DJ is in a spin
AN OBAN DJ with Down’s syndrome took the Lorne bar by storm on Sunday when he played his first gig.
AN OBAN DJ with Down’s syndrome has been booked by a local promoter after playing his first gig on Sunday.
Christopher Knowles, 39, who goes by the stage name DJ Wolf, played his first live performance in the Lorne in Oban on Sunday night.
The event was organised as part of a BBC television programme called The Country Council.
The three-part series follows the work of council staff in Argyll and Bute as they help vulnerable people in the community.
And because of Christopher’s performance, a local promoter has booked him on October 28 for the Regent Hotel’s Halloween special, kicking off at 9pm.
Tony Howlett, who organises the Relentless events, said: ‘I am going to get him a gig. He is that good. I thought he was amazing. I am going to try and fit him in on Halloween night. His fixing is unbelievable. It’s good for him and good for the town.’
Skapade Studios, based in Dumbarton, were on hand to help Christopher on the night.
Skapade already run community-based projects and they trained the Oban man as he prepared for his big night.
Steven Gallonie of Skapade said: ‘I thought it went brilliantly. The guys have been training him over the past few weeks.
‘Jack Dyer assisted him a little, but he was pretty much mixing it on his own. His track selection was out of this world – it’s a mixture of house, trance and some techno.
‘For a short space of time, he has done really well. He has had the opportunity to play alongside Stephen Kirkwood, who has travelled around Europe playing.’
Stephen, who pioneered Skapade, was playing with the German Grammy Award-winning DJ Paul Van Dyke a couple of weeks ago – and he wanted to give Christopher a flavour of that. ‘I’d like to give an extended thanks to Jack Dyer,’ Stephen added.
A series producer at Firecracker Films, which is overseeing the BBC Scotland series, said: ‘[Christopher] has previously been a professional dancer, but ill health meant giving it up.
‘[A] specialist occupational therapist from the adult learning disability team has been working with Christopher to give him a new direction and realise his dreams.’
Christopher was then put in touch with Skapade Studios, who already run a number of community-based workshops.
To find out more about them, visit www.skapadestudios.com