Danny Rampling

Danny Rampling has been one of the most famous DJs on the British house scene since its beginnings. After being exposed to the original Balearic vibes on Ibiza, Rampling returned to London, founded several seminal club nights, and DJed on pirate radio until the music he helped push went mainstream and landed him a spot on Radio 1. Born in Streatham, London, he began DJing while still a teenager, and became enmeshed in the capital's fertile soul/rare-groove scene during the '80s. On a 1987 visit to the Spanish vacation island of Ibiza, however, Rampling was first introduced to the crucial blend of soul, Italian disco, American house/garage and alternative dance termed Balearic.

Rampling, with friends Paul Oakenfold, Nicky Holloway, and Johnny Walker, eventually returned to Britain and spread the news about Ibiza through club nights, pirate radio, and the growing community of warehouse parties later to morph into the rave scene. Rampling's Shoom was perhaps the most important club night for early house music; though only a few hundred clubbers were exposed to the new sound at Shoom, it proved the vital spark for later clubs and raves which numbered thousands of entries. Though the club was gone by 1989, Rampling had already begun playing in Europe and in 1990, he founded another classic club night, Pure. His sound progressed from acid house to harder trance during the '90s, and he joined the BBC's Radio 1 in 1996 with a popular show, The Love Groove Dance Party. (He's also released several double-disc mix sets based on the show.)

Rampling released mix albums for Metropole, Mixmag, and Dragonfly, and began recording for Deconstruction with his Millionaire Hippies project. Always known as one of the hardest clubbers on the scene, Rampling suffered a breakdown from exhaustion during 1997, then was dropped by Deconstruction after not producing another Millionaire Hippies record. Signed to Distance Records, he returned in 1998 with new productions and another mix album, Club Nation, recorded for Virgin.