The 19 Year Old Promoter Setting The Teen Market Alight With his ‘Let’s Go Crazy’ club night – just stupendous…
Hi Callum. Firstly, congratulations on an amazing brand. How old were you when you started cramming thousands of people into clubs?
“Thank you Dan. I started promoting when I was just 16.”
Where was your first club night you ran in London?
“I actually ran band nights, there was sometimes a bit of stand up comedy at our events. I ran my first 16+ event at SEone on July 4th of last year.’
Was it a problem to begin booking venues such as Matter and O2 with a teenage crowd behind you – did the management take you seriously?
“Some clubs more than others, but we were offering something new that wasn’t around at the time plus they had seen my success with SeOne. The team at SEone were very loyal which made everything a lot easier, but I did have to prove myself a lot at the beginning with all the clubs.”
Your night hits sell out pretty much every time – was ‘Let’s Go Crazy’ simply you spotting a gap in the market?
“When I was 16 there was nothing to do and I saw all my crowd were too young for clubbing. I decided that the student market was so saturated anyway and there was surely space in the market for 16 year olds who want to go out in a less parent facing environment than what was around at the time.”
Who to date, has been the best acts and DJs you’ve ever had on?
“We cover hugely diverse genres of music but we have had everyone from 2 Many DJs, Wiley, Kano, Pendulum, Chase and Status, the Faithless Sound System and many more…”
What did your father, who is a music-industry lawyer and talent agent, feel when you finally dropped out of school to concentrate on your club brand?
“My father is also involved in artist and production company management. He obviously was wary of my decision but still supported me as it was clear there was something tangible I was pursuing.”
What are the big tunes on your i-pod today?
“I like a huge mixture of music from reggae to electro, to drum n’ bass to house but my current favourites are
Chase and Status ‘Heartbeat’
DJ Fresh ‘Hypercaine’
Jay Z featuring Alicia Keys ‘Empire State Of Mind’
Sub Focus ‘Join the Dots
Emalkay ‘When i Look at You’
LMFAO vs. Chuckie ‘Let The Bass Kick In LA Bitch’ (Mike Newmans LA Re-Boot)
David Guetta featuring Akon ‘Sexy Bitch’ (Chuckie& Lil Jon Remix)
David Guetta featuring Kelly Rowland ‘When Love Takes Over’
Deadmau5 featuring Kaskade ‘I Remember’ (Caspa remix)
Florence and The Machine ‘Rabbit Heart’ (SLOF MAN & JOR-ONE Dubstep remix)
Majestic ‘In The VIP’ (Project Bassline Remix)
Best album ever made?
“Real shameless plug here but it has to be our new compilation mixed by our Residents James Harwood & Twiggy, out now on EMI / New State. A real reflection of what music and artists get played at our events, tracks and remixes by David Guetta, Deadmau5, The Prodigy, Lilly Allen, Subfocus, Project Bassline”
How big is your database to date – invaluable to so many brands out there…?
“Depends which database, but across social networks we can reach out to over 500,000 14 to 18 year olds, we then also have a large email and home address database and around 50,000 mobile numbers, though we mainly target our audience through a large matrix of promoters through word of mouth and incentives.”
Ambitions for your brand?
“To provide a huge array of content, media, events and anything else applicable to my market.”
You live the high life, tell us…
Does it do your head in, someone being so mature for your age, mixing with kids not on your level?
“I mix with a lot of different people from a lot of different backgrounds with a lot of different interests. I like the diversity of it all…”
What is planned for 2010?
“International expansion and a festival for starters…”
Best night you have put on?
“Difficult to say…but probably one of my events at SeOne, also the Brixton Academy gig on the 26th October is going to be in a league of its own! We’ve got our biggest lineup to date in our biggest venue to date. Acts include Chase & Status, 2 Many DJs, Pendulum, Faithless Sound System, Andy C and Annie Mac.”
Let’s Go Crazy is out now on 5 October on EMI/New State