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Now before I start I must say that this is going to be a bit of a rant but it is one about my personal taste and anyone who does dj'ing at weddings and is of the sort I am about to talk about then please don't get all offended.
There has been quite a bit of argy-bargeey and name calling on TM lately and feel that is is quite a sad turn of events when any subject cannot be covered due to people getting all irrate and then resorting to personal attacks and childish name calling. Remember it is only an opinion.
So on with the show

I love music....a lot. I listen to it everyday for an average of about 8 hours and also playing the guitar, ukuelele, harmonica and I used to dj in a local club bar. I would actually say that I love it more than magic but unfortunatley I haven't the talent of a great musician (some would say that of my magic too).
Anyway I have recently been to several big birthday parites and weddings only to have to great misfortune to sit through pretty much identical sets when it comes to the dj.
Not only that but the choice of records being played are ones that show that the dj has no soul or passion for music and is pretty much just doing it for the money.
On saturday for example I was compelled after the Dj played "Walk This way", a half decent song you may think but No the Girls Aloud version, to go over and ask if he had any Northern Soul and the mans reaction was priceless. He actually thanked me for requesting it and told me later on that it made his night.
So if dj's are music fans who love music so much that they decide to make a career out of it then go on to play material they dislike? As a magaican I certainly wouldn't let people dictate to me what I should perform.
I am certainly not advocating a staunch hardline " I'll play obscure stuff and be damned to all of you" as that is not practical but please wedding dj's have a bit of pride and a bit of soul in what you do.
That means picking out songs that will not just entertain but introduce your audience to a few new things as well as a few classics. Have an ebb and flow to the set taking your audience on a bit of a music journey.
Out of the ones I've met lately at functions only one knew anything about music outside of the cheesy party hits, the others also knew zero about the artistry of dj'ing. It is truley a sad state of affairs.

I feel your pain greedoniz! Having spent many a night at these wedding/birthday/engagement nights. I too have been subjected to an unhealthy amount of Boney M and Steps singles.

I still get a great laugh out of the bloody eejits how proceed to "dance" (and I use the term loosely) to the rivers of babylon while playing the air guitar and shouting that they've still "got it".

This rant reminds me slightly of the the Peter Kay sketch about kids in the future- get that music of its c*** (not the best), put a bit of smack your b***h up for your mum.

When I did Discos, the general idea was that you played whatever the people paying the bill wanted to be played - he who pays the piper, calls the tune type of thing. Weddings are generally family occasions so all sorts need to be catered for - even if it does mean shedloads of mouldy oldies and embarrassing dancing !

Mandrake wrote:When I did Discos

Now there's an image!

Oh yes, I was a sight to behold! It was actually my Son's Disco enterprise so I was the chief Roadie but I did quite a few on my own, usually the mouldy oldies type of booking and it was great fun. The one time we almost came a cropper was when we were booked for a Wedding Anniversary party at the last minute and for some reason we weren't told which anniversary it was. When we got to the venue we realised it was a Golden Wedding so most of the guests were 70 plus. We were very lucky as we found a small stash at the back of the stage of LPs (you know, the big flat black plastic circular thingies with holes in the middle and grooves!) of Strict Tempo Dance music and we used those most of the night!

anyone who does dj'ing at weddings and is of the sort I am about to talk about then please don't get all offended.

offended I'm bleeping irate, just kidding.

what gets my goat is they say 60's 70's and 80's then when you start your set they complain and ask for avril levern and 50dy cent, thats why i always bring a selection from "goodnight sweetheart" to clubbing stuff and tell them at the start iv'e been contracted to play 60's-80's, any complaints speek to the boss-person.

usualy at weddings there is such an age range that you can't please all of the people so most djs stick to a set thats emcompases all the middle of the road and classic wedding tat to please the majority.

I just wonder why there is the need to "cater".

As I said previously a magician doesn't get told what effects to perform and a photographer isnt told what photos to take.
As a dj surely the job is being an expert in music?

Yes people do expect certain things at wedding but isn't that only because wedding dj's have been playing the same rubbish for years.

Summer of 69
Grease megamix
YMCA

to name the worst offenders.

I just think it is a huge shame, especially that the rise of the real dj (one who constructs his/her own set and mixes the records - without taking requests) seems to have been completely missed within the wedding field.

I actually think that maybe a lot of wedding dj's care little for music and more for the money?

I don't know about discos but when I was in my band we found that it was often easier to paly what the poeple wanted to hear. It depended on where we were playing, some places we knew we could have some fun and play some quite interesting folk-punk other places we were better off sticking to Danny Boy and Whiskey in the Jar.

The way we saw it was that we were being paid to entertain the people, so we'd play what they'd want to hear.

I just think it is a huge shame, especially that the rise of the real dj (one who constructs his/her own set and mixes the records - without taking requests) seems to have been completely missed within the wedding field.

Quite an accurate assessment but if the people paying for the DJ (usually Bride's parents) aren't into cutting edge stuff, they won't be very happy. I'd agree that at a Birthday or other party where there's a more specific audience, the DJ ought to do a lot of work in advance, certainly by checking with the bookers, and put together an appropriate program rather than just shove Now 208 (or whatever number we're up to!) and play it all the way through! The last party I went to where there was a DJ booked, he just had a souped up MP3 player preloaded for the night and seemed to do not a lot other than strut around behind the light boxes looking like a right p*llock - not exactly hard work. Ah for the good old days where vinyl was the norm, were you had to cue stuff individually and properly, and people thought the phone handset used to listen in was an early form of mobile phone! (And a small dog was seen to be staring down the trumpet of the gramophone!)

Lady of Mystery wrote:The way we saw it was that we were being paid to entertain the people, so we'd play what they'd want to hear.

I see things completely differently to be honest. I think if you have an act, be it singing, magic, dj'ing, surely it is most important to perform something you love and wish to share?
Maybe it is the difference between doing it for the money or having integrity for what you do?

An extreme example but I still see as apt would be Radiohead being hired for a party and then the client asking them to do S Club 7 covers all night. I'm sure they would not agree to do it.

I am not advocating a wedding dj saying "Be damned to the audience, I will be playing minamalist Detroit techno all night" but as Mandrake says there is a slight middle ground where the dj should do their job (being an expert in playing records) and should combine a few classics along with more obscure or interesting material that will mean they are keeping a bit of self respect along with entertaining the audience

Whats an Awesome Thread!
This is quite close to Heart at the moment as i have been asked to do some music for my Mates Wedding!
I have sang in Bands nearly all my life - But i have only done solo stuff a few Times.
And i am Struggling with what to Put in My Set List! Need Your advice
Obvoiusly there is going to be a wide Variety of age groups so i will need to Vary my individual tastes. But i will NOT DO Songs i dont like e.g: Summer of 69, Born to be wild, Bon Jovi etc......
So this is what i have so far
Oldies
Mr Pitiful 60's
Everlasting love 60's
Something inside so Strong ?
Suspicious Minds ?
Gold 80's
Mustang Sally
Gimme Hope Joanna Reggae
One love Reggae
Modern
Chasing Cars
I Predict a Riot
Smokers outside the Hospital doors
Elvis aint Dead
Place your Hands
One (U2)
And Finish with Angels

Not in this Order but what ya reckon?

greedoniz wrote:

Lady of Mystery wrote:The way we saw it was that we were being paid to entertain the people, so we'd play what they'd want to hear.

I see things completely differently to be honest. I think if you have an act, be it singing, magic, dj'ing, surely it is most important to perform something you love and wish to share?

You're dead right, maybe I missed the point of the thread slightly. We were a folk band and we'd never go totally off track just change what we played a little bit. We mainly enjoyed playing our own style of folk-punk but if we had a audience who were obviously up for a bit of a sing song and a dance we'd change what we were going to play to something a little bit more well known. It's the same as magic, you alter your act to suit your audience.

I do think this sort of thing should be a compromise. When I got married, we asked for certain songs to be played (including some Portuguese music as my wife is from Portugal - naturally, we supplied the CDs). Apart from the few songs that we requested, I asked the DJ to play whatever he wanted, but constrained him to tunes between the 70s and naughties He told me he was very pleased with that as most people only wanted him to play exactly what they wanted, which I think is fair enough if you're paying for it, but personally I like to give the professional a chance of doing what he does best. Just my opinion.

Ahh - my specialist subject

I have been doing discos professionally now for 23 years, and make quite a good living at it. When I first started it was for the love of music, and I think it is the same for all DJ's, it is certainly not a quick way to make a few pounds on the side, it is an expensive business to get into - moreso back in the 80's as it is now, but it still isn't what you would call cheap.

I think you will need to understand the distinct difference between a club DJ and a mobile DJ is this:

A club DJ has people coming to him listen to his choice of music
A mobile DJ goes to them to play their choice of music.

I get paid a minimum of £300 for a disco - what gives me the right to say to the customer, "I don't care what music you want, I am only going to play music I like." They pay the money, I am there to do their bidding (music wise.)

Every wedding I do I will get at least 5 "must play" songs requested - the first dance, quite often a second dance, something for the parents or the bride and groom, and a few must haves from their courtship period.

Now if I get asked to play at a disco where they want solely Rap and Hip Hop and RnB, I will turn the gig down because it is not my sort of music - I hate it, and I don't have the knowledge of the music to do it.

Most discos I do last between 3 and 5 hours, and in that time I hope to play something for everyone, a bit of modern stuff, some rock n roll, The Beatles and Elvis will always get a play, some seventies dancefloor classics and some 80's stuff that no-one will admit to liking in public, some blues, some soul, a complete mix.

I will, however, pretty much finish with an hour of cheesy classics - yes you will get Dancing Queen, YMCA, The Shoop Shoop song, probably some Madness, Dexy's, the Macarena - all horrible songs in their own rights, but stuff the majority of people will dance do.

Why do I finish a party with that type of music - well, yes, it is formulaic - but hey, people almost always cry out for one more song at the end, and I have doing it for 23 years - I must be doing something right.

But don't get me wrong - I do not play a fixed list every time, all discos are different, they have different people - as the professional DJ it is up to me to gauge what my audience wants, change the music if they are losing interest - play more of the same if they are loving it.

If, however, there is one person sitting in the corner refusing to party because he or she is not enjoying the music, then I will lose no sleep over it - maybe discos aren't the place for him - as a mobile jock I play for the majority.

Do I do it just for the money - no I don't, but I wouldn't do it for any less money than I am charging at the moment.

I could witter on endlessly about various jobs I have had over the years that have been extremely enjoyable because of the course they have taken - they have varied from the norm and I have loved the fact that I can play different music - sadly this only really happens once or twice a year - and considering I do around 100 gigs a year, that is not very often.

Totally Mental wrote:I get paid a minimum of £300 for a disco - what gives me the right to say to the customer, "I don't care what music you want, I am only going to play music I like." They pay the money, I am there to do their bidding (music wise.)

It's the same right as any performer has, to perform his or her act. To mearly play what is asked of the dj is to become a button pushing monkey surely?
Even as a client I would presume to hire a dj who plays an obvious set would be a waste of money. Get on I tunes, download "100 Party Classics" and turn the stereo up.
I am well aware that being this way makes things far more awkward if a mobile disco sticks to this way of thinking but it would then mean they are a performer and not just the guy who pushes buttons and makes "Bruno Brookes" type announcements to break the sonic tedium