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Pete
Wardman was first booked as a DJ when he was 17 years old. Claiming the
offer was a case of either "
get behind the bar
or the
decks
", he was spotted by an agency - and signed up.
By 1988. Pete had set up Hampshire based "Power FM", a radio
station targeted towards a (largely ignored) youth audience. Within a
year the station became market leader, and was later bought by the Capital
Radio group.
In 1992, Pete was headhunted by Kiss 100 FM - the UK's leading dance
music station. Pete joined to co-present the weekday breakfast show, progressing
to his own weekday afternoon show. Over the next two years the programme
showed a substantial increase in listeners, and Pete had become one of
their 'new school DJ's, with an increase in bookings throughout the country.
In 1995, when Kiss changed hands, and the daytime music policy changed
with it, Pete left the daytime show - (not wanting his audience to think
he had changed his style radically). However, Pete stayed at Kiss and
(with a helping hand from Danny Rampling) created a new weekly specialist
show under the 'House Nation' banner.
Throughout 1995 Pete was one of the regular presenters of BPM, ITV's
Saturday night dance show. In the same year, Pete released the compilation
album 'Sherbert' which entered the National Compilation Chart at number
FOUR. The now infamous club 'Sherbert' was born, and in just one year
became one of London's most cutting edge clubs. In 1996 Pete was asked
by Pete Tong to guest on 'The Essential Mix' on BBC Radio 1, one of the
nations most listened to dance shows.
Pete is currently found presenting on KISS 100 FM between 8pm and 10pm
on Thursday evenings, deemed to be cult listening by clubbers all over
London and beyond. He is also co-presenter of the weekly 'Mixmag Big Tunes'
show, produced in conjunction with 'Mixmag' magazine, and 'aired' on Kiss
100 FM on Saturday afternoons between 6pm and 7pm.
At the beginning of 1997, he signed as the new weekly resident at Laurence
Malice's legendary club TRADE (replacing 'Tall Paul'). Pete featured on
'TRADE Volume 4', and was one of the DJ's top take the club on it's first
WORLD tour in 1998 to Australia and South Africa, as well as the clubs
first comprehensive tour of the UK.
In 1997, Pete was also a regular guest Presenter on ITV's 'Club Nation'
he
completed the mixed version of the T.E.C. album "The sound of the
hover", and had singles released with the 'Tinrib' records and 'Shift'
recordings. Pete's remixing career continued with Dye Witness's "What
would you like to hear again?" proving a huge success for 'Tidy Trax'
records in September.
In 1998 - Pete spent more time in the studio, completing remixes of 'Jocelyn
Brown & Voodoo Possee's' "Love is..", and a new mix of '99th
Floor Elevator's' "Hooked on Love" (now signed for a '99 release).
1998 also saw the first ever 'Trade Residents EP', which featured Pete's
track "Beauty Magnet" alongside contributions from the other
Trade Resident DJ's - Alan Thompson, Malcolm Duffy, Steve Thomas, Tony
De Vit, and Ian M. Sadly, this "first ever
" project on
the revitalised 'Trade' record label would feature the last track that
Tony recorded. It was thought appropriate that the release should be a
tribute to Tony - it's perhaps fitting therefore that the 'Trade EP' has
now sold in excess of 30 thousand copies
But as Pete completed '98, his second year as a 'Trade' resident - his
most significant news was of his record deal with 'Tripoli Trax' Records.
And Pete's debut single (2The Lizard Queen" / "Tragically Glamorous")
for the label was one of their best selling releases that year.
It was not only this increase in Pete's commitment to his work in the
recording studio in '98, but also an incredible demand for his DJ sets
that led him to drastically cut down his work as a Journalist and Presenter
for BBC News and Current Affairs. 1998 saw Pete not only being booked
for 'headline' gigs for the first time in the USA, Canada, and Israel,
but also a sharp increase in European bookings. And no amount of good
publicity can account for the phenomenal demand for Pete to return to
'headline' the 'Trade '98 African' tour, seven weeks after his first-EVER
appearance there. (Pete returned to South Africa, touring 'solo' - without
any club backing - in January 1999). Pete rose 14 places (to No 41) on
the 'World Top 100 DJ Chart' in DJ Magazine.
Pete has signed for another two singles for 'Tripoli Trax', as well as
contributing a new track ("Let the Rhythm") for Tripoli's second
compilation album (for which he is also providing the DJ mix version)
for a September release. He's remixed Holland's 'Mac Zimms' and Ireland's
'Mr Spring'. Plans for a second 'Trade residents EP' are being drawn,
as well as Pete's contribution to the 'Trade' album series.
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