The Coach* Banbridge

DJs

Mark Wesley

History

Mark began his career as a professional D.J. in 1986, from humble beginnings carrying out wedding and birthday functions, the training ground for most of todays top club D.J.’s. Mark always wanted to play in one of Northern Irelands premier nightclubs and to host a dance music show on the radio, so with hard work and dedication he set about his task. The breakthrough came in 1989 when he was offered a residency at the Coach Inn, in Banbridge where he has been resident ever since. And when Cool FM a local radio station went on air 1990, Mark undertook the first steps on the road which would lead to the success of his current project “Wes’s House”.

Coach*

Mark is resident D.J. at the Coach* Wednesday and Saturday nights and over the years he has used his self taught mixing technique coupled with his unique ability of choosing his dance tunes well ahead of the pack to draw crowds of over 1500 people on both nights. He has guided the club through the many changing faces of Club music from his initial conception. right through to today’s European and U.K. House. Mark is also heavily relied upon by the Coach*, where his input is pivotal when decisions on guest D.J.’s and promotional nights are being taken.

Cool FM

Since Cool FM first hit the air waves, Mark has always been involved in some way or another in getting dance music on the air, but due to station music policy dance music was never taken seriously. Then something remarkable happened. During the spring of 1996 a Saturday Night slot appeared, and with a little intrepidation he boldly took up the task of reshaping Saturday night listening between 6 and 10 o’clock. “The interest in the show is amazing, I always believed there was a market for club music here in Northern Ireland. People here are just as hungry for dance and its derivatives as they are on the main land.” Marks aims for 2001 and beyond are to keep bringing the music to the people and to convince the management at Cool to adapt a stronger club music policy by way of more dance music shows.

Club Collision

On Friday 3^rd September, Cool FM launched Club Collision, an overnight Club Music slot aimed at clubbers who want to stay up and party when they leave their chosen venue. This show was conceived by Mark who believes Club Music has always been ignored by radio in Northern Ireland, and its striving to further promote the music that drives our weekends by means of his various shows.

Awards

Best Radio Show for Wes’s House 2000 - 2001 by readers of BBM Magazine
Best Club Music/Radio DJ 1999 by readers of BBM Magazine
Best Club Music Radio Show, Bacardi / That’s Entertainment Club Music Awards 98’
Voted best Radio DJ 1997-1998 by readers of Bassline Magazine
Voted best Radio DJ 1996-1997 by readers of Bassline Magazine

Update 2002

“The new millennium has seen quite a few within the club scene, from a change in ownership at Coach* my main residency and a change in attitude towards club music at Cool FM, to an overall shift in the mutation within the music itself. The mainland as usual lead the way when it comes to promoting music through the mainland DJ’s, and the rest of us try to keep up, not only by the tunes we obtain and play, but by maintaining a sense of local and individual identity. Radio has always helped me keep an open mind on my choices, trying to break new music has always been hard here in Northern Ireland, people here have a narrow view on club music and Energy 106 didn’t help. Everyone has their own opinions on what they consider credible/cheese, but to be good at the job I have to achieve a happy medium between several differing opinions. The shift within music at the moment suggests the Tribal/TecHouse Progressive sound to be the preferred genre adopted by the big guns, but there are few local residents getting away with playing this all night in their respective clubs. If I adopt a single music type policy on the radio, then the shows days would be numbered, yet we still have to move forward, possibly now you are getting an insight to some of the quirks created here in the year 2001”.

Coach Resident

Music Played, UK Vocal House, European Hard House/TecHouse, Progressive to Uplifting Melodic Trance.

Residents

DJs