BBC Radio 2 presenter Vernon Kay will bring his DJ show to Liverpool as part of his UK tour, with a stop at Hangar 34 on Friday, October 2. The 52-year-old promises a night of familiar tracks and sing-along moments, with Liverpool's influence on dance music also featuring in the soundtrack.
A cultural movement from underground to mainstream
Kay highlighted how the genre's recognisable tunes have crossed generations. He said: “The tunes are so recognisable and so memorable, and they transcend generations. My kids love 90s dance music; they know all the words to the big floor fillers.”
He also reflected on dance music's journey from underground clubs to the mainstream. “But culturally, it was a massive movement because dance music really came out of the underground. It came out of the big sweatbox nightclubs and filtered into your kind of ‘cheesy carpet’ clubs, which was a pivotal moment because it highlighted just how popular it had become when it entered the mainstream.”
Kay credited television with broadening the genre's audience. He added: “From the back end of the 80s into the early 90s, we started to see dance music on Top of the Pops and it became visualised. We recognised faces, and it became part of popular culture as we started to see the DJs who were remixing and making the tunes.”
Musical influences and early club memories
Discussing his eclectic taste, Kay said: “I just like music, so I didn't have one particular taste or one particular genre that I liked. I loved it all. I was into Nirvana, but I was also into what you'd probably call Scouse techno. I was into a bit of everything.”
He gave a shout-out to Legends in Warrington, describing it as his first proper nightclub experience linked to dance music. He said: “It was a real dark sweatbox. It used to be the VIP room of Warrington Rugby Club because it was actually inside the stadium. It was amazing.”
Line-up and remaining tour dates
The Liverpool show will feature tracks from some of the biggest dance acts of the 90s, including The Shamen, The Prodigy, Snap!, Underworld, JX and Ultra Naté. DJ Darren Noguerol will join Kay as a special guest, with his sets of classic dance tracks helping to get the crowd going before Kay takes to the stage.
The 2026 tour dates include September 4 at G Live in Guildford, September 18 at O2 Forum Kentish Town in London, October 2 at Hangar 34 in Liverpool, November 6 at Scarborough Spa, and November 27 at Corn Exchange in Edinburgh.
