Liverpool DJ John Cotton, now 70, has spent more than five decades behind the decks, from a disastrous first gig in a working men's club to a debut in Ibiza last summer. He brings his popular Classics event to the Wav Garden on Saturday November 21 as a daytime party.
From bingo nights to Ibiza
John was 17 when he made his debut at the Bourton on Dunsmore Working Men's Club in the Midlands. "My sister got me that booking. I was on after the bingo and I died a death," he laughs. "When I started out the DJ was important but no one knew who they were. I remember speaking to a girl one night and she said to me 'do you come here often?' I said 'yeah I'm the DJ.'"
From Lydiate, John went on to play at Liverpool venues including The Conti, Fallows and Quinns. A stint in the Netherlands, with club dates at Shiva in Utrecht and The Grasshopper in Amsterdam, helped him develop his signature Dutch driving and uplifting house music sound. "I found my own niche there," he says.
To most clubbers, though, John is best known for his marathon run at Gbar. "I think I did my first gig in Gbar in 1998," he recalls. "When Gbar first opened it was the only afterhours in Liverpool. It was £10 to get in. All you could drink was coke and water. They gave me the Church Room and it developed around the music that I was playing. It just all fell into place."
Retirement that did not last
John has witnessed huge changes across the club scene in his 53 years. "I have been lucky enough to see it all," he says. "I learned my trade through my mobile disco. I did all the weddings and parties. I played an event a few years back in Liverpool and there was a guy hanging round at the end. He said to me 'I have been following you for years, John. This is my last night clubbing. You did my mum and dad's wedding with your mobile disco before I was even born.'"
He adds: "I have been DJing for 53 years. I am 70 now but that's just my body. My head is still 26. I don't feel any different to how I did when I was younger."
In 2016, aged 60, John decided to retire and signed off with a big event at The Garage, now Hangar 34. It did not last. "I was getting tired. I thought my career was dipping and I didn't want it to fade out. I thought I will go out while I'm on top and I announced a big event at The Garage. By the time it got to the event I realised I had made a big mistake but there was no going back," he explains.
"Then a couple of months later, I was invited to a meeting at the Gbar. There was a big birthday coming up and I knew they were going to ask me to play. I said yeah and had to release a statement saying I got it wrong, I shouldn't have retired. When I actually do stop playing I am not gonna retire. I am just gonna slide out the back door."
A daytime Classics debut
Had he stayed retired, John would have missed his goal of playing in Ibiza. He made his debut on the island last summer, appearing for Liverpool brand Sin Sundays at O Beach. "I had played a private party in Ibiza years ago but never a club. I got a text from (Sin Sundays promoter and DJ) Billie Clements saying would I like to come and play at their closing party. I was over the moon. It was so cool. I ticked a box and would like to play in Ibiza again if the opportunity came up."
This month John takes his Classics event to the Wav Garden for a daytime party. "I thought it was time to try somewhere different and it's a really cool space, also I wanted to do a daytime party. Usually when I play it is quite late and so many people say to me, 'I'd come mate but I just can't stay out late anymore'. This is great, they can come and see me playing six o'clock till 10 then get the last train home."
Asked what keeps him DJing after all these years, John says: "The love of music. I just love to do what I do and I think it is an honour to stand up there and play music for people. For me the joy is finding a good tune and watching people's reaction."
John Cotton Classics is at Wav Garden on Saturday November 21. Tickets are available via Skiddle.
