0898 Nightclub in Bradford and around 50 more.

Over 30 wonderful years I have worked with many acts, including Jerry Lee Lewis, Chuck Berry, Bill Wyman, Marty Wilde, Gerry Marsden, David Essex, Jools Holland, and on a retro Top of the Pops televised event at Pennington’s Variety Club.

My singles nights were popular with many over-25s across the county - at their peak we’d get 3,000 every week.

I remember fun times with John Pennington when he owned the Midland. One day some birds got into the main ballroom and wouldn’t go out of the door, so JP had us waving bed sheets at them so we could get them out.

One new year’s eve I was doing a DJ set in the ballroom and John came running up; I had to go down into the 0898 club as the music had gone off. I soon found out someone fancied an early night and had shut the music system off in the back room. I got it back on in moments and the night was saved

The DJ and music scene in Bradford has changed dramatically over the years. The live music scene was hit hard by the2001 Manningham riots but Bradford has moved on now and it’s time to bring back international entertainment.

The Midland Hotel is a great venue and over the years has hosted many of the country’s big stars. Working with General Manager David Crossley, I’m now trying to re-create the days when we had international stars in Bradford.

I’m re-creating 80s and 90s nights and trying hard to bring variety back, and I’m also trying a new concept with a Motown Sunday lunch, the first featuring the lead singer with the American Four Tops.

To this day I’ve still got my full music collection, in order to cater to as many tastes as possible, from ballroom to Motown, 80s pop to the latest trends.

Music and entertainment have been my passion from childhood. I have loved every second of my career so far.

I added another string to my bow by training as a professional toastmaster, planning events such as weddings and balls, and I also supply equipment for conferences and other events. I’m the man who goes into a hotel after a function ends and works through the night to put in equipment for the following day’s conference, or finishes a party in one venue then sets up in another.

Bradford is a very different place at 4am, it’s dark and quite lonely, but I just get on with it, looking after in total 50 hotels.

Hotels and venues treat me as the fourth emergency service; whatever they want, 24 hours a day, they know I will never let them down.

As with many industries, the entertainment sector suffered massively throughout the pandemic, not just in the lockdowns.

It was soul destroying, watching so many events get cancelled and venues remaining closed and struggling to survive.

But I have lasted this long and am not about to give up now. Humans are social creatures who like to be entertained; the industry will thrive once more!

* Tony Sykes Productions is an entertainment provider, offering DJ and other services for hotels and private events. Services include event management, live entertainment acts organisation, toastmaster services and supplying audio-visual equipment for conferences and other events.

Visit tonysykesproductions.co.uk, email tony@tonysykesproductions.co.uk or call 07885 322748.