Simply put, London-born Paul Oakenfold is a giant of the DJ and production world. His exposure to musicians began in the late seventies and early eighties while living in New York. There he and friend Ian Saint Paul would sneak into Studio 54 using fake passes, then lie about their affiliation with magazines such as Melody Maker and NME in order to interview industry legends like Bob Marley and Bobby Womack. Around this time, he began DJing in bars and clubs playing mostly soul records. After spending a period in West Harlem, Oakenfold landed a job as A&R man at Champion Records. It wasn’t long before he signed DJ Jazzy Jeff, Fresh Prince, and Salt-n-Pepa. He then became the British promoter and agent for Run DMC and the Beastie Boys.
During the late 80s, Oakenfold spent much of his time immersed in the London party scene where he perfected his music. In 1990, he became involved with the Happy Mondays and ended up producing their third album Pills ‘n’ Thrills and Bellyaches, which entered the UK charts at No. 1. The album received the Brit Award for Album of the Year, and Oakenfold along with co-producer Steve Osborne received Best Producer.
After that, Oakenfold released a series of hit records. Then in 1998 and 1999 he was voted No. 1 on DJ Magazine’s Top 100 DJs List. Since then, he has toured constantly, played the biggest festivals in history, and has produced music for the biggest names from throughout the industry.
