With over a decade of experience behind the Tuesday Club decks, legendary Sheffield DJ and TTC resident Andy H shares his insights into the event’s enduring appeal.
Hi Andy, for any newcomers to the city, could you quickly introduce yourself and what you’re all about?
I’m the resident DJ at The Tuesday Club and have been involved since a few months after its inception. I’m primarily known as a DnB/Jungle DJ, but my roots also extend to Hip-Hop. My DJ style is based on Turntablism, so I enjoy getting technical when DJing and steering clear of simply mixing one track into the next.
How did you come to get involved with TTC? Can you remember your first set and how it went down?
I started in the Interval pre-bar. It was a big part of the event in the early days and helped us introduce the sound, especially when DnB and Hip-Hop were relatively new to a lot of people. I remember those early sets going down well; the turntables were on the same levels as everyone watching, so it was easy to see exactly what the DJ was doing close up.
As resident DJ for over ten years, you’ve witnessed countless memorable nights. Could you share a particularly unforgettable moment or event from the night’s history?
I still think one of my favourite nights was when Jazzy Jeff came to TTC. He played an incredible set, but what made it for me was when he took me to one side and told me to enter the DMC [World DJ championships].
I really didn’t have the confidence to enter, but being told to do it by someone of that magnitude meant I went home that night and started to practise. Really that was a turning point for my career, and it was all down to that night.
What’s a failsafe tune to get the crowd warmed up?
I love playing the warm-up sets. It is a real skill which took me years to learn. Taking people from coming into the room and out of the cold, engaging them with what is going on, then slowly getting them warmed up dancing in anticipation for whoever the headliner is while leaving somewhere for the headliner to go and do their thing.
There is a real temptation to play too hard or energetic in the warm-up, but doing that would detract from the night as a whole and at the end of the day, it’s not about me. It’s always really good when the headliner comes over to thank you for setting the atmosphere in the club up for them.
Despite all the advances in technology, there is still something special about a room full of like-minded people enjoying dancing to music they love together.
The Tuesday Club has undoubtedly played a role in shaping Sheffield’s cultural scene. How do you feel the club has impacted the local community and contributed to the city’s reputation?
I remember in the early days when we were still gaining a reputation most DJs would turn up not expecting very much, travelling up from London for a Tuesday night in Sheffield unsurprisingly didn’t appeal to some people.
It was always good to see them walk through a busy thousand-plus crowd of music lovers going for it.
Gradually our reputation spread and new DJs were fully aware of what to expect. Before long we were getting DJs requesting to stop in Sheffield on their UK tours.
Beyond the dancefloor, the night is known having a positive impact on emerging artists and DJs. Can you tell us about artists who started out behind the decks at TTC?
Our tried-and-tested method of programming line-ups has always been to try and put big established names with newer less-established names and hopefully introduce them to people.
Seeing a very young Skream or early Chase & Status show go down well with a crowd of people who have not heard of them, then fast forwarding to seeing them headlining festivals is great.
The clubbing experience is not just about the music; it’s also about the atmosphere and the people. How do you think TTC creates an environment that encourages connection and memorable experiences?
Obviously, over the time we have been running the way people listen to music has changed massively. Despite all the advances in technology, there is still something special about a room full of like-minded people enjoying dancing to music they love together.
Finally, what would be your perfect Tuesday Club lineup?
The Tuesday Club has always had a really strong relationship with Outlook Festival, and I have been heavily involved in linking the two over the years.
For the 10th year of Outlook, they put together the Outlook Orchestra, running a kind of live mixtape of all the classic Outlook tracks. Seeing Pharoahe Monch followed by Jehst, Loyle Carner, Roots Manuva, Jenna G, Dawn Penn, joined by many more performing over a full orchestra was one of the best things I have ever seen.
I would love to see something like that happen in Sheffield one day.
