When the sadly deceased Trade legend Tony de Vit spotted the unquestionably dextrous turntable talents of a teenage Robert Ferguson a few years back years at a club in Banbridge, he took the kid with a very bright future under his wing and brought him back to Birmingham. De Vit s eye for talent proved spot-on, as at the still tender age of 20, Fergie is the first Irish DJ to be tipped for Premier League status by the UK dance press.
There have been many comparisons made between the two DJs Mixmag hails Fergie as the new TdV but the affable and fun-loving kid from Larne is without doubt his own man. Fergie agrees that there can only ever be one Tony de Vit ( and anything I can do to keep his name in there, I will ), and likewise there is only one Fergie. With huge fanbases in places as far afield as Hong Kong, Australia and South Africa, our turntable trickster is also one of the leading motorway DJs in the UK, with a staggering average of eight gigs a weekend. He s got a fortnightly residency at Trade (his mentor s old slot), weekly residencies at Sundissential and Bed (the new venture from UK Club Of The Year Gatecrasher) and a monthly residency at God s Kitchen.
Fergie describes his unique blend of banging beats as phat, phat house, as phat as Pat O Keeffe (an Irish club promoter that Fergie s not too fond of). I don t play anything too fast, and I suppose I like things a bit cheesy.
He s only the second Irish DJ to have a mix-CD released in the UK (the other was David Holmes), and he s the first to have his mix-CD given away free with UK dance bible Mixmag. Inside the issue in question, Mixmag hails 2000 as the year of hard house , and names Fergie as the only DJ capable of conquering the mainstream and joining the likes of Oakenfold and Jules in the illustrious DJ Premier League. Fergie agrees with the general concensus that hard house is about to blow up all over, commenting: You ve already got the records creeping into the pop charts, and I believe this year s trance backlash can only help hard house, as the two styles are similar in terms of tempo and melodies and the old trance fans should move over to us.
One of Fergie s main aims (the others are to make loads of money, get married and have lots of kids ) is to establish himself as a producer in the league of his heroes, Steve Thomas, BK, Mac Zimms, and of course de Vit. But this month s BBM cover-star is quick to play down his achievements so far. I m only just finding my feet in the studio, learning new tricks all the time, so it will be a while before I can develop a style that I can really call my own. Until then he ll continue to turn down the innumerable remixes he gets offered ( I only want to do tracks that are good ), and shy away from the many collaborations he gets approached about ( I would be over-powered by their thoughts, and I have to find out what I m all about first ).
From his first few releases, it s clear that a major production force lies just under the surface, waiting to burst out. His promising Trade debut Ooh Sir was followed by the mega-selling Hoovers & Horns and the recent DB Single Of The Fortnight House Of Pain (both on Nukleuz). He also contributed what many consider to be the strongest track on the recent Trauma EP on Tidy Trax.
So is this apparent workaholic tendency the reason it s taken nearly a month to pin you down for this interview? No, I m a party animal from hell, he sniggers, barely able to laugh, obviously exhausted from a weekend trekking up and down the M1. Or is he?
Nah, I had the weekend off to move house. I ve bought a house with my girlfriend (who s got a little boy that s great) and I ve been trying to buy a new car. The reason I m so knackered is my girlfriend s a singer and I go to all her gigs. Last night I went along and got so drunk she found me asleep up in a tree.
A story that almost matches the legendary incident in America last year which saw Fergie and a pal banged up for eight days after stealing a license plate emblazoned TEC1 (reminding a drunken Fergie of the UK hard house label TEC). More tales of debauchery ensue, and it s clear that Fergie s a boy who likes to ignite the candle at both ends.
So when can we expect to see our most famous son back in Irish clubs then?
I haven t been back to Northern Ireland at all since I left, but I have played a good few clubs in the south, and wish I could come over more often.
Perhaps it s something to do with the fact that every Irish promoter I speak to says you re booked up until the end of the year?
Aye, but there s always openings if they ring early enough in the day. I was over recently at The Pulse in Letterkenny and had a great night, and I miss playing Dublin.
Not half as much as Dublin, and indeed the rest of the country, is missing you.
Fergie s House Of Pain is out on April 10th on Nukleuz. Nukleuz presents . . . Hard House Anthems (mixed by Fergie and BK) is out now on Virgin.