Product Description

Paul Oakenfold is one of the biggest DJs in the world. His rise from South London soul boy to world-conquering DJ is fascinating, inspiring and revealing. Through his story is also told the rise and rise of the multi-million copy industry that is the phenomenon we know as dance music. In 1987, Paul Oakenfold spent several months in Ibiza, where he fell in love with the music he heard there. Using influences from this Ibiza sound, Oakenfold produced the "Happy Mondays'" album "Pills 'n' Thrills" and "Bellyaches", as well as remixes for artists such as U2, Massive Attack, The Cure, New Order and The Shamen with his production partner Steve Osborne, under the collaborative name 'Perfecto'. In addition to producing records, Oakenfold also of course mixes them. He first started playing in clubs as a teenager and soon built up a reputation as a top party DJ. However, it wasn't until the early 1990s when his name came to be associated with the DJ elite. The reason for this rise to global fame was his adoption of a new breed of dance music called trance, which he'd encountered on the hippy beaches of Goa in India and fused with similar sounding European records to create his own distinct sound. He took this to the mainstream in 1994 with a two-hour set for "BBC Radio 1's" "Essential Mix". This set became known as the Goa Mix and to this day is the most requested broadcast on the BBC radio network. After a short spell as a member of the band Grace, Oakenfold became resident DJ at Liverpool superclub Cream from 1997 to 1999. He has also worked on the soundtracks of films such as "Swordfish", "The Matrix Reloaded", "Collateral", and "Die Another Day", for which he remixed the "James Bond" theme, as well as writing the theme music to "Big Brother".

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #403315 in Books
• Published on: 2007-09-24
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 384 pages

From the Back Cover
Paul Oakenfold has sold over 5 million records, has played to over 50 million people and is, according to The Guinness Book of Records, the most successful DJ in the world.
Now, in Paul Oakenfold – The Authorised Biography, Richard Norris reveals the fascinating story of Paul’s rise from South London soul boy to Hollywood superstar. Spanning more than two decades, Norris follows the twists and turns of Paul’s career and, with it, the rise of the multi-million-pound industry that is club culture.
As we near the end of the first decade of the new millennium, Paul’s star is still in the ascendant. With two Grammy nominations under his belt, he continues to work with the biggest names in music – Madonna, Justin Timberlake and Snoop Dogg to name but a few.
Packed full of revealing interviews with the movers and shakers of the music industry, and based on two years of in-depth interviews with Oakenfold himself, this book tells the extraordinary story of a man whose life defines dance music.

About the Author
Richard Norris is a London based music producer/engineer/musician/writer and is currently part of remix/DJ duo with Erol Alkan under the Beyond the Wizard's Sleeve moniker. Norris was also a founder member of dance band The Grid.

Customer Reviews

A timely summary of the superclub era.
If you enjoyed books such a "Last Night a DJ Saved my Life" then you will enjoy this, not so much for its details on Paul Oakenfold but as a natural follow-on to the stories already told. In truth, the book doesn't give a very detailed insight into Paul Oakenfold's character or his personal life; it's more like a list of the things he has done with a few comments from him, but that doesn't make it any less valuable. In fact, if you are starting out as a DJ or promoter there's a lot to be learned in here about Oakie's work ethic and careful career planning. It seems very little happened by chance.

The writing style was alarming at first with the odd bit of wideboy speak to disrupt the flow. On the very first page is the gem "Backstage it's set up nice like you'd expect at this level" and I thought I was going to struggle my way through the book, but it settles down very quickly into a fast paced, interesting and enjoyable read. As an added bonus there's a CD tucked in the back (well there was on my hardback version).

All in all, I reckon a 7.5 out of 10. If you're a child of the superclub era then you'll enjoy it.

The Most Successful DJ in the World?
Being a big fan of Richard Norris' previous works, in particular 'The Christological Controversy (Sources of Early Christian Thought)' I leapt at the chance to pick up a copy of the Oakenfold biography from the literature section of my local Scope outlet. At first, I thought that a 370-page book complete with a free five track CD and two full colour sections was a bargain for sixty pence. How very, very naive of me...

I can only imagine that since the last time Mr. Norris put pen to paper, he has been involved in an accident so tragic that it has left him with some form of cognitive disability. His seeming lack of ability to structure a basic sentence almost brought me to tears when recalling the joy of reading his earlier works. A chapter in and I began to wonder as I am becoming acquainted with this Oakenfold fellow, has Norris drastically dumbed down his style in order to become more palatable to the Oakenfold fan? If this is the case, then I find it very disappointing.

As for Mr. Oakenfold, the more I read about him the more repulsed I became. If Norris only pulled one thing off in this book it was to successfully encapsulate the arrogance of a man who, with clearly no musical talent whatsoever, has managed to fool many into believing he has cultural relevance. To further this myth, the book is sold on the promise that Oakenfold is, according to the The Guinness Book Of World Records, `The most successful DJ in the world'. A quick search on the The Guinness Book Of World Records website revealed this to be a totally fabricated statement.

My advise to anybody considering the purchase of this book is to simply steer clear of it. Pulping would quite frankly be too good for any unsold books, of which I am sure there will be many...For those of you interested in the works of Richard Norris, this is neither the place to start or finish, or indeed pass through. Rather than waste your time on this trash, I would recommend that you pick up a copy of `The Song of Songs: Interpreted by Early Christian and Medieval Commentators', which sees Norris riding the crest of literary brilliance.

Brilliant
I really thought this book was going to be aimed towards the American market which Oakey has been concentrating alot of his energies on in the last few years. I thought there was going to be shed loads talking about glitzy party's with U2 and Madonna or his film score work and how great Hollywood is. I was wrong, ofcourse the glamerous life Oakey leads now gets some mention as it should This book gives a fantastic insight on how Paul Oakenfold got to where he is today and for me a fantastic insight into how the dance scene developed from acid house through the superclub era into what it is today and you see that somehow or other Paul Oakenfold has been there all the way. It is brilliantly written and there are great interviews with big names of the scene past and present.

Id say to anybody who has been a fan of Paul Oakenfold at any point buy this.