Haçienda DJ legend Mike Pickering maybe not a household name in all circles - but his imprint on DJ dance culture , post punk , rave , neo-soul and beyond is groundbreaking - especially for those of us who lived through it from the 70’s onwards.

Witnessing the Beatles live in 1963 as a 9 year old and dealing with the non inclusive nature of UK Northern Soul clubs like the Twisted Wheel and Wigan Casino in the early 70’s - really set in motion his concept for a huge all inclusive dance music revolution.

Hailing from Manchester - his involvement with Factory Records and their legendary club the Haçienda really was the launch pad for his career.

The influence of New York dance culture on the UK music scene really began here and was ahead of London in many ways in the early 80’s.

He signed the iconic bands Happy Mondays and James to Factory before starting a collaborative musical unit called M People - which became a live band and took dance music out of the clubs into the huge arenas and popular culture on a global scale.

The reverberation is still being felt today.

Its a great read and just goes to show anything is possible if you follow artistic integrity and stick to your core values and never compromise!