True House Stories® Youtube & Spotify Video Podcast
TRUE HOUSE STORIES W/ BRANDON BLOCK & ALEX P
Brandon Block & Alex P interviewed by Lenny Fontana for True House Stories® # 039
Part 1
True House Stories with Lenny Fontana and the super fun duo Brandon Block & Alex P is an absolute must see. Check out this show to hear all of the crazy stories these world renowned DJ pair were involved in during their years of DJing and partying in clubs around the world.
Hear all about the mayhem they created during their time playing in Ibiza and why Brandon had to return to the UK. Learn how the party life affected Brandon health wise. Expect to be thoroughly entertained during this show. So many funny moments with Brandon Block and Alex P.
Part 2
Alex and Brandon talk about their famous Kiss Fm London show. The guys explain how they first met each other and how they became one of the greatest DJ teams from the beginning of house music in Ibiza.
They share how it all began at Space and all the escapades that followed. The most important part for this team was that they wanted to bring something to Ibiza and not just take it away. Come and listen to the fellas spill the beans.
Brandon Block & Alex P YouTube Video Part 1
Brandon Block & Alex P YouTube Video Part 2
Biography Brandon Block
Surprisingly enough my career started in 1985 at my local boozer, The John Lyon in Harrow west London – it was a great pub, everyone went there. My friends and I used to buy a lot of funk and soul (the sound at the time) and one night the DJ there didn’t show, so me and my then DJ partner Ali Jobe asked the governor if we could bring the records down and do it. We were so good that he fired the DJ. In fact it got so popular that they started charging an entrance fee. And then acid house took off and I started DJing properly.
It was 1988, and at a night called ZigZag at Broadway Boulevard in Ealing, London. We used to spend our Sundays at Queens in Colnbrook which became such a success that Dean Thatcher (best known as a founder member of techno/house act The Aloof) and I started up our own Sunday night, Haven Stables – well, it was more of an afternoon evening really.
The place used to go off big time and was packed to the rafters until it came to an end in 1991. Our adventures in clubland got so successful that we hooked up with Charlie Chester (now famed for DC10 at Circo Loco in Ibiza, Charlie also founded legendary record store Flying Records in Dean Street, London) to promote a Tuesday night at Queens, which is out near Heathrow Airport. You’ve gotta excuse the pun, but this is where my career really took off; my profile was raised and I was able to grab guests spots around London.
1990 was also the year I first went to Ibiza with the small record label that I was working for. I loved it so the following summer I packed three or four bags of records, £500 cash and a small bag of clothes with the full intention of staying there for as long as I could. And that’s just what I did. Fast forward to 2001 and me and my frequent DJ partner Alex P seem to be as much a part of the Balearic scenery as Pikes, Manumission and the puke in the streets of San An!
The first time we met in Ibiza Alex was really drunk. He threw beer all over me and rolled around on the floor. And then he got arrested and we met up the next day and the rest is pretty much history. Two years later I met up with Peeze again and he invited me to play at the Space Terrace, which he had built himself.
For the next five years we were residents at the Sunday Session, a place that confirmed the Terrace’s reputation as one of the most special places in clubland. Over the past ten years I have seen Ibiza transform from a secret party island somewhere in the Med to one of the craziest places on earth. It has grown so big now that you can easily have the best night of your life every day of the week. Every year I look forward to a summer of what life should be like all year round – absolute madness.
I’ve been lucky enough to have had my fair share of wicked residencies over the years like Up Yer Ronson in Leeds, FUBAR at the Milk Bar in London (which I co-promoted with Lisa Loud), Club For Life and Malibu Stacey (both in the capital) and Scream in Plymouth. Nowadays I play regularly at the Ministry of Sound, Turnmills, Miss Moneypenny’s, Golden, Republica, Progress, Karanga, Colours, Clockwork Orange and Kelly’s.
I’m sure there’s loads of other places which you’ve probably been to and see me larking about on the decks – I’ve been all over Europe, my international tour of carnage has stopped off in Hong Kong, Singapore, Thailand, Australia, the US (I love the Ra Club in Las Vegas) and all points in between. Israel’s a good one – I’m a regular at Allenby 58 in Tel Aviv and C Bar in Eilat.
But it’s not all DJing and partying. Production-wise, I’ve had three singles released as Blockster, which I made with the M&S boys of Salsoul Nugget fame – Something Goin’ On, Grooveline and You Should Be Dancing, all out on Ministry – and a collaboration with DJ Gee last year called Zeus’ Dance out on London/Systematic. Tall Paul and I did a record as The Grifters which was out on Duty Free and there’s new projects on the boil as we speak. I could go on.
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Biography Alex P
Alex Petrides, DJ Alex P has been DJing professionally since 1987, thrilling clubbers all over the world with his unpretentious form of house. Alex is from the old school of UK house DJs, hard-working, hedonistic and completely absorbed by the music and atmosphere of the club scene. He made his name during the early days of the acid house at events such as Sunrise, Back To The Future and Energy he had residencies with Crazy Club and the best London venues at that time Astoria, Limelight & legends to name a few.
Alex was also a part of the original Ibiza dance scene that took hold on the island in the early 90s, holding residencies at Amnesia, Ku and Space in 1990 and he was the first DJ to play in more than one club on the island setting a preference which all clubs followed, in rotating their DJ’s rather than having a couple of resident DJs for the whole summer.
This established Alex’s profile on the island which in turn launched his career throughout Europe as Ibiza was the hub of the house music scene it also helped forged some great relationships with promotors and DJs around the world he remains devoted to Ibiza, playing there every summer. About this time in the early ’90s Alex with James Mitchell formed a new club in Ibiza called “The Space Terrace”, this was an addition to a club called Space it was an outside area famous for an early start and very low planes overhead it soon became an integral part of clubbers agenda in Ibiza and won club of the year (Read My Story ).
Alex has played at and represented every major house brand in the UK over the years and pretty much every venue The Ministry Of Sound, The Hacienda, Clockwork Orange, Up Yer Ronson, Gatecrasher, Gods Kitchen, Passion, Colours and The Gallery.
As a teenager Alex played bass guitar in a few school and college bands, this gave him a love for music and a taste of the limelight. Alex developed to become a DJ and formed with Troy Harewood and his Brother Andreas Petrides a reputable break dancing crew The UK Warriors which were winners of the Fame Game (an early version of Britains Got Talent) On the back of the TV Show they became household favs and toured the UK!
The UK Warriors were a big part of the breaking scene and were used in many marketing campaigns, they produced a book on Breakdancing and they later went on to tour the world with a request for them alone or with various famous artists and DJs.
Alex with Paul ‘Dizzy’ Saunders owned the Velvet Rooms a Club formally known as Velvet Underground. The Club was a fashionable hot spot in London’s W1 and hosted nights by some of the best promotors and the best DJs in the world seven days a week including such legends as Carl Cox Ultimate Base Thursdays, Fabio & Grooverider Swerve Wednesdays, The Problem Kids, and many more.
One night out of many that went down in clubbing History was when Carl Cox, Darren Emerson and Sasha all played the same night at a Birthday Party. Charring Cross Rd became a Road Block and the night was incredible for those that actually managed to get in and a lot of fun for the ones that didn’t too.
As a TV presenter, Alex has hosted shows for MTV, Kiss TV, Rapture TV, MTV Dance and MTV Europe.