Home > Interviews > Tidy Boys

What got you into music?

It was my Dad. He would play lots of stuff to me when I was growing up and bought me my first single when I was about 2 years old. He got me into electronic music in 1971, buying Moog albums which were way ahead of their time.

My Dad sadly passed away in late 1996 and never saw the rise of Tidy and the Tidy Boys. He would have been very proud.

Who were your early influences?

Musically I have a wide taste but I loved early Moog albums. Then I was in to disco in the late 70s.

I started djing in 1982 and was in to playing Eurobeat and Hi-Nrg. Then in 1986 I was really in to the birth of house music. I followed the same musical path as the late great Tony De Vit and he was my dj inspiration.

Other influences are Peter Slaghuis (producer from Holland who tragically died in the early 90s), Max Mix (Spanish mix album duo), and Madness – my favourite band.

How did the Tidy phenomenon start?

In the summer of 1995 I was commissioned to come up with a label for me and Andy’s (Andy Pickles, the other half of Tidy Boys) own material and productions. I came up with the name Tidy and the logo on a train back from London to Kettering (my home town).

In the early days only me, Andy, and Paul Janes produced the tracks. After about 10 releases we unlocked ourselves from the studios and went back out clubbing at places like Trade and Sundissential. It was only then, when we saw fans dressed in home made Tidy t-shirts, that we saw the brand in a new light and could see people were very passionate about what we had created. The rest is history.

Are you Tidy Boys or The Tidy Boys or am I mad for asking the question?

It depends in what context you use the name. It is difficult for us to be introduced on stage as “and now, put your hands together for….Tidy Boys” so it works better in that instance with “the” in front.

On posters it can just be listed as Tidy Boys. See our new logo for that.

How was the Advanced + Tidy Opening Party at Eden in Ibiza?

It was very very good, busy and a great atmosphere. Some people may have doubted how Dave Pearce and the Tidy Boys could have worked together, but it does, and so far the season has been fantastic.

What are you up to in the UK over the summer?

Andy and I both have busy normal jobs. Andy has a company called U-Xplore which is a vocational learning software company aimed at 14-16 year olds and I have my own creative design agency called Motel Red. So, after doing 70 hours a week in the office and djing every weekend, plus we both have a wife and children, we don’t get time to do much else.

However, the summer djing plans involve Ibiza every ten days, a couple of trips to Cyprus, Global Gathering, and our own arena at Creamfields in August.

How are plans progressing for the 15th Tidy Weekender in October?

It is shaping up to be a very special one. We are revisiting 3 classic weekender themes – Army Boot Camp on the Friday, Dirty Weekender on the Saturday, and the High School Romp on the Sunday. Tickets are selling faster than ever on rumours that it is the last one in Pretatyn (I’m saying nothing!). Anyway, it’s going to be emotional and we are doing stuff at this one we have never tried before.

The Weekenders are notorious for clubbing antics. What is the strangest thing you have seen?

Every corner you turn at a Weekender there is something strange happening. However, I do remember an incident where someone had a real dead hedgehog stuck to their foot and had to call the paramedics to help.

Your world class record labels were some of the first to venture into digital. Now you are stopping producing vinyl. What’s going on?

Yes – we have stopped the vinyl at Tidy. We hung on as long as we could but when it comes to the stage where it is costing us more money to release than it takes in revenue you know it is time to stop.

Plus, the way we digitally consume music now, we went down to only selling 500 vinyl. Back in 1999 some of our releases would sell 25,000 copies. So you can see the problem.

Tidy are now putting out monthly double albums with all new releases on one disc and a dj mix on the other – all for about £8. It is good value and works well on cd format for both djs and clubbers.

If you were picking a Tidy dance anthem, what would it be?

People would expect me to say ‘Til Tears Do Us Part or The Dawn. But for me the most important record in Tidy’s back catalogue must be Signum – What You Got 4 Me. It inspired many other producers and was our first big Tidy anthem.

The Advanced + Tidy season at Eden in Ibiza continues until September.

Interview by Daniel Slipper