I also worked for brands, including Budweiser and First Leisure, where I helped develop some of their promotional concepts. These included the ‘All- American Rock & Roll Show’ , which included me standing inside a jukebox playing classic ‘50s music, and Cosmic Bowling, which involved turning bowling centres into nightclubs at the flick of a switch. This was great fun for those who knew about it and a proper shock to the system to those who had just come out for a quiet game of bowling only to be plunged into darkness and have coloured lighting and smoke machines blasted at them from every direction!
In fairness, Cosmic Bowling was huge fun. I was given the job of designing the format for the show, including programming the music, games and features, as well as hosting it at key venues across the country. It was a brilliant concept and one I'm proud to have been involved in. It was unique, it was innovative and, for two years, it made me a bit of money.
Granted, I had no social life, but hey... I had a healthy bank balance and that's all that matters, isn't it? The Rock & Roll show was also fun, but on many occasions I would find myself at a venue where the punters would rather have listened to the latest dance hits than some idiot in a Budweiser baseball cap and matching hoodie playing Buddy Holly songs. Trust me, it's no fun when the biggest guy in the pub asks you what is going on and when you tell him he replies, “oh mate... they won't stand for that sh*t in here... you are going to die on stage for sure!” I've escaped many tough spots by bribing the 'cock of the pub' with merchandise.
So if you are ever in Birmingham and see a 20 stone bloke dressed head to toe in Budweiser clothing, you'll know why! Despite some tight scrapes, they were exciting times and I was enjoying life as a DJ. During the early ‘90s I experienced a sudden up-turn in wedding work. In the early days I would often turn up to many venues and have no idea what the event was or, at best, would have a very small amount of information about the party.
I was still young, inexperienced in weddings and there was no training like there is today. I'm sure it’s hard for some professional DJs reading this to imagine arriving at a wedding without having spent a lot of time building up a relationship with the client to ensure everything on the day is nothing less than perfect, but in those days there was no such thing as a Wedding Host and the attention to detail wasn't deemed to be as important. It was a twoway street though, as many clients didn't care who turned up as long as someone did!
I'm pleased to say that things improved quite quickly, but for a few years it was like the DJ equivalent of a lucky dip... you just never knew what you were going to get! However, the more weddings I did the more I started to work closer with my clients. Gone were the days of turning up and hoping for the best. I took my work to a new level of professionalism and it felt good, but by was beginning to fall out of love with my job.
Music styles had changed and so had the audiences. It was becoming less fun and the final straw was a corporate event at a hotel where I left the venue feeling at an all-time low in my career as a DJ. I don't need to go into too many details but you know that night, that one we've all had, you know the one that makes you feel like calling it a day? Well I had that night... and I had it for every mobile DJ within a 50 mile radius!
I went to bed convinced I would call it a day as a DJ and the next morning I did... and that was it for the next 10 years! “I DECIDED THAT STACKING SHELVES IN MY LOCAL SUPERMARKET WASN'T FOR ME AND I TURNED MY MOBILE DISCO FROM A HOBBY INTO MY FULL-TIME JOB” 15PROFILE: RICHARD LEE I now needed a new challenge and in joined the Music Factory Entertainment Group, ironically to take the same job I'd turned down only a few months earlier. If it wasn't for Rob Moore, who was working there at the time, bigging me up to the Director, who was quoted as saying “he had his chance and blew it,” then my life would certainly have turned out a lot different.
So, thanks Rob! The Music Factory Entertainment Group is based in Rotherham, South Yorkshire, and is the home to several music labels including Mastermix. I began my career with Mastermix as the Northern Sales Rep which involved driving a van full of CDs around and re-stocking the many 'Service Stations' who sold our products. I needed a change, I needed some space, I needed some thinking time and I got plenty of that on the road I can tell you!
The early years were a bit of a shock to the system... not to mention the bank balance! In order to get the job, and my foot in the door at Mastermix, I had to take a bit of a hit on my annual income. I'd just bought a new house and a new van, but I was sure I would manage. After all, I no longer had a girlfriend to lavish gifts on as she had dumped me only a few weeks earlier after claiming she never saw me as I was out all the time DJing... she may have had a point in all fairness!
I very much enjoyed life on the road. The industry was buoyant and selling CDs was easy. There were no downloads, no file-sharing groups and even CD copies were rare. DJs bought CDs, and I sold lots of them!
I would load the van on a Monday and spend the week travelling around the UK before arriving back in the office on Friday to prepare for the next trip. So I had less money, still had no mid-week social life but at least my weekends were freed up to spend with my girlfriend... oh wait! There was a plus side though, I was making some new friends at Mastermix including producers like Andy Pickles, Lee Haslam and Amadeus Mozart. They soon started to call me whilst I was on the road to throw ideas around which eventually lead to me reducing my time on the road to spend two days a week in the studios helping to develop new mixes and compilations.
To quickly summarise the next few years: Northern Sales Rep, Regional Sales Manager, National Sales Manager, Production Assistant, Creative Consultant, Creative Manager, Production Manager, Producer, Mastermix Label Manager, Pure Energy Label Manager, Director of Group Product Development and Jive Bunny Label Manager... oh, and I also married the boss’s daughter too... standard stuff really! My association with Mastermix opened lots of doors, introduced me to some amazing people and allowed me to attend some brilliant events including PLASA in London and musikmesse in Frankfurt.
There was even a trip to the Reloop factory in Germany when myself and Rob Moore took a group of DJs from the UK for a tour of the premises and some sight-seeing. This included a beer tasting session where the local banana flavoured beer was offered... needless to say the next round was Holsten Pils for everyone! That trip had more than its fair share of stories, most of which can't be printed in this article, but one day I'll tell you about the shopping trip, the plane “MY ASSOCIATION WITH MASTERMIX OPENED LOTS OF DOORS, INTRODUCED ME TO SOME AMAZING PEOPLE AND ALLOWED ME TO ATTEND SOME BRILLIANT EVENTS” : RICHARD LEE journey and rusty nails... oh and if you bump in to Rob Moore ask him to tell you about the mop, bucket and booth number 3!
Despite working for Europe's largest DJ-only music service, the desire to rekindle my DJ career remained fairly muted. I loved producing the content, but it wasn't until 2010 that I dusted off my headphones and started to DJ at a few select events again. I had surrounded myself with DJs, and it was now my life, so it was only a matter of time before the bug bit again. Let's jump forward to 2012.
I've performed at 100s of events across the UK, produced 100s of mixes and compilations, and created numerous concepts for a large number of high-profile clients. Despite all this, once again, it was time for a new challenge and it came courtesy of a delightful meal with my in-laws and several bottles of red wine! It's funny how alcohol makes you say silly things and it was to be one of these random comments that would change my life in ways I could never have imagined.
My father-in-law owns a house in the South of France and would spend a few weeks a year there. He commented that he really needed someone to look after it whilst he wasn't there. Well I wasn't going to miss an opportunity like that and certainly not after a bottle or two of Montepulciano. I jokingly said, “well you should let me and Helen live there and we'll look after it for you.
We can still do our jobs too, so it's perfect.” Had I just said that out loud? What was I thinking? I took another sip of wine and slumped back in my chair hoping no-one had heard what I'd just blurted out. The rest of the evening is a blur... strange how red wine does that to you!
The next morning I arrived, rather sheepishly, for breakfast and was confronted almost immediately by my father-in-law. “What a good night that was... so when are you moving to France then?” At that time myself and my wife, Helen, were living in a small village on the outskirts of Doncaster and had recently decided to put the house up for sale. We weren't sure where we wanted to live next, we just knew it was time to move on. I'll be honest, France wasn't high on our list!
But when an opportunity like that comes your way you can't really turn it down. We had no children then and could do our respective jobs from almost anywhere in the world so we agreed that we would push ahead with the house sale and move to France for the summer. We received an offer on our house and our plan was soon in full swing. We emptied the house and put all our worldly belongings into storage.
We needed a short-term plan for somewhere to live so turned one of the offices at the Music Factory building into a cosy little bedsit and moved in... honestly! We had also decided to organise a Mastermix Open Day at the Music Factory. Nothing strange about that I hear you say! Well, not really, until you understand that the Open Day was to be held a week after we were due to complete on our house sale and the day before we left to live in France.
Trust me... there is never a dull moment in the life of the Lee family! Everything was moving along perfectly, but life has a nasty habit of throwing things at you and a few days before we were due to move to France the house sale fell through! We thought our dream of living and working in France was over but, after doing a few sums, we agreed it was still possible. The house went back on the market, the Open Day was a huge success and the following day we set off on the 1000 mile journey to our new home in the South of France.
We arrived at the house a few days later. Situated in the delightful village of Montauroux, about 45 minutes in-land from Nice airport, it was to be our home for the next six months. I remember getting out of the car, looking around at our new surroundings, turning to Helen and saying, “We did it!” Those words were more out of relief than anything else. There had been so many hurdles in our way but we had overcome them all.
We quickly set up an office and studio, and the next day we were back to work. Helen in her role as a Director of The Music Factory Entertainment Group and me as Label Manager for Mastermix and the various other music labels I run. Modern technology allowed us to move our operation from Rotherham to the Riviera... and no-one would have ever known! The labels were running smoothly and production deadlines were being hit quicker than ever.
I had lots more time on my hands to be creative, not only for The Music Factory Entertainment Group but also personally. I hadn’t DJed properly for over 10 years but my ‘mojo’ had returned and I was keen to explore opportunities to get behind the decks once more. I met a guy called Peter Mackley in a cafe in a beautiful square in the stunning village of Valbonne. I had researched a few events companies in the region and Peter's Riviera Organisation looked the best, so I contacted him and he suggested we meet.
I think it's fair to say we became friends straight away and by the end of our meeting he had offered me several jobs which I duly accepted. I had fallen out of love with life as a DJ but after spending a few weeks on the French Riviera that soon changed. I spent many nights travelling up and down the Cote D'Azur soaking up the atmosphere of the nightlife. The vibe was exciting, vibrant and motivating.
I watched DJ after DJ playing an eclectic range of music including Deep House, Chillout and Tropical House, as well as retro tracks and the latest hits. It was one party after another. Some on the beach, others in hotels, bars and villas along the Riviera. My 17PROFILE: RICHARD LEE thirst for music knowledge was being well and truly quenched, and at the same time my desire to DJ again was growing.
Since arriving in France I've been lucky enough to DJ at numerous events along the Cote D'Azur and could tell you many stories, including how I almost knocked down a famous musician in Monaco, Walter the Swiss billionaire and the greatest yacht party ever, Bono's house, being pulled up by the French motorway police whilst I was wearing only boxer shorts, dancing with a robot in the Villa Rothschild, playing from a balcony of a bedroom and finding the grandparents of the client had decided to go to bed early, a run in with the Russian mafia, almost falling out of a speedboat being driven by a Formula 1 champion or the time I played Bananarama in the finest hotel in Monte Carlo!
However, those stories, and many others like them, are best told face-to-face and preferably over a beer or two... nudge, nudge! There have been many challenges whilst working in France and I'm sure there will be many more to come. Moving from CD to digital as a DJ was probably the biggest challenge... or was it having to deal with the French!? Hard to tell, as both come with their fair share of frustrations but once you overcome them and find a solution then everything falls in to place.
I was genuinely sceptical at dumping my CD collection for a digital play-out option, but since I grasped the technology and got my first event under my belt I haven't looked back. As for the French, well it's mainly the engineers that have been the issue... especially one called Serge! We clashed a few times in the early years but have found a solution that works for us. He doesn't talk to me... and I don't punch his lights out... simple!
Joking aside, it isn't easy moving to a new country but there is no doubting that the move has rejuvenated me in many ways. My passion for life has never been greater and my love of the DJ world is stronger than ever. I'm a mobile DJ from South Yorkshire who took a gamble and it paid off... just! I've always lived life to the full and tried to get as much out of each day as possible.
I'd rather take a calculated risk and fail than look back in 20 years and wish I had tried. France was a perfect example, and it seems to have worked out quite well. I went from the roughest pubs in South Yorkshire to the villas, châteaux and yachts in the South of France! To bring my story right up to date, I now have a family that includes my lovely, and very understanding, wife Helen plus two amazing children – Henry and Sebastian!
We spent the summer of 2018 in the South of France but decided to move back to the UK as the options for the boys were far greater when it came to schooling... not to mention a lot cheaper than sending them to an International School in Monaco! There were other factors, of course, and after weighing up all options available to us we decided to make a 'strategic retreat' and now reside on a farm in Devon where life continues to be exciting and challenging.
I'm looking forward to returning to France for a number of events this year and can't wait to see what adventures they bring. I'm not sure how long I have left as a professional DJ, but for now I'm loving it again and whilst that passion is strong then there is still life in this ageing DJ. From Rotherham to the Riviera... where next I wonder? “SINCE ARRIVING IN FRANCE I'VE BEEN LUCKY ENOUGH TO DJ AT NUMEROUS EVENTS ALONG THE COTE D'AZUR” : RICHARD LEE
