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ARTICLE
Profile: Paul Radmore
It all started 16 years ago, with an 18th Birthday Party at a dingy Post Office Club in Newton Abbot. The party was for a couple of friends and my love for music had resulted in me volunteering myself to be the DJ!

I didn’t have any equipment, so went on a hunt to pick some up for as little as possible. My friends scraped together £100 to pay me, but I spent £300 buying sound equipment – consisting of 2 x 12” Phonic speakers with a 120W Phonic mixer amp – and another £50 to hire lighting. This kit lasted me only about a year, but has proven to be a priceless investment as it enabled me to start this journey. Fortunately, my debut as a DJ was a success! Despite my nerves and a jittery start, a great night was had by all and I certainly caught the DJ bug. I got three subsequent bookings from that party and the wheels were then firmly in motion.

Towards the end of my first year, I realized that my equipment needed boosting. I purchased some Peavey PRO 12” tops with Peavey PRO 15” Subs, which also meant a new amplifier was required, so my purchase was bundled with a Peavey 1500W amplifier. With my sound system sorted, it was time to invest in some decent lighting. I purchased four Acme Dynamo scanners on a T-bar, which transformed my show, but there was still something missing, a booth. But this had to go on hold as my car was full to the brim, I simply had no more space. It was like playing Tetris before and after every function – everything would only fit if each piece of equipment was slotted into the correct place!

By this time business was going well, regular work was coming in and so the price I was charging increased. This meant I was soon able to fund bigger things, such as a van! I suppose the only downside to having a van, was that there was now more space, which meant that I could buy more equipment! Trawling through eBay on a Sunday afternoon I found my next purchase. For sale were a pair of JBL Pro MP255 twin 15” subs on wheels at a bargain price. I couldn’t resist, I bought them despite the seller being based in Ireland and paid for them to be shipped over to me in Devon. Three days later they arrived on two pallets! Ok, so I can honestly say the boxes were absolutely massive! It was a good day!! That weekend I was at a local sound and light retailer and, as luck would have it, they had a set of JBL 15” tops to match my new subs. My pocket was soon a lot lighter, oh well, I would have to work a few more functions!

2004 was a good year. I was working in a venue and a DJ from the next room popped in and said, “Hello, I’m Brad – I’m just being nosey!” Little did either of us realize that we would soon become best friends. He had his regular venues and was working well, meanwhile I was learning lots, taking on all sorts of events: pub quiz nights, karaoke, even bingo! When I wasn’t working on my own functions, I would be Brad’s roadie. We made a good team.

Bookings were coming in thick and fast and I was regularly working three nights a week. One night I met a local radio DJ who also worked in a local bar DJing from 10pm to 2am every Friday and Saturday night. I began covering for him on the odd occasion and this eventually became a permanent arrangement. So I was now resident DJ at the Snooty Fox, Torquay and the punters were loving it! As time went on, however, I began to realize that maybe this scene wasn’t quite for me and, after experiencing a few nights with large brawls, I realized it was time to hone in on a specific market and aim for what I enjoyed most: weddings and parties. I slowly pulled away from the pub trade and focussed on the private functions side of things.

Another mate of mine, Gareth, had now returned from university. He also had an interest in DJing and began working some functions for me. He wanted to DJ more, so I decided to build the business up and spread my wings further. Low and behold, the business became Devon DJ with Brad and Gareth both on board. The three of us worked together, sharing contacts and functions and spreading the word. Together we created many brilliant parties and, 16 years on, Brad and Gareth still regularly DJ for me and we remain close friends.
The full review can be found in Pro Mobile Issue 89, Pages 15-18.
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