Everybody's Free (2008 Bounce Mix) - Andy Whitby & Matt Lee

Whitby’d hwit’be’d, adj, c21st slang]

1. To have one’s mind transported to an alternative frantic nirvana, via the medium of hard dance music.

2. Tired out, exhausted, as if from enjoying something immense and pleasurable.

He may be only in his mid-twenties but already Andy Whitby has achieved a status and massive following that comfortably trounces the biggest DJ names that have many more years of experience. He’s a phenomenon that continues to grow momentum at an almost frightful pace. His sets are highly inspirational, massively addictive, hi-octane, powerful hands in the air affairs delivered in a unique style. By the time a track is included in his play list Andy will know how to get the very best out of it; he will know every tiny micro-beat, every miniscule detail. Such obsession makes him a member of the top-flight elite; consistently winning awards and fans the world over. He’s a promoters dream; “if I secure Whitby on my line-up my event will sell out in advance” one promoter said to me recently.

Andy Whitby’s fans represent the entire hard-dance spectrum, many travel huge distances from all corners of the UK and beyond; many will have the name Andy Whitby embossed on customized clubbing wear they’ve had made for them; their enthusiasm is rewarded by a performance that often leaves many a gibbering wreck.

More recently, his fiercely loyal fan base packed out the launch of One AWsum Night; an event packed with a line-up of DJs to compliment the Whitby experience. The launch was massively over subscribed and instantly making the One AWsum Night events eagerly anticipated by many and form an integral part of clubbers diaries.

Whitby’s unquestionable and seemingly unrivalled DJing skill is only part of the success story. A Whitby set will always be peppered by many tracks that are either his own or are remixed and re-engineered by him to get optimum performance and maximum impact within each set he plays. Any track that has come out of the Whitby studio is hugely sought after by other DJs and fans, so much so some DJs who should know better lift huge segments from Andy’s demos to include in their own sets. Such is the demand for these tracks that it has prompted the creation of AWsum, Whitby’s own record label; each release enjoying instant download chart-topping success.

His confidence and ability to pack out events would perhaps make some achieving the same success ever so slightly arrogant. But spend any time with Andy Whitby and you’ll find that he is extremely down to earth, immensely appreciative of his fans support and constantly surprised by the massive amounts of attention he gets where ever he goes. No matter how many people want photos taken with their idol, or various bits of memorabilia (and often their anatomy) signed, Andy will always oblige.

Andy Whitby for many represents everything hard dance-dance should be; fast, fun, friendly, euphoric. For everyone else they are yet to be Whitby’d.

Written by Ru Curthoys Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.