Paul vamps it up for album! ...WELL THERE WAS A LOT AT STAKE

DANCE music legend Paul Oakenfold became a vampire to complete his new album. The Londoner, who now lives in LA, had been working on new LP Shine On for years, but went to extreme lengths to complete it during lockdown. Paul told me: “That was the moment where I went, ‘OK, I’ve got time to do this now.’ My studio is in my house – I got lost in music. “Because I put bin liners on all the windows in my house, it got a little bit weird. I never knew what time it was. I didn’t even pick the phone up. I stayed isolated. Just me and music.

‘So I would wake up at three in the morning and go asleep at three in the afternoon, it kind of got a little bit mad because I never left the house and it was always dark.

“But I could focus and I finished my record – 17 songs – then I tore all the bin liners down and thought I was going crazy.”

Before we get to hear the album, DJ Oakie is performing as a special guest at Ministry Of Sound Classical tonight.

The huge show at London’s O2 Arena celebrates the 30th anniversary of the world’s most iconic dance brand. He told me: “We have lost iconic club locations around Britain – Cream obviously, Gatecrasher, but Ministry is still going.

“I have many great memories because I opened Ministry. It was designed to have the best sound and it’s like a tourist destination for clubbers.”

And having spent so long in the States, it will be a celebration for his family too: “I was born and bred in London, so to come back home in front of an audience that you know and love is a big deal for me.

“I’ve invited all my cousins, my friends, and I’m going to give a shout out to my mum.”