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 Hard NRG, nu-NRG, filthy hard house, or more recently just filth, is an electronic dance music genre similar in structure (with regard to sequencing and programming) to UK hard house form, taking influences from German hard trance. The main di ...

" sounds out of the London and Birmingham gay scene into mainstream clubs. His single "Burning Up" reached number 25 on the UK Singles Chart 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 several UK top 40 hits during his career with artists such as

Taylor Dayne Taylor Dayne (born Leslie Wunderman; March 7, 1962) is an American singer who rose to fame after her first two albums ('' Tell It to My Heart'' and '' Can't Fight Fate'') were both certified 2× Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of ...

and

East 17 East 17 are an English pop boy band started by Tony Mortimer, Brian Harvey, John Hendy, and Terry Coldwell in 1991. They are best known for their 1994 hit single " Stay Another Day", which was the UK Christmas number one that year. The g ...

. 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, Ma ...

and

Carl Cox Carl Andrew Cox (born 29 July 1962) is a British house and techno club DJ, radio DJ, motorsport team owner and record producer. He is based in Frankston, Victoria, Australia. Cox has won and been nominated for numerous awards. He has perfor ...

. 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 printe ...

'' 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.

Early life

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

Kidderminster Kidderminster is a market town and civil parish in Worcestershire, England, south-west of Birmingham and north of Worcester, England, Worcester. Located north of the River Stour, Worcestershire, River Stour and east of the River Severn, in th ...

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 status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands (county), West Midlands, within the wider West Midlands (region), West Midlands region, in England. It is the Lis ...

on a Monday night where he played pop and

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

. He would often have to sweep floors and empty ashtrays after the club had closed. During the early 1980s, he worked at

Wolverhampton Wolverhampton ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands of England. Located around 12 miles (20 km) north of Birmingham, it forms the northwestern part of the West Midlands conurbation, with the towns of ...

Beacon Radio Hits Radio Black Country & Shropshire, formerly Free Radio Black Country & Shropshire, is an Independent Local Radio station based in Birmingham, England, owned and operated by Bauer as part of the Hits Radio network. It broadcasts to Shropshir ...

, playing club tracks during a regular late-night slot on the show hosted by Mike Baker of Smooth FM. Around 1988

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

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 ...

superclub,

Heaven Heaven, or the Heavens, is a common Religious cosmology, religious cosmological or supernatural place where beings such as deity, deities, angels, souls, saints, or Veneration of the dead, venerated ancestors are said to originate, be throne, ...

was looking for an alternative DJ. For which De Vit was employed, playing the main floor two Saturdays a month. 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. Traders generally negotiate through a medium of cr ...

emerged onto the scene. De Vit stood 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 and Grooverider at The Institute and encouraged him to move into other house parties as de Vit had predominately played in the gay club scene. Raine had launched the

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 with a view to co-write new material for de Vit to play within his sets. At this time he recorded and released his first record, "Feel the Love". His second release was a track called "Higher & Higher", which became the future benchmark for de Vit and Parkes' V2 concept. De Vit's/Parkes' track "Burning Up" went to No. 24 on the UK top 40 charts. In 1995, Radio 1 contacted de Vit for his firs
''Essential Mix''
de Vit featured on a number of compilation dance

mix album A DJ mix or DJ mixset is a sequence of musical tracks typically mixed together by a DJ 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 audi ...

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 ( or , ; ), sometimes rendered as Tel Aviv-Jaffa, and usually referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the Gush Dan metropolitan area of Israel. Located on the Israeli Mediterranean coastline and with a popula ...

'', ''Live in

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

'', ''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 radio play and sales. 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 dance clubs/events in the UK, including Legacy @ The Manor in Ringwood, Slinky @ the Opera House in

Bournemouth Bournemouth ( ) is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole unitary authority area, in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. At the 2021 census, the built-up area had a population of 196,455, making it the largest ...

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 proces ...

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 (nightclub), AIR, in Birmingham ...

and Creamfields. 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 We ...

'' as 'Top

Remixer A remix, also sometimes called reorchestration or rework, 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, poem, or photograph ca ...

of 1996'. His remix of Louise's "

Naked Nudity is the state of being in which a human is without clothing. While estimates vary, for the first 90,000 years of pre-history, anatomically modern humans were naked, having lost their body hair, living in hospitable climates, and not ...

" earned ''Music Week''s vote as the 'Ground breaking Remix of 1996'. In 1997, de Vit was offered a show on ' Kiss 100'. 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, Lati ...

'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 tribute to de Vit's work. The track has been considered to be his best work.

Death

He tested HIV+ in 1996. His drug regime never settled and he suffered many side effects. 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 in East

. He had collapsed a few days earlier during a

holiday A holiday is a day or other period of time set aside for festivals or recreation. ''Public holidays'' are set by public authorities and vary by state or region. Religious holidays are set by religious organisations for their members and are often ...

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

, Florida. After de Vit's death, a conflict kept his records unavailable for many years, but finally a

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one Performing arts#Performers, performer or by several performers. If the recordings are from ...

of his songs and remixes was released called ''Are You All Ready?'' on

Tidy Trax Tidy Trax, currently known as Tidy, is a record label based in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1995 by Andy Pickles and Amadeus Mozart, Tidy is known for promoting a style of hard house that is both fun and high tempo. It has featured a roster ...

records.

Influence and legacy

The influence of the Tony De Vit is sufficiently significant for the music press to dub him the "godfather of UK hard house", and in 2023 the

DJ Mag ''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, Lati ...

journalist Stewart Who cited him as a "true hero of UK dance music". A number of artists have cited Tony de Vit as an influence, such as Fergie,

Andy Farley Andy Farley (born 1966 or 1967) is a British hard house disc jockey and record producer from Tamworth, Staffordshire. Known as the "King of Hard House", Farley plays live sets and produces records, a number of which have achieved success in the ...

Dave Pearce David Alistair Pearce (born 14 June 1963) is an English dance DJ, EDM producer and broadcaster, who has performed across the United Kingdom and the world. He previously presented ''Dance Anthems'' on BBC Radio 1 for ten years. He is renowned ...

, 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 producer known for mixing numerous ''Euphoria'' albums and her Lashed dance music events. She has headlined European and ...

. In 2022 a

blue plaque A blue plaque is a permanent sign installed in a public place in the United Kingdom, and certain other countries and territories, to commemorate a link between that location and a famous person, event, or former building on the site, serving a ...

commemorating De Vit was unveiled at the

Custard Factory The Custard Factory is a creative and digital business workspace complex, including independent shops, cafes and bars, on the site of what was the Bird's Custard factory off High Street, Deritend, in the Digbeth area of central Birmingham, Eng ...

in Digbeth, Birmingham, where he had a recording studio. In 2023 to commemorate the 25 year anniversary of his death, the record label

released a compilation of remixes of De Vit's work by artists including

Eats Everything Daniel Pearce, better known as Eats Everything, is an English DJ and record producer. He came to prominence in 2011 with the release of "Entrance Song" on Pets Recordings. Since then, he has received critical acclaim for a number of solo release ...

, Nicole Moudaber and

Hannah Laing Hannah Laing (born 1994) is a Scottish disc jockey and electronic music producer from Dundee specialising in high energy trance, techno, and hard house. In 2023, she was nominated for a ''DJ Mag'' Best of Britain award. Laing has been regula ...

, and a documentary about his life was released by Restless Films, called ''Don't Ever Stop: Tony De Vit''.

Discography

Releases

Albums

* ''Are You Ready'' 2xCD,

, (2003) * ''TDV25 – Tony De Vit – Greatest Hits'' 2xCD, Tidy Trax, (2023)

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 Lee Haslam (born 1975 or 1976) is a British electronic dance music disc jockey and hard house music producer. He has achieved chart success in the UK, performed a BBC Essential Mix, and is also general manager of the Tidy record label. Caree ...

-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 dance/ sampling pioneers S'Express, and runs the London nightclubs Electrogogo, and Can Can. Biography Moore began his DJ career in 1983 play ...

/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 Jean-Sebastien Douglas Fontaine (born 14 July 1970), known by his stage name Seb Fontaine, 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 progresse ...

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

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 and 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 20th-century English LGBTQ people 20th-century English musicians AIDS-related deaths in England British club DJs English electronic dance music DJs British hi-NRG musicians English gay musicians English people of French descent English record producers LGBTQ DJs People from Kidderminster British remixers Tidy Trax artists