A North East building society manager is swapping money for mash-ups at one of the region’s leading music events this summer.
Iain Macleod, who has worked at Newcastle Building Society for the past six years, will be performing at Newcastle Pride 2014, which returns to the region from Friday July 18.
The 27 year-old, who is originally from Edinburgh, has been interested in music since the age of 10 and initially worked as a producer, developing re-mixes for new and emerging artists.
Despite having some success with minor releases, including a remix for American artist Renée Stakey in 2009 and dance act Discotronix in 2011, music took a back seat when Iain moved home and became disheartened dealing with record labels.
He said: “It can be quite frustrating when you put a lot of time and effort into remixing a track and record companies either delay its release or scrap it all together.
“When I moved home I didn’t have the space to accommodate a studio, so it just seemed like the right time to take a step back and look at new ways of exploring my love for music.”
Iain began experimenting with DJing and soon developed a loyal following on Facebook, which led to him being booked to perform at bars and clubs in Newcastle, Bradford and Manchester.
Since then he has balanced his full-time role at the bank with a weekly DJ slot at The Dog pub, Newcastle, where he currently performs every Saturday night.
Iain said: “People are always really surprised to hear that I’m a building society branch manager as well as a DJ and I quite enjoy that element of surprise. I’ve been extremely lucky over the past few years to perform at some amazing venues but Newcastle Pride will be the biggest event to date and I really can’t wait.”
Newcastle Pride, which is organised annually by Northern Pride, will run for three days in 2014 from July 18 and offers a host of live music and other events.
For the first time in its seven year history, the event will also feature a second stage in the heart of Newcastle city centre, where Iain will be performing his brand of ‘Handbag House’– remixed chart music the crowd can dance to – on Saturday July 19.
Mark Nichols, Chair of Northern Pride, said: “Iain performed briefly at Newcastle Pride a few years ago and went down a storm. This year, as part of our extended three day line-up, we’re giving him a full DJ set on a specially erected second stage at Time Square and I’m sure he’ll prove just as popular there.”
Newcastle Pride, which is expected to attract more than 65,000 visitors to the North East, is one of the largest free lesbian, gay, bisexual and transsexual (LGBT) festivals in the UK.
Other highlights in this year’s event include performances by big name stars such as Shayne Ward, the Vengaboys and Sinitta, as well as a parade through Newcastle city centre and a pet show.
For more information about Northern Pride: CLICK HERE:
Twitter: @northernprideuk
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