Mikey D.O.N

Mikey D.O.N

WHERE DO WE START? If you don’t know about Mikey D.O.N, then frankly WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN?? A real legend in the music scene, Mikey started his career at a very early age – after getting his first turntable in 1975. This lead to him following in his Father’s footsteps (as he to was a DJ and had his own Sound System called ‘Mellow Tone’) and started DJing in parties and venues from the age of 12 years old. In 1983, Mikey, his brother and a few friends, started their own sound system called Two Tone Posse, concentrating on reggae & soul music, but still having an outlook on other music, especially Electro, because at this point Mikey was also a formidable part of Gravity Force – a break dancing crew from his area, second only to Andromeda (his older brother’s crew). Late 1986 saw Mikey, along with his same older brother and close family friend, start a rap group called KRISPY 3. The group’s first-ever appearance was on Steve Barker’s legendary ‘On The Wire’ radio show on Radio Lancashire on Sunday January 10th 1987, followed by their first-ever live gig in April of the same year. The summer of 1989 saw the surface of their first piece of vinyl – a seven-inch (limited to fifty copies) press of ‘Comin’ Thru Clear’, whilst their first official release was in 1990 – a re-mixed twelve-inch version of ‘Comin Thru Clear’, backed with Mikey’s first solo release called ‘Natch It Up’. Their second 12″ single (‘Destroy All The Stereotypes’) was released in the following year, which culminated to them doing their first UK Tour supporting Mancunian legends Ruthless Rap Assassins. Krispy 3 were one of the first Hip Hop acts out of the UK to do BBC Radio 1 Sessions for ‘Sir’ John Peel (R.I.P.) and also Steve Lamacq & Jo Whiley. Krispy 3 also made history by being one of the first UK hip hop acts to get heavy rotation on’ Yo! MTV Raps’ – resulting in Mikey now being humbly known as a UK Hip Hop Pioneer. As a recording artist, Mikey is still very active to this day so lookout for some forthcoming releases to hit the streets in 2020 and beyond.

Mikey’s musical tastes don’t stop here. After hearing the first-ever Acid House tune in 1985 (Sleezy D’s ‘I’ve Lost Control’) and becoming instantly hooked, Mikey also was an avid ‘raver’ – going to countless warehouse parties (in Blackburn and beyond) in the late 80’s and early 90’s, therefore amassing more records! He was also known to ‘MC’ at various parties and clubs for DJ’s such as Revenge’s ‘John J’ Jepson. Around this time he also started the legendary ‘TAKE 5’ club night – which specialised in funk/disco/soul & hip-hop.
The honour and respect Mikey’s gained over the decades has lead him to DJing and performing at countless shows ranging from the likes Lee Scratch Perry, Bunny Wailer, David Rodigan, Maxi Priest, Marcia Griffiths, Gregory Isaacs, Julian Marley, Yellowman, Dillinger, etc, to Hip Hop acts Big Daddy Kane, EPMD, Biz Markie, Slum Village, Ali Shaheed Mohammed (ATCQ), Pete Rock & CL Smooth, Roots Manuva, Gangstarr, Ultra Magnetic MC’s, etc, funk groups like Roy Ayers, Breakestra, Brand New Heavies, James Taylor Quartet, to D&B/Junglist legends Nicky Blackmarket, Aries, DJ Hype, etc, and playing many club nights and venues such as Fabric (London), Eat Your Greens (Liverpool), Stone Love (Newcastle), No-one’s Driving (Lancaster), Scratch (Edinburgh & London), Custard Factory (Birmingham), Hit & Run, FishFry, Dub & Bass, D*Percussion (Manchester), Club Bluu & Turkish Delight (Oslo, Norway) & Club Asylum (Jamaica) to name but a few. The same goes for Festivals such as Big Chill, Latitude, WickerMan, BoomTown, SolFest, BeatHerder, One Love, Boom Bap, Kendal Calling, etc – the list goes on and on. Amongst other monikers, he’s also earned the title of ‘The Bionic Sound Killer’, not only for his skills as a selector/operator in his sound system days, but also due to many soundclash victories he’s had over the years.
People’s biggest mistake is that they try and pigeonhole Mikey as just a Reggae DJ – and they couldn’t be sooo mistaken if they tried. Mikey simply loves spinning great records to the masses, so whether he plays Reggae, Soul, Funk, Hip Hop, Boogie, Disco, Acid House, Rave, Jungle, D&B, Jazz, even Pop music, one thing is for sure – when rocking a club from behind the turntables, or simply just holding the mic, there’s no doubt Mikey D.O.N is THE force to be reckoned with!!