DJ Nathan so proud of his roots in town
FOR most of us, last night would have involved raising a glass to the new year while enjoying time with friends or family.
For a DJ, though, New Year’s Eve usually means a very long night at work, which was certainly the case for Burton’s Nathan Dawe after what was a very successful 2021 for him (he was at Leicester’s Club Republic last night for those interested).
It’s incredible to think that this modest young man from Burton can hold a festival audience in the palm of his hand and mix effortlessly with the biggest names in the music industry.
It all started with a Saturday night residency at the former Bullit nightclub in Burton when he was 16. Since then, Nathan has been nominated for a Brit award and seen a single peak at number 3 in the charts.
A proud Burtonian, while listing his career highlights, which include spinning the decks at Reading and Leeds Festival, the 27-year-old was keen to point out the “honour” he felt when asked to turn on Burton’s Christmas lights last month. In fact, so happy was he to perform for locals that he played for free and paid for all his own fireworks and lighting – at no cost to the taxpayer. It marked the end of a dazzling 2021 after 2020 had devastated the music industry by closing nightclubs and cancelling lucrative festivals. However, the former Robert Sutton Catholic Sports Academy student felt his popularity, in fact, grew during the pandemic, especially in Burton, owing to people listening to the radio as they worked from home. Nathan said “I am proud to be from Burton. I don’t shy away from the fact I am from a small town.” That Saturday night residency at the former Bullit nightclub was the culmination of years of school discos, proms and birthday parties. It was family parties around Burton that made the youngster dream big. He said: “I was just watching the DJS thinking I would love to have that job of creating an atmosphere for party. I had a lot of support from local pubs and clubs. They put me on this platform that laid the foundations.”
It was while he was at Robert Sutton that he returned to St Modwen’s Primary School in Burton to perform at its school discos.
At that point, did he ever think he would be where he is today?
“I always felt I would do well but I don’t think I would have got as far as I did without the continuous work opening up. Opportunities become available and you take them.”
A highlight for Nathan in 2021 was performing in front of 20,000 people at The Jingle Bell Ball at London’s O2 area. His second single, Lighter featuring KSI, made it to a lofty number 3 in the UK charts, having entered at number 4 and it is this song which received a nomination for a Brit in May for Best British Single - competing against the likes of Harry Styles.
He also remixed Little Mix’s No Time For Tears — the biggest collaboration of his career so far — and went on to secure him his third UK Top 20 single earlier in the year.
All this success means it would be forgiven for thinking he had “made it big”, but Nathan remains sincere, saying: “I don’t believe you have made it because you achieve something, you want to achieve more. One of the best moments was the Brits. I sat there I thought ‘I used to watch this on TV.’ It’s pretty mad.
“I am just a normal bloke. I don’t see myself as a celebrity. I am just doing a job I love and am really lucky to have.”
His success has recently seen him buy his own home - but still close to his parents in Stretton.
Let’s hope that Nathan goes on to even more success over the next 12 months – while continuing to do Burton proud.
I am just a normal bloke. I don’t see myself as a celebrity. I am just doing a job I love.
Nathan Dawe