international news _ JONTY SKRUFFF _ 9th September, 2005
Judge Jules' One Night In Bangkok
Radio 1 star Judge Jules chatted to Skrufff this week about his upcoming DJing trip to Thailand and revealed he's planning on being highly selective about which of the country's world famous tourist attractions he'll be indulging in.
"I've played in Bangkok twice before and once in Samui and taking holidays into consideration I've been there five or six times but one thing I've never done is gone back-packing there, and I won't be doing it this time either, "I went backpacking around Europe when I was 18, but that style of travel has never appealed since then," said Jules,
"Strip clubs, ping pong bars and brothels just aren't me, either," he added, "but the fake designer goods sold in Patpong certainly are."
Jules also confirmed he'll be taking no vinyl with him on the upcoming trick, explaining 'you can do so much more with CD mixers than with vinyl. It seems silly and stubborn to stick with tradition for tradition's sake.'
"Since switching to playing DCs only roughly two years ago I'm also able to carry a huge amount of tracks with me (between 500-1000)," he added, "So I'm well geared up for any eventuality. I also do my own edits of virtually every track I play, and these can only be spun on CD."
He also chatted about his erstwhile Radio 1 colleague Danny Rampling's recent announcement that he's to retire shortly to run a restaurant though stressed he has no plans to follow suit in the foreseeable future.
"I haven't even considered retiring for one moment, I think anyone who sees me play will realise immediately that my passion for my job hasn't waned even 1%," said Jules. "If you retain the passion, age isn't relevant at all, though if that passion evaporates you'll never be able to fool clubbers."
"I think it's a very brave decision for Danny to bow out whilst he's still on top of his game," he added.
"However, as a restaurateur myself, I hope Danny has researched the issue very thoroughly, as it's a minefield, and more than 50% of new restaurants close down within their first 18 months" (Jules has owned Kasbah in Ibiza for three years).
"DJing and catering are both about generating customer satisfaction, but perhaps the synergy ends there," he mused.
"The reason I felt confident enough to open a restaurant was that I've got so many close family members in catering. In addition to my uncle Rick Stein (a celebrity TV chef in the UK), my brother in law is the executive chef at the Marriot Hotel in Canary Wharf and my sister in law is head of all the catering outlets at Bluewater and Lakeside shopping centres."(Jonty Skrufff)
Related Link
