Paul Heron

With his daytime bi-monthly Induztri party at Electrowerkz and headlining the Love Muscle XX Birthday on Saturday September 21st, DJ Paul Heron has never been busier.

“If you had said to 14-year-old me that by now I would have travelled the world doing the thing I love most, that I’d have done around 20 tours in Australia, 4 in Brazil, every major city in some of the most beautiful countries on the planet, played on some of the most coveted dance-floors around the globe for some of the most recognisable brands in dance music alongside some of my absolute musical heroes including Frankie Knuckles, Marshall Jefferson & Cerrone (just last week at the Discolympics in Paris), partied with Grace Jones, Elton John, David Lachapelle, artists, designers, models & movie stars… I would never have believed you in a million years!”

With a strong reputation as an international DJ over the past twenty-five years, Paul is known for his disco and deep house sets at The Groucho Club as well as chunky house n’ dirty techno sets at leading lgbtq clubs such as Trade, DTPM, La Demence, Little Gay Brother, HE/SHE/THEY & Roast.

Popping his Love Muscle XX cherry we catch up with Paul to discuss eclectic sounds ahead of the Birthday…

So lovely to be chatting to you and you’re popping your Love Muscle XX cherry at the Birthday on Saturday September 21st and how excited are you for this event? 

I absolutely can’t wait. The Fridge holds a very special place in my heart also as I’ve played many crazy, packed-out events there over my career so needless to say I have some incredible memories from that dance floor.

I can’t wait to be back there playing for such an iconic and beloved brand. I’m looking forward to putting my own spin on the classic Love Muscle XX vibe.

For those that haven’t heard you play before how would you describe your sound? 

I have quite an eclectic sound. I like to play what is appropriate for a particular moment or space, for instance you might hear me playing a disco and deep house set in The Groucho Club or a chunky dirty techno set at Revolver in Berlin. I don’t like to be constrained to just one sound and like to think I always have enough of a range of music with me at all times to take the party wherever it needs to go, be that disco/ house/ high energy/ tech-house, through to techno.

Are you a Love Muscler and have their events influenced you in your musical and clubbing career?

I didn’t get to party at Love Muscle XX as much as I would have liked to as from about the age of 18 I was playing relentlessly at other clubs around London and didn’t have much personal time but I did have a few incredible nights there and I’m very aware of its history and rich musical legacy.

One of the queer scene’s most in demand DJs you’ve played at the legendary after hours club, Trade; its follow on on Sunday, DTPM, and most recently for He.She.They as part of their Discolympics party in Paris. Which have been your favourite events to play at and can you tell us how you came to be part of the Trade, DTPM and He.She.They parties? 

Trade was one of the parties that really shaped me as a DJ. I partied there from the early 2000’s when I first started going out on the scene so it was a total honour when I eventually played for them.

DTPM was one of the dance floors that I really coveted as the Fabric sound system is just utterly stunning and I had so much respect for Lee Freeman as a promoter, so again I was absolutely overjoyed when he brought me onboard with the DTPM team.

HE/SHE/THEY is always a fantastic brand to work for. I love everything about their ethos and I’m super proud of what they have achieved, Steven and Sophia behind the brand are quite literally 2 of my favourite people on earth.

In terms of how all those collaborations came about, most gigs I’ve ever had have really just been through organic connections, getting to know the promoters and them hearing me work.

I’m not very pushy when it comes to getting gigs, I think it puts you in a much stronger position when the promoters want you, instead of relentlessly hounding them for a gig – Work hard until they want you.

I have incredibly fond memories of every single party I’ve played for all of those brands but playing Brighton Pride’s Main Dance Tent with Marshall Jefferson and the Discolympics for Paris 2024 on the same lineup as Greg Cerrone are definitely up there.

The DTPM closing at Fabric was pretty iconic – sad, but what a corker of a night and what a send-off we gave it!

You’re celebrating 25 years of DJing and can you tell us about when you first started DJ-ing clubwise and can you tell us about your big break into the club scene and how it impacted your career?

I was initially a video jockey at Escape in Soho when I was 17 years old and I was a total little music and party geek. I was studying to be a fashion designer at the London College of Fashion at the time too.

DJs used to come in and play after me every night and I was obsessed with some of the records they would play so I bought the records and then also was given a huge pile of promos from one of the guys from the Defected Records office who could see how passionate I was about dance music. I took those records and practised and practised tirelessly until my mixing was on point.

I did some gigs in Escape and Kudos initially but it was really when Paul Richardson took me on as a resident at the Shadow Lounge, Soho that other promoters started to take note.  Paul’s venues were always fantastic – beautiful boys everywhere and peppered with celebrities.

One night I had the Pet Shop Boys partying with me in the booth whilst Cilla Black was swinging round the stripper pole (such a random combination).
At another of his venues after finishing DJing, we ended up going back to Grace Jones’ suite in the St Martins Lane Hotel with Alexander McQueen and Philip Tracey for an afterparty.  All memories that are indelibly etched in my mind.

I then got an agent; Rod Lay, my gay mother!

I started doing Crash, Action and various other clubs in Vauxhall and eventually started getting international bookings.

The first was in Paris at Le Queen on Champs Elyse and slowly but surely further afield, all over Europe, NYC, Australia, South Africa etc and the rest as they say is history.

With a hugely busy summer schedule including Revolver in Berlin, Brighton Pride, La Demence in Belgium  what have been the highlights of your summer so far and what made them stand out? Where else can we catch you this summer?

Standouts for me so far definitely playing in the i360 pod in Brighton for Hollywood events and playing the Grabby Porn Awards main party in Toremolinos was absolutely awesome. The Revolver CSD party at Club OST was incredible, such a stunning sound system and last week for DiscOlympics in Paris for the start of the Olympics was magical.

Of course Brighton Pride is always one of my absolute favourites and always an incredible vibe. This year I also did Nuremberg Pride which was super cute.

Upcoming I will be back in Berlin for something special with Revolver, back at Roast London, you can catch me at INDUZTRI day rave at Electrowerkz in October and obviously being back at The Fridge (Electric) for Love Muscle XX is going to be huge.

You co-run the INDUZTRI night at Electrowerks, what made you decide to launch your own event?

Andrew and Elliot offered me the venue to do a party to celebrate my unofficial 25th DJ anniversary and we had such a fantastic time and were all so happy with the event and the friendly mixed crowd that it attracted that I’m now collaborating with them to bring a semi-regular event. We are aiming for every couple of months to keep each edition special.

We are going for day party vibes, guilt-free clubbing where you can party the day away, be as debauched as you wish, still get a good night’s sleep and be fresh for the next day or you can use it as a starting point for your evening.

We are also aiming to create a mixture between a queer cabaret and club space, we are bringing onboard unique performers for each party so you always leave with some unforgettable mental images, as well as collaborating with interesting up-and-coming queer events in Room 2.

What have been the stand out parties and why?

Stand out of my entire career? I guess headlining the Sydney Harbour party for 2 consecutive years…in fact all the gigs I’ve ever done in Australia, especially the ones with Spiro and the Market team in Melbourne. All the gigs I did in Brazil for the amazing team at The Week Club.

Spinning in The Limelight NYC (renamed Avalon at the time) with Boy George, as it’s a pretty special space and where Michael Alig and the club kids did all their notorious parties. Spinning at Le Bain in NYC with Jake Shears.

So many years playing the Main Dance Tent at Brighton Pride, and just every single time I play at La Demence in Brussels, it’s my spiritual home. I just love that club so, so much also their cruises are insanely fun to work on. Definitely playing the Space Ibiza main floor and getting to play on the hallowed Terrace has to be in there.

The gigs for the Circuit Festival especially at Atlantida in Sitges; WE party at La Riviera in Madrid; Cavo Paradiso in Mykonos for the first year of the Xlsior Festival where I was supposed to play for 3 hours and ended up playing for 6 as nobody wanted to leave.

All my gigs in Berlin for Oliver Mohns and finally all the work I’ve done with Little Gay Brother, especially at Secret Garden Party and any gigs for HE/SHE/THEY as I just love the people behind those events so much.

Everyone of those gigs felt super special, although I certainly aim to try and make every gig feel special and I have fond memories of most of them.

Who, what or where were your earliest musical/clubbing influences and what memories do you have around these? 

I always used to buy vinyl with my pocket money when I was a kid. I still remember the first two records I ever bought which were Whitney Houston’s “So Emotional” & 5 Star’s “Can’t Wait Another Minute.

Going to Ibiza with mates when I was like 17 or 18 was a seminal moment for me. I will never forget sitting on the rocks at Cafe Del Mar as the sun was setting and the strings from Danny Tenaglia’s “Turn Me On” coming in and then the beat dropping and then that voice, Liz Torres. It’s the defining record that cemented my love of dance music. That track takes me back to that moment every time I play it and I’m still playing it out 25 years later; it still sounds stunning and timeless.

I feel like I really have to thank Danny Tenaglia someday for putting me on this path and for all these incredible moments of musical joy in my life.

Top 10 Tracks. 

1: Cyda – Can’t Stop This Feeling (MINTEL)

Awesome track, so my vibe. I’m going to be playing this one for a long time.

 

2: Yofi Tofi & Marshall Jefferson – Tic Tacs (Jakkob Remix) [Visualizer] [Helix Records]

Such an absolute banger! This one is getting loads of plays from me and never fails to get the crowd going!

 

3: L.P. Rhythm – In The House (BASS JAMZ)

This one is very me and has been getting a lot of play in my sets.

 

4: Liquid Rose – Drop That Shit (HELLBENT RECORDS) 

Big chunky and dirty! Just how I like it!

 

5: Right Spot (Byron The Aquarius Remix) (CROSSTOWN REBELS) 

Loving this one, the vocal is just sexy as hell.

 

6: Ciro Briceno, Adrian Y – Bones (feat. Nablo) (GLOBAL UNDERGROUND) 

 

7: John Summit – Eat The Bass (Extended mix) (EXPERTS ONLY)

Loving this one at the moment, I feel that it fits into so many styles of set.

 

8: Chapter & Verse – Take You To Church (Extended Mix) (HELIX RECORDS) 

Cheeky little pumping tune that works in lots of different sets.

 

9: William Kiss (feat. Todd Terry & Roland Clark) – House Machine (GUDU RECORDS) 

Lovely, chunky, old-school vibes.

 

10: II FACES – NEW PAST [FUNKIMAN)

Deep and sexy vibes, a great mood changer for the dance floor.

 

Paul Heron headlines the Love Muscle XX Birthday alongside Angie Brown Live, DJ Dorian with host Yvette on Saturday September 21st at the Electric Brixton. Running from 11pm-6am, expect lots of last minute surprises, high octane production and grab your tickets at https://skiddle.com/e/39052092

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