Antony de Vit ( ; 12 September 1957 – 2 July 1998)
- accessed May 2011 was an English DJ and music producer. He is considered one of the most influential of his generation. He was credited with helping to take the "

hard house UK hard house or simply hard house is a style of electronic dance music that emerged in the early 1990s and is synonymous with its association to the Trade club and the associated DJs there that created the style. It often features a speedy te ...

" and fast " hard NRG" sounds out of the London and Birmingham gay scene into mainstream clubs. His single "Burning Up" reached number 25 on the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

in March 1995, with "To the Limit" making number 44 in September 1995. During that year, he won BBC Radio 1 Essential Mix of the Year Award, as voted by listeners of the show, and ''Music Week''s re-mix of Year Award for Louise's "Naked". He remixed many UK top 40 hits during his career with artists like

Taylor Dayne Taylor Dayne (born Leslie Wunderman; March 7, 1962) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She rose to fame in 1987 after her debut single " Tell It to My Heart". Dayne achieved six additional U.S. top-10 singles, including "Love Will ...

and

East 17 East 17 are an English pop boy band started by Tony Mortimer, Brian Harvey, John Hendy, and Terry Coldwell in 1991. As of 2020, the group consists of Coldwell, Robbie Craig, and Joe Livermore. East 17 have undergone multiple lineup changes, wi ...

. Between 1994 and 1998 his popularity with the clubbing public was rivaled by only

Paul Oakenfold Paul Mark Oakenfold (born 30 August 1963), formerly known mononymously as Oakenfold, is an English record producer, remixer and trance DJ. He has provided over 100 remixes for over 100 artists including U2, Moby, Madonna, Britney Spears, Mas ...

and

Carl Cox Carl Cox (born 29 July 1962) is a British house and techno club DJ, as well as radio DJ and record producer. He is based in Hove, Sussex, England. Cox has won and been nominated for numerous awards. He has performed at numerous clubs and ...

. In September 2010, ''

Mixmag ''Mixmag'' is a British electronic dance and clubbing magazine published in London. Launched in 1983 as a print magazine, it has branched into dance events, including festivals and club nights. History The first issue of ''Mixmag'' was prin ...

'' UK announced the nominations of 35 DJs chosen by other big names in the world of dance music as those they considered the best DJs ever. A subsequent 15-month survey, which polled hundreds of thousands of global votes, asked who was the "greatest DJ of all time" and when the result was announced in January 2011, de Vit was ranked number 9 and one of four British DJs who made the top 10.

Early life

Antony de Vit was born to Raymond de Vit and June Silcock in

Kidderminster Kidderminster is a large market and historic minster town and civil parish in Worcestershire, England, south-west of Birmingham and north of Worcester. Located north of the River Stour and east of the River Severn, in the 2011 census, it ha ...

, England. Through his father's family, he was directly related to Charles Anatole de Vit, a wealthy French immigrant who migrated to the UK in the 1840s. Kidderminster has also been the family's home since the mid-1930s.

Career

Tony de Vit began DJing at the age of 17, as a wedding DJ in 1976 playing at local pubs in his home town of

, followed in his early 20s, by his first residency at the Nightingale in

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the We ...

on a Monday night where he played

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * ''Pop'' ( ...

and

hi-NRG Hi-NRG (pronounced "high energy") is a genre of uptempo disco or electronic dance music (EDM) that originated in the United States during the late 1970s and early 1980s. As a music genre, typified by fast tempo, staccato hi-hat rhythms (and the ...

. He would often have to sweep floors and empty ashtrays after the club had closed. In a relatively short space of time de Vit, through his talent and the diversity of his music, helped maintain the Nightingale as a respected club. During the early 1980s, he worked at

Wolverhampton Wolverhampton () is a city, metropolitan borough and administrative centre in the West Midlands, England. The population size has increased by 5.7%, from around 249,500 in 2011 to 263,700 in 2021. People from the city are called "Wulfrunians ...

's Beacon Radio, playing club tracks during a regular late-night slot on the show hosted by Mike Baker of Smooth FM. It was around 1988 that

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

's famous

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...

superclub A superclub is a very large or superior nightclub, often with several rooms with different themes. The term was first coined in Mixmag, the British electronic dance and clubbing magazine, in 1995, referring to the new wave of clubs such as ...

Heaven Heaven or the heavens, is a common religious cosmological or transcendent supernatural place where beings such as deities, angels, souls, saints, or venerated ancestors are said to originate, be enthroned, or reside. According to the belie ...

was looking for an alternative DJ. De Vit landed the spot there, playing the main floor two Saturdays a month. Heaven was regarded as the top gay club in the UK at this time, and de Vit's sets there rapidly established his reputation. In 1990, another soon-to-be-influential club named

Trade Trade involves the transfer of goods and services from one person or entity to another, often in exchange for money. Economists refer to a system or network that allows trade as a market. An early form of trade, barter, saw the direct exc ...

emerged onto the scene, promoted by Laurence Malice and Tim Stabler. De Vit was a regular visitor to Trade, where he began to bombard the promoters with cassette tapes of his sets. Eventually, they relented and allowed de Vit to stand in one night for DJ Smokin' Jo. Following his set, de Vit landed his own residency at Trade. Later in his career he would perform a 12-hour DJ set on two occasions at Trade; some consider these his defining moments as a DJ. In 1992, the illegal raves in the UK moved into the clubs in a bid to legalise the scene. One of the key figures of the house music scene at this time was a Birmingham promoter called Simon Raine, who took an interest in de Vit's career. He put de Vit on the bill alongside

Fabio Fabio is a given name descended from Latin '' Fabius'' and very popular in Italy and Latin America (due to Italian migration). Its English equivalent is Fabian. The name is written without an accent in Italian and Spanish, but is usually accented ...

and

Grooverider Raymond Bingham (born 16 April 1967 in Streatham, London, England), better known as Grooverider, is a British drum and bass DJ. He and DJ partner Fabio are regarded as "originators" of the scene.

at The Institute and encouraged him to make 'in roads' into other house parties as de Vit had predominately played in the gay club scene. Raine had launched the successful

Gatecrasher Gatecrasher is an international clubbing brand made famous by the "Gatecrasher" (later "Crasher") dance music events, which were held at the Republic nightclub in Sheffield, UK during the late 1990s and early 2000s. The promoters of the brand ...

club nights and, taking his advice, de Vit played at the 'Chuff Chuff' events sharing the bill with Sasha. In the same year, de Vit teamed up with Simon Parkes to create the V2 recording studio based in The Custard Factory, Gibb St, Birmingham (Unit 417) with a view to co-write new material for de Vit to play within his sets. It was at this time that he recorded and released his first record, "Feel the Love" which was well received on the club scene. His second release was a track called "Higher & Higher" (with disco diva Norma Lewis), which became the future benchmark for de Vit and Parkes' V2 concept. But it was de Vit's/Parkes' track "Burning Up" that took everybody by surprise, going straight in at No. 24 on the UK top 40 charts. In 1995, Radio 1 contacted de Vit for his firs
''Essential Mix''
At the same time, record companies recognised his talent and technical ability, and de Vit featured on no less than twelve of the top compilation dance

mix album A DJ mix or DJ mixset is a sequence of musical tracks typically mixed together to appear as one continuous track. DJ mixes are usually performed using a DJ mixer and multiple sounds sources, such as turntables, CD players, digital audio players ...

s during this year including '' Fantazia House Collection Volume 2'' and the ''Remixers'' album, Sound Dimension's ''Retrospective of House'' Volumes 2 & 4, Boxed's ''Global Underground'' series ''Live in

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the G ...

'', ''Live in

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, with an estimated 37.46 ...

'', ''Kiss Mix 97'', ''Trade'' Volumes 1 & 3, and the international release, ''Trade Global Grooves''. With the launch of Jump Wax Records in 1996,

music in the UK became more mainstream. De Vit's "Are You All Ready?" and "I Don't Care" received major radio play and strong sales upon release. Following the closure of Jump Wax Records in 1996, de Vit launched his own label (TDV Records), which saw him release "Bring the Beat Back" and "Get Loose", both co-written with Simon Parkes. De Vit went on to play at many major dance clubs/events in the UK during this time, including Legacy @ The Manor in Ringwood, Slinky @ the Opera House in

Bournemouth Bournemouth () is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council area of Dorset, England. At the 2011 census, the town had a population of 183,491, making it the largest town in Dorset. It is situated on the English ...

Cream Cream is a dairy product composed of the higher-fat layer skimmed from the top of milk before homogenization. In un-homogenized milk, the fat, which is less dense, eventually rises to the top. In the industrial production of cream, this process ...

Godskitchen Godskitchen is an international superclub brand which is associated with dance music and organises events, particularly in the UK and US. The company used to run a club night of the same name at their nightclub AIR, in Birmingham. Godskitchen ha ...

, and

Creamfields Creamfields is an electronic dance music festival series founded and organised by British club promoter Cream, with its UK edition taking place on August Bank Holiday weekend, with a number of international editions held across various territ ...

. He garnered a string of awards and nominations during the year, including ''

''s '2nd Best DJ of the Year 1996', ''M8'' magazine's 'Best DJ of the Year 1996' and was selected by ''

Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as '' Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music W ...

'' as 'Top

Remixer A remix (or reorchestration) is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, video, poem, or photograph can all be remixes. The o ...

of 1996'. His remix of Louise's "

Naked Nudity is the state of being in which a human is without clothing. The loss of body hair was one of the physical characteristics that marked the biological evolution of modern humans from their hominin ancestors. Adaptations related to h ...

" earned ''Music Week''s vote as the 'Ground breaking Remix of 1996'. In 1997, de Vit was offered a show on '

Kiss 100 Kiss is a British digital radio station owned and operated by Bauer as part of the Kiss Network. It is primarily aimed at the 15-34 age group and broadcasts nationally to the UK on DAB Digital Radio, as well as on FM in London, Bristol an ...

'. He was ranked number 5 in ''

DJ Magazine ''DJ Magazine'' (also known as ''DJ Mag'') is a British monthly magazine dedicated to electronic dance music and DJs. Founded in 1991, the magazine is adapted for distribution in the United Kingdom, the United States, Spain, France, Italy, Lat ...

''s Top 100 DJs in the World the same year. In early 1998, de Vit recorded "The Dawn" with Paul Janes and Andy Buckley, which was part of the six-track ''Trade EP''. De Vit commented that he was 'very proud of it'. Paul Janes went on to remix "The Dawn" as a personal tribute to de Vit's work. The track has often been considered to be his best work. On May 2, 1998, de Vit performed a set in the

tent at the very first Creamfields festival in Winchester.

Death

De Vit had contracted HIV. On 2 July 1998, at the age of 40, he died of bronchial failure and

bone marrow Bone marrow is a semi-solid biological tissue, tissue found within the Spongy bone, spongy (also known as cancellous) portions of bones. In birds and mammals, bone marrow is the primary site of new blood cell production (or haematopoiesis). It i ...

failure at

Heartlands Hospital Heartlands Hospital is an acute general hospital in Bordesley Green, Birmingham, England. It is managed by University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust. History The hospital has its origins in an infectious diseases hospital known as City ...

in East

, England. He had collapsed a few days earlier during a

holiday A holiday is a day set aside by custom or by law on which normal activities, especially business or work including school, are suspended or reduced. Generally, holidays are intended to allow individuals to celebrate or commemorate an event or t ...

Miami Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...

, Florida. After De Vit's death, a conflict kept his records off the shelves for many years, but finally a

compilation album A compilation album comprises tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several performers. If by one artist, then generally the tracks were not originally intended for rel ...

of his songs and remixes was released called ''Are You All Ready?'' on Tidy Trax records.Discogs entry
/ref>

Influence

A number of artists have cited Tony De Vit as an influence, such as Fergie, Andy Farley, Dave Pearce, Paul F1 King, Steven J, and

Lisa Lashes Lisa Lashes (born Lisa Dawn Rose-Wyatt on 23 April 1971 in Coventry, England), is an English electronic dance music DJ and music producer known for mixing numerous Euphoria albums and for her Lashed dance music events. She has headlined Europ ...

Discography

Releases

Albums

* ''Are You Ready'' 2xCD, Tidy Trax, (2003)

Singles & EP's

* ''Feel the love/Make love to me (12"), V2, (1993).'' * ''Burning Up (7 versions), Icon Records, (1995).'' * ''To the Limit (4 versions), Xplode Records/PWL International, (1995).'' * ''99th Floor Elevator's (5 versions) featuring Tony De Vit-Hooked, Labello Dance/PWL International, (1995).'' * ''99th Floor Elevator's (3 versions) featuring Tony De Vit-I'll be There, PWL International, (1996)'' * ''I Don't Care/Resistance is Futile (9 versions), Jump Wax Records, (1996).'' * ''Are You All Ready/UFO (4 versions), Jump Wax Records, (1996)'' * ''Feel My Love/Get Loose (3 versions), TDV Records, (1997).'' * ''Bring the Beat Back (Club & Trade Mixes) (12" White Label), TdV Records, (1997).'' * ''Don't Ever Stop/Bring the Beat Back (3 versions), TdV Records, (1998).'' * ''Steve Thomas/Tony De Vit-Trade EP Disc 02 (12" EP), Trade Records, (1998).'' * ''Tony De Vit featuring Petronella-Do What You Do (3 versions), TdV Records, (1998)'' * ''Paul King/TdV-Kick it In/Bring the Beat Back (3 versions), TdV Records, (1998).'' * ''Splash Down/Are You All Ready (2 versions), Tidy Trax, (1999).'' * ''The Dawn (3 versions), Tidy Trax, (2000)'' * ''Tony De Vit-Stimulant DJ's (Tidy Trax Sound EP 12"), Tidy Trax, (2000)'' * ''Destination (2 versions), Plenty Records, (2002)'' * ''Tony De Vit (feat) Niki Mak-Give Me A Reason (4 versions), Tidy Two, (2003).'' * ''Give Me A Reason/Bring the Beat Back (12" TP), Tidy Two, (2003).'' * ''The Dawn/I Don't Care (12"), Tidy White, (2004).'' * ''Tony De Vit/Lee Haslam-The Dawn/The Music is a Drug (12"), Tidy Classics, (2005).''

DJ Mixes

* ''

Mark Moore Mark Moore (born 12 January 1965) is a British dance music record producer and DJ. He was founder of the dance / sampling pioneers S'Express, and runs the London nightclubs, 'Electrogogo' and 'Can Can'. Biography Moore began his DJ career ...

/Tony De Vit-Chuff Chuff Chuff Summer Ball 93 (2 cassette mixed), (1993).'' * ''The Fantazia House Collection 2 (CD3) – Tony de Vit (1995).'' * ''The Remixers-Tony De Vit (CD Mix), Fantazia Records, (1995).'' * ''Tony De Vit & Jon of the Pleased Wimmin live at Bangkok'' (1995). * ''A Retrospective of House '91-'95 2 (CD2) – Tony de Vit (1995).'' * ''A Retrospective of House '91-'96 4 (CD1) – Tony de Vit (1996).'' * ''

Volume Three, Steve Thomas (CD1) & Tony De Vit (CD2), Feverpitch, (1996).'' * '' Global Underground GU001 Live in Tel Aviv (4 versions), Global Underground Ltd, (1996).'' * ''An Introspective of House 3 (CD2) – Tony de Vit (1997).'' * ''Graham Gold and Tony De Vit-Kiss Mix 97 (2x Mix CD), Polygram, (1997).'' * ''Jim 'Shaft' Ryan-Mark Moore-Tony De Vit-Glamorous One,

Miss Moneypenny's Miss Moneypenny's is a house music party club, founded in Birmingham, England in 1986 and is hosted at a purpose-built venue in the Hockley area of the city. Miss Moneypenny's, which styles itself as "The World's Most Glamorous Clubbing Brand", ...

Music, (1997).'' * ''Global Underground GU005 Tokyo (5 versions), Boxed, (1997).'' * ''Trade Global Grooves Volume 1 (2 versions), Feverpitch, (1997).'' * ''

Seb Fontaine Seb Fontaine (born Jean-Sebastien Douglas Fontaine; 14 July 1970) is an English electronic music producer and DJ. Biography Fontaine had his first DJ gig at Crazy Larry's on the Kings Road, London, but he soon progressed to residency at the Frid ...

-Tony De Vit-Elements (1st Testament) (2x CD Mix Compilation), Warner Music UK Ltd, (1998).''

Discography other releases

*Notes: ''This section includes the body of Tony De Vit's work other than his own releases during his career''.

Appearances (170)

Include: *Albums (4) *Compilations (51) *Mixes (109) *Singles & EP's(5) *Videos (1)

Unofficial (32)

*Mixes (27) *Singles & EP's (5)

Credits (304)

*Acting, Literary and Spoken (1) *Featuring and Presenting (8) *DJ Mix (25) *Production (35) *Remix (2013) *Technical (4) *Writing and Arrangement (18)

Awards & nominations

BBC Radio 1 Awards

British Entertainment and Dance Awards

DJ Magazine Awards

DJ Awards

International Dance Music Awards

Music Week Awards

M8 Magazine Awards

Muzik Magazine Awards

Mix Mag Awards

Vice Magazine/Thump TV

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Devit, Tony 1957 births 1998 deaths English dance musicians Club DJs British Hi-NRG musicians English record producers Remixers People from Kidderminster AIDS-related deaths in England LGBT DJs English people of French descent English gay musicians Electronic dance music DJs 20th-century English musicians 20th-century LGBT people