Scott Bond: Crash Crop.

Scott Bond headlines at the Tivoli on Sunday with Tidy Trax DJs Ingo and Paul Glazby.

In the new world order of super clubs, clever marketing campaigns designed to ensnare clubbers and the reams of merchandising that the clubbing experience can now generate, there are few clubs that have changed the face of clubbing as a commercially viable business as Gatecrasher. And few DJs have encapsulated the concept of artists with an agenda as succinctly as Scott Bond. As one of the true originators and pioneers of the uber club experience, Bond started Gatecrasher in 1994 at Sheffield with long time club promoter Simon Raine after already cutting his teeth at the Republica club night he engineered in 1993. An accomplished producer and a leading DJ mix compiler, Bond has earned a reputation as a true professional. His recent mix CD’s for Gatecrasher and Sony Records (Experience in January 2002; Digital in October 2001; Global Sound System in July 2001; Disco Tech in November 1999) have surprised music industry bean counters with their flying off the shelves mentality. Quite simply, Bond is a man with an ear for a tune and an eye on the numbers, sacrificing no musical integrity in his quest for gatecrasher world domination.

Speaking from his office in Birmingham, Bond is preparing for yet another world tour

“I play every where around the world, but Gatecrasher is the main club in the UK where I play, that’s where I do my long sets or I have my residencies. I play in LA; I just started to play New York, a lot of stuff in America. Right across Asia, Japan, Europe. I’ve done a lot of Gatecrasher tours, fantastic tours everywhere really.”

And this is a return visit to Australia, a favourite playground for UK artists.

“Australia is one of our key markets where we’re always happy to come back, we always have a really good time, the gigs are always a sell out and we’re looking forward to coming back. We’re on our tenth album and I think most of them have come out in Australia…maybe some of the early ones didn’t, but the other have all come out in Australia and they are always gold and platinum selling albums in there, which I think is fantastic for a club on the other side of the world.”

Bond has been at the top of his game since the late 1980’s, can he remember when the focus changed from social to professional DJ?

“I don’t remember the point where it changed, I started off DJing and I was playing at small parties, then the parties got bigger. Then I was playing everywhere in my hometown, then I was playing everywhere in England, then playing everywhere in the world. It’s just been a gradual thing and it’s grown organically over the past ten or twelve years.”

Does being a Gatecrasher resident allow you scope to experiment and adapt as a DJ?

“You can get to experiment and play different styles, and the best time to do that is when you’re playing a four or five hour set, so you can play a lot of different songs in that time. You can still play the music that is your trademark sound, but towards the end of the set you can experiment with different things. Once people trust you as a DJ, they’ll let you take them anywhere.”