nick stannah (Dorset) “Fucking, balding bespectacled bastard.” Spending his formative years working for London’s Matrix Studios as an engineer Nick’s interests definitely lay in production. Whilst working there he had the joys of producing the likes of PWEI, Midge Ure and Boy George. All of which Nick denies were formative influences on DFB; “I had to work with Boy George the day the Mirror printed allegations of him fathering a child. He came in declaring ‘I’ve never slept with any women let alone been in the position to make anyone pregnant’”. Nick represents the darker element of the crew concentrating particularly on hard drum and bass. dan payne (London) The electronic engineer of the group whose tasks range from setting up the majority of DFB’s live sets to soldering back together weathered cross-faders. DJ-wise has a background in old school hip-hop and garage and can not resist dropping Deee-Lite’s ‘Groove Is In The Heart’ whenever Nick or Andy turn their back. Currently on probation from his current residency for being caught smoking a spliff in the DJ booth. andy cross (Manchester) This cheeky little Manc got into dance through listening to Matt Thompson’s seminal show on Manchester’s Kiss 102 (now Galaxy) and has been buying records ever since. More house orientated than either Dan or Nick, Andy has a penchant for anything off Paper to twisted disco. Takes on board a lot of the day-to-day organising of events including publicity.
	lindsey edwards (no fixed abode!) Former Muzik Bedroom Bedlam winner and part-time DFB DJ currently missing somewhere in Chile. After failing his degree for the love of music Lindsey chucked in his job at a local petrol station and took a few hundred of his records off to foreign parts. In Chile there are no laws regarding clubbing and they are currently experiencing the equivalent of Britain’s 1988 acid house explosion. Lindsey is part of a travelling crew driving their lorry and sound-system around, setting up huge raves and according to Andy “raking in shitloads of money”.
	United by a mutual love of clubbing Dirty Fat Beats came together in 1995 at Warwick University. The DFB concept was inspired by fellow student Steve Kerr; “Short, Stussy clad, and with continually caned eyes, he lost it at the end of the first year and now resides in a mental institution”. After organising two smaller events incorporating graffiti and film, DFB co-organised ‘Collide’ with the multimedia Synergy collective, successfully filling the 850 capacity. Dan, Nick and Lindsey played big beat tag with four decks and 3 live PAs as 16mm and LCD projections blazed around the walls. Encouraged by the success of the event DFB began the arduous task of searching for a residency, finally setting up ‘Malarky’ once a month beneath a seedy pub in Leamington Spa. The venue, small and sweaty, had more the anything goes atmosphere of a social than a club night. Malarky was quickly increased to three Fridays a month. After a short stint at ‘Antidote’ at Que Club, Birmingham, creating lighting and visuals for the likes of the Wiseguys, Peshay and Grooverider DFB organised their second major event. Based around hip-hop, breakdancing and grafitti roots ‘Return To The Original Artform’ showed an evolution in DFB’s music policy. Featuring their own PA as one-off Loose Booty and also 4Uno the big beat orientation dwindled as funk, deep house and hip-hop were explored. Could this be the final chapter of Dirty Fat Beats as we know them? Andy explains; “As our music policy widens the name ‘Dirty Fat Beats’ becomes too restrictive. And the new name to look for? “The Rhythm Rascals!”
	The next few months will be make or break for DFB, or the Rhythm Rascals as they now shall be called. Looking to make DFB a business the crew hope to build on their DJing, event organising and designing skills. As Nick notes; “We need to do everything ourselves, its when you rely on others that fuck-ups occur. Even when everything means talking to farmers trying to persuade them to let them use their land”. Andy chips in, “We want to organise a big marquee type event in late June in the Midlands but the local councils are so fucking difficult. Originally we thought we had an old airport hangar until we found it had been knocked down”. Optimistic that the event will go ahead, one thing is for sure, through past events Dirty Fat Beats have set themselves a precedent that will take some going to live up to.
	1) Ballistic Brothers - Love Supreme (Soundboy 12") 2) Various - Spaced Out (Disorient LP) 3) Ronnie Richards - Missing You (Atlantic Jaxx 12") 4) Aphrodite - Rinsing Quince (Aprhodite Records 12") 5) Jurassic 5 EP (Rumble 12") 6) Waiwan - Goddess (Autonomy 12") 7) Major Force - The Original Artform (Mo'Wax LP) 8) Sleeve - Spycatcher (Sleeve 12") 9) Glow For It - The Last Disco Superstars (Grow 12") 10) El Magnifico (White Label 12")