Allister Whitehead- Football, Drag Queens & Trainers

"Dance music's become too splintered for so long now, where you have so many different styles and DJs for each particular genre. Music tends to be better when it's a hybrid of different styles; it's more interesting."

15 years after starting his DJ career alongside his old mentor Graeme Park, Allister Whitehead remains at the top of the (proper) house tree, regularly spinning at British super clubs including Bed, Code and Cream and running his own label Sporting. Building his reputation in the early 90s through residencies at both The Hacienda and Golden, he also continues to travel, flying into Sydney next week to headline Moneypenny's newest venture at The Bank.

A keen Derby County fan, he's hoping to catch some World Cup football action in expat pubs, though his primary concern will be what records to bring on the plane.

"I take everything that I think I might need, and musically I try to keep as upfront as possible," he told Skrufff's Jonty Adderley.

"I don't play in Australia obviously as much as in the UK, so I'm hoping to give people the full picture of what I do as a DJ. The idea is to play for as long as possible, exposing as many sides from my repertoire as I can."

Skrufff: You're known for spinning proper house, where are you at musically right now-

Allister Whitehead: "I do play house and also a few records that cross the boundaries, which seems to be happening more often with DJs now, which wasn't the case two years ago. The kind of music that I usually play tends to take its influences from everywhere, so progressive and trance music have both had an influence but they're not core elements. I get the impression that in the next couple of years I could see myself playing records that are not four to the floor. Music seems to be going towards the way it was in the late 80s, when it was more of a hybrid of different sounds and styles and to be honest I'm looking forward to that."

Skrufff: Moneypennys are well known for their strict dress code, how much does the fact you're playing for them affect the way you dress, are you taking out a special costume-

Allister Whitehead: "Yeah, I'm going in drag (laughing). Not, really, I think Moneypennys expect people to come down and at least make an effort. That's one of the things I like about them; the fact they're not totally defined by their music policy. The people who go to their club help define what they're about and I think that's a good thing. Their dress code isn't too ridiculous though."

Skrufff: Will you be dressing extra special at all-

Allister Whitehead: "No, I dress like your stereotypical DJ who turns up in trainers and all the rest (chuckling). Knowing Moneypennys they have a decent door policy and want people who are prepared to spend some cash on clothes, they don't want to create a sweaty club full of ravers."


Skrufff: You came up through Manchester's Hacienda in the late 80s, early 90s, what did you make of the recent film 24 Hour Party People-

Allister Whitehead: "I loved it, it was great because it was part of what I grew up with. It's more a film about Manchester and I spent a lot of time there during that period and the film is a very fair reflection of what happened."

Skrufff: Landing a residency there was a great achievement for an 18 year old, were you particularly driven at that point-

Allister Whitehead: "Any DJ will tell you, you need to be in the right place at the right time but you have to put yourself there in the first place. I did set out to get a residency there and it brought me a lot of good, but I'd be going out there anyway and when I was out I'd end up doing business. I didn't really know that until I looked back but I was a DJ and I was driven to play at the best clubs I could. In those days, the Hacienda was one of them. There were one or two really special nights there that I remember, though in the 90s it did get a little on top (heavy) in there, during the early 90s. It wasn't always a Tags

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