Pete Tong's name is synonymous with dance music culture and his involvement in all areas of music, have made him a genuine household name.  As a broadcaster who brought dance to the masses via his Essential Selection show at Radio One - he continues to count himself very lucky to be there with millions of people every Friday as they start their weekend.  His show is one of the most listened to shows at Radio 1 both live and on-line with millions of listeners weekly around the globe as he effortlessly picks the hits of tomorrow and shouts about the best tunes across all genres of music.  Pete also produces an international show is syndicated on radio stations in over 25 countries worldwide including Italy, Dubai, Canada, and the USA.

As a DJ, Pete has graced the decks of the best clubs and festivals worldwide. As a producer he has assembled the music for movie soundtracks such as The Beach, Human Traffic and 24 Hour Party People and has produced his own material under various guises and collaborated with the likes of Chris Cox, James Talk, Paul Harris & Jay P.   As an innovator, Tong has taken the world of Podcasts by storm reaching the #1 spot in the music podcasts download chart with the 'Tongcast'.  He also produced the world's first collection of TV-style music shows, aired weekly direct to mobile phones.  And as an icon, Tong was the inspiration behind the film "It's All Gone Pete Tong".

The summer months are always busy for Pete and this year sees him undertake his forth season of 'Pure Pacha', Friday nights @ Pacha Ibiza. 'Pure Pacha' combines musical quality and glamour, with aspiration and escapism. 'A 'wonderland' for grown ups who don't want to grow up just yet.....!'  as Pete likes to put it.  The success of his residency in Ibiza will now see Pete bring his own blend of Ibizan glamour to London for a new residency at the Ministry Of Sound called Pure.

Never one to sit on his laurels, 2005 saw Pete has team up with Universal Records to launch a new Essential Selection Album series.  Pete felt the time was right to return to the world of compilations as dance music and the clubbing scene have been revitalised in the last few years.   "I truly believe from what I'm hearing and seeing that we are about to enter a very exciting and creative period." Say Pete, who's contacts within the dance fraternity enable him to put together un-paralleled tracklistings.  So far The Essential Selection and Essential Classics albums have been released, with an Essential Hits CD coming soon.

Such a range of high-profile activities seems a long way removed from Tong's beginnings as a mobile DJ in Kent during his teens. But for all his current fame and acclaim, you'd be hard put to find someone whose progression has been more organic. In fact, in many ways, Pete's story runs parallel to the growth of dance music in the UK.  When he was at school, hard rock ruled the roost, and Pete tried playing in bands, but after seeing a DJ playing actual records at a school disco and deciding "that looked like much more fun," he never looked back. 

Tong went on to DJ at a club in Baker Street called [Family] Function and simultaneously booked bands for a weekend alternative night: the first one he hired was the then-unknown Culture Club. He also landed a day job at Blues & Soul magazine where he soon became features editor and began making appearances on the pirates and BBC's Radio London.

His ability to explain what was then considered a fringe genre found him presenting a dance music segment on Radio 1's Peter Powell show. But noticing that daytime DJs had no control over the music they played, Tong launched a soul show on Kent's newly-launched Invicta station. By this time, his growing reputation for recognising new talent saw him leave Blues & Soul for an A& R position at London Records, a job he held, in one manner or another for almost twenty years.

In the mid-eighties, house music emerged from Chicago, techno from Detroit and the 'Balearic Beat' in Ibiza. In 1986 Pete played in Ibiza for the first time with friend Nicky Holloway who returned to the island the following year with Oakenfold and Danny Rampling who succeeded in emulating the Ibiza experience across clubland and the house generation was born.

Tong, in the thick of it all, was hired by Capital Radio to broadcast to the new clubbers, which helped give him the clout to start a 'label within a label' at London. FFRR Records was born in 1988: hitting the charts immediately with Salt n Pepa's 'Push It', Tong and FFRR became famous for conducting lightning raids on the latest underground hits and propelling them up the charts and grew from a singles-based label to an album artist's breeding ground. "I've been lucky," says Tong. "I grew up at a time when the whole scene exploded, and I worked with a bunch of people for a long period of time who empowered me to be able to change things.

The biggest change came in 1991, when Radio One recognised that it needed to cater for the new, and permanent, youth culture. Pete was hired to host a brand new Friday evening show, the Essential Selection, which gave him one of the most influential jobs in the business - broadcasting to the nation's record buying, club-going youth and, unlike his daytime predecessors, choosing the music too.  The Essential Selection spun off a show called the Essential Mix, enabling DJs worldwide to showcase their mixing talents on national radio, and together these led to the Essential compilations, with Tong producing several best-sellers himself. In the mid-nineties, Radio 1 sought Tong's advice on revamping their roster, and with the arrival of Westwood, Judge Jules, Danny Rampling and co. to the national airwaves, the revolution was complete.

Tong's success as a broadcaster, clubland DJ and music industry tastemaker is his ability to create a balance between credibility and commerciality and it not afraid to drop the hits on the decks. "People forget it's entertainment," Tong explains. "I wouldn't be doing this if I couldn't champion new music, but a mix is the key. And it's supposed to be fun."  With all this success, Tong is keen to avoid complacency, "When you're on the radio for so long your audience stays the same age but you get older. The new people come in and think of you as a radio DJ and not a club DJ." With that in mind, Tong keeps his DJ schedule ever more packed, spending time on the road, searching out new music as he plays across the globe and broadcasting from select cities and events en rout, such as the Ibiza, Berlin Love Parade, New York and the Miami Winter Music Conference.

The dance market has changed a lot since Pete started, but one thing remains the same, people still want to go out and have a good time.  "People love music, make no mistake about that, whether and how they buy it right now is one thing, but people still want to party…it's our job to come up with new parties, new nights, new venues, new themes to keep the scene fresh and exciting." says Tong.

In the meantime, the ever-active Pete still sees his vocation as he did when he started out, playing other people's records to get an audience dancing. "We need to constantly remember why people want to come to clubs - which is simply to have a great time and feel the music." With Tong behind the decks, there's little worry of failure on that score.