I was fortunate enough to warm up for some big name acts on the commercial club scene at the time: Ultrabeat, Flip & Fill and Alex K to name but a few. The Wednesday night was a student night where, as well as playing all the classic student anthems, I hosted a Deal or No Deal type game on stage which was a lot of fun. My hosting skills were also enhanced further by interviewing various soap stars and x-factor contestants live on stage as part of my Saturday residency.
Unfortunately good things don’t last forever. After the introduction of the smoking ban the entertainment industry in the city, like so many others around the UK, took a massive hit. Numbers through the door began to fall week on week and the nights became a lot harder and far less enjoyable. A combination of this and a change in management meant that I decided to move to the much smaller Revolution Vodka bar after being offered a Wednesday and Friday night residency there.
In 2010, after four years concentrating on the bar/club scene, I made the decision to return to mobile DJing. At the time I was also working full-time during the day for a finance company and it became increasingly difficult to maintain all three. I knew something had to give, so in the summer of left my residency at Revolution. On my return to mobile work I decided on a complete re-brand and ditched the P.I.J.
Roadshow name, opting for DCB Entertainments instead. The next few years saw me continue to DJ on the weekends alongside a full-time job during the day. Fast-forward to 2014 and in my role as a Physiotherapy Administrator during the day I was introduced by a mutual colleague to a Physiotherapist by the name of Grant Reynolds who worked at another hospital site, but was on a course in our department. Grant too owned a DJ company, but during our introductions I failed to mention I was also a DJ.
Many months passed and it was whilst performing at a charity day-time event that I posted a picture and a status update to Facebook, which Grant saw. He immediately messaged me saying, “OMG I can’t believe you didn’t tell me you were a DJ, we need to have a chat.” After forming a much closer bond with Grant in the ensuing months, I was given the opportunity to work all over Wales and further afield under his brand ‘Boutique Disco’ , not only DJing, but also undertaking Party Photography at the same time.
To this day I still cover many bookings for Boutique when my diary allows. This work not only proved enjoyable but also well and truly opened my eyes to the earning potential this industry has to offer and how I was completely under-selling myself! At this time I also became a member of the NADJ Wales Branch, which looking back was one of the best decisions I ever made in terms of moving my business forward. Surrounding myself, and networking, with many like-minded DJs gave me the confidence and support to raise the bar with my service, not to mention the fees I was commanding.
However, since becoming an NADJ member and seeing the huge progress it allowed me to make on a personal level, I also developed a passion for trying to move the industry as a whole in Wales forward. After a year serving as “SURROUNDING MYSELF, AND NETWORKING, WITH MANY LIKE- MINDED DJS GAVE ME THE CONFIDENCE AND SUPPORT TO RAISE THE BAR WITH MY SERVICE, NOT TO MENTION THE FEES I WAS COMMANDING” PROFILE: DARYLL BARNBY Credit: Lilith In Bloom Photography a Branch Committee Member, I was nominated to become Branch Chairman at the , a position I held until fairly recently.
The next pivotal point in my story worth mentioning was when, in late 2016 and after many months of deliberating, I made the decision to go full-time. By this point I had managed to establish an extremely reputable business, but felt that in order for me to take the next step my focus and attention needed to be solely on my clients and their events and this would only be achieved by going full-time. After some discussion with a few trusted colleagues I made the decision to also rebrand my company name to Daryll Barnby Entertainments & Events .
The main reason for this was that, unlike others, I don’t want to pursue the multiop route in terms of the DJ side of my business and want to bring a personal level of service to every single client. As part of this personal service I always strongly encourage a face-to-face meeting in advance of any event to build rapport and understand my client’s likes and dislikes as well as to allow me to gather as much information as possible to deliver a truly memorable event.
As the business name suggests, my services and packages now extend far beyond DJing, an avenue I know a lot of DJs have taken across the UK. But, for the sake of this article, I won’t touch on that side of things. Like many other full-time DJs, a vast majority of my work involves weddings and corporate events, which means that I am fortunate enough to regularly perform at many of South Wales’ high-end venues. However, in conjunction with this, over the last couple of years I have also managed to break into a niche market and find myself with a growing portfolio of running and cycling events at which I compère and DJ.
These events are very different from a regular party, as my purpose there isn’t to get people dancing (although some do) but to create a vibrant and buzzing atmosphere and support the participants. A key factor in this avenue being so successful for me is that as I am from a long-distance running background myself. This means that I am able to combine my knowledge and passion for the sport with my confident hosting skills and flexible DJing approach, to bring a unique and fun experience for participants and spectators alike.
Despite the fact my business has gone from strength to strength over the last few years, I will always endeavour to remain the same down-to-earth, level-headed person I have always been and will never forget where I came from. I count myself extremely fortunate to be able to earn a living from my passion and am enormously grateful for all the help and advice I have received from my colleagues on the South Wales circuit as well as from further afield.
I strongly believe that no matter how long you’ve been in this industry you will never stop learning. With this in my mind I urge any DJ reading this to take the opportunity to attend the Pro Mobile Conference. I attended for the first time earlier this year and it is without a shadow of a doubt one of the best investments I have made in my business. Finally, thanks for taking the time to read my story and once again massive thanks to Eddie and the Pro Mobile team. “OVER THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS I HAVE ALSO MANAGED TO BREAK INTO A NICHE MARKET AND FIND MYSELF WITH A GROWING PORTFOLIO OF RUNNING AND CYCLING EVENTS AT WHICH I COMPERE AND DJ!” : DARYLL BARNBY
