A wedding party setlist

I posted on Friday January 8th about a very special wedding that was taking place, and boy, did it live up to its billing.

This music blog isn't the place to go into the details, and for anyone who doesn't know the happy couple, I suppose those details are largely irrelevant. So all I'll say is that it was a perfect day that I'm very proud to have been a small part of.

As for the music, I also felt it was basically an object lesson on what to play your guests at a wedding without ever running the danger of going into Abba territory (and if you're interested in my views on their place in the world of wedding discos, click here).

Music was a regular theme throughout the day, and not just the dancing bit after the meal. One of the ceremony readings was of some beautiful lyrics (and again, I don't wish to tease, but I don't feel it fair to say exactly what it was without the permission of the bride and groom, and they're safely off on honeymoon, so I'll err on the side of diplomacy and leave you guessing). There were references to musicians and musical pasts in the speeches, many of the guests work in or around music, and the couple even met in a band. Yes, music was a key part of the whole day.


So with that in mind, I feel even more incredibly proud that I got to DJ not once, but twice. That's me above (first time I've ever put a picture of myself on ihrtmusique, fact fans). Firstly, I took care of the music after the meal, starting of course with the first dance (again, a secret if you weren't there), then into the main evening disco. A lot of the cooler classics came out in those couple of hours - starting with some oldies like Faces' Ooh La La, Beach Boys' Good Vibrations, Rolling Stones' Satisfaction, Steely Dan's Reelin' In The Years. Then we went a little more contemporary with Crazy In Love and Single Ladies (in a B double header), Empire State Of Mind, Like I Love You, Umbrella, Paper Planes and Hollaback Girl. I can't honestly take any credit for this as the B&G picked a lot of this stuff, but I was still very happy to be pushing the buttons for them (for it was an all CD affair on the DJ front).

But then came the after-party. Yes, that's right. And it was a brilliant idea. So we were up till 2.30am dancing the night away, and as I chose what I played there, I think I'm safe to reveal what it was without betraying too much privacy.

A couple of friends played a set each first, and they got out a brilliant array of dancing fodder, from hip hop like Dre's The Next Episode, Naughty By Nature's OPP and Eric B & Rakim's I Know You Got Soul, to some random selections like The Crystals' And Then He Kissed Me and Dexy's Midnight Runners' Geno...errrr, and at this point it all gets a little fuzzy, though I do remember tequila (the drink, not the Terrorvision or Champs track) playing a part.

And then it was my turn to keep whoever was left standing happy. Which, as it turned out, was most people. Fortunately, I was just the right level of drunk to have probably my favourite time of DJing ever, but without being in danger of screwing it up and pressing lots of wrong buttons. So it was more out of excitement than drunkeness that details are sketchy, and the only reason I can remember exactly what I played is because I have my CDs to refer back to.

So roughly, between the hours of 1.30am and 2.30am, this is what I played. I loved it, and I think the crowd did too.

Bruce Springsteen - Dancing In The Dark
Don Henley - Boys Of Summer
Bon Jovi - Livin' On A Prayer
AC/DC - You Shook Me All Night Long
Guns N' Roses - Sweet Child O' Mine
The Black Crowes - Hard To Handle
Kenny Loggins - Footloose
Beck - Loser
Vampire Weekend - A-Punk
Stone Roses - I Am The Resurrection
The Band - The Weight
Serge Gainsbourg - Je T'aime Moi Non Plus
John Barry - Midnight Cowboy

Hmmm...that doesn't seem like enough songs, but looking through my CDs, I can't see any others that I think I played, so I guess that's it. Either way, I remember that hour as being an absolute, total blast, and a very fitting end to a wonderful day. Even just a couple of days later, the fun I had that night in some way feels like a watershed moment, but I guess time will tell if that's the case.

It was that good. Thank you, D&A.