Frequently Asked Questions:

Having DJed for over 20 years, Leigh has been asked all number of different and, sometimes surprising, questions - from "will you marry my mate as she loves you?" (New Years Eve many years ago) to "Do you have to play Agadoo?" - to which both questions got the answer "NO!".

So - here are a selection of Questions that occasionally get asked and our replies to them:

Q. How soon should I book you?

A. As soon as you are thinking about your event - it's often sad for us to speak with you about an event then for you to go away, work on the planning and ring us a week before to find our diary is already filled. Of course, a deposit secures a booking in the initial stages.

Q. Do you just play music?

A. Well - yes and no - it depends on your event - we can supply party games with prizes for children's events, organise a music quiz for adults, run a pub quiz (with enough notice!) and we can also source other entertainment providers that can compliment our services should you require them.

Q. Can we see you in action before we book you?

A. Many prospective clients often ask if they can see us in action - sadly this is rarely possible due to the majority of our bookings being for private parties - meaning we don't have the ability to invite you to some else's event - but we can supply you with both references, testimonials and photographs of past events that we have provided our services to.

Q. Do you do karaoke?

A. Simple answer to this is NO as we feel that karaoke and disco events are totally different.

A disco means dancing to music whereas a karaoke means singing your favourite songs.

If you require karaoke - we have associates who can provide this service for you.

Q. What else can you provide for my event?

A. We can source pretty much anything and everything through a wide range of contacts and associates that Leigh has built up from working in the Corporate and Conference sector. For instance - if you want a Bouncy Castle for the kids, we can provide one, if you want a Marquee, we can provide one, should you require tables....well...you know the answer - just ask us and we can source them for you or pass you onto an associate provider who can help.

Q. Can you video my event for me or take photos?

A. Sorry but no - videoing is an art-form all in itself and while Leigh does work with video, often on a day to day basis, he prefers not to video while trying to DJ as it is impossible to do both. The same applies to photography - we cannot be expected to take photos and entertain. We can provide details of associates who will happily video and photograph you.

(Any photos we take at an event are for our own use to document an event or of our equipment prior to your guests arriving. We always ask for permission before taking any photos of equipment or if we wish to use them for our website, which we plan to do in the future in a 'Gallery' section.)

Q. Could you provide a singer for my event?

A. We do know a good female singer, called Vicky Ross, who has a good repertoire and who has attended events alongside ourselves in the past and can pass on her details or book her to attend your event too and we also know a few bands too who can provide a wide spectrum of live music from jazz to rock, blues, soul, etc...

Q. What if emergencies happen that mean we have to cancel or alter our booking - what should we do?

A. RING US IMMEDIATELY(!) - We will honour any booking that has had the initial deposit paid for a period, diary permitting, of up to three months (excluding during the Xmas and New Year period - December 1st to January 3rd) - so should you have to cancel an event in February, we will happily provide our services, when available, up to the end of April, etc. With any alterations to your booking - contact us as soon as you can and we will work something out.

Q. How about if you have difficulties in attending my event for personal or emergency reasons?

A. We will strive to do our utmost to attend your event or function. If this means that the RAC, AA, etc, transport us to your event, we will be there. Also any equipment breakdown is resolved immediately (we do have backup systems available) so we will be there no matter what happens to honour our booking.

The same promise is made should we not be able to honour your booking in person - we have a number of other trusted mobile disco providers (three numbers live in our mobile phone who are always available to cover our bookings) and we also have a number of booking agents that we will pass your booking onto. This is outlined in our Terms and Conditions in our booking pack.

Q. My mate can do the booking cheaper....

A. Fine by us. You basically get what you pay for nowadays - but does your mate have the backup network that we guarantee, operate to accepted safety standards and have the relevant insurance should someone be injured in your presence?

Q. Can you offer 'outdoor' facilities?

A. Yes - we have a vehicle and awning that we can setup outdoors for music for events such as School and Village Fetes, Fun Days, etc, that simply requires just a 13 Amp socket nearby or we can supply a generator at cost. Obviously you don't get any lighting for outdoor daytime events!

Lighting, for evening events, can also be supplied and we will happily setup in Marquees with relevant and safe power sources.

Q. What do you wear on the day?

A. We usually arrive wearing 'working clothes' - meaning clothes we can unload and then setup and test the equipment in.

We then change into more formal attire - be it 'black tie', suit and tie, shirt and tie, casual wear or fancy dress - whatever suits the event. Anyone accompanying the roadshow also will dress accordingly.

Later in the evening, when most venues get very hot, we often 'dress down' a little into more 'black t-shirts' as they are more comfortable to operate the equipment in - unless you request we stay in our formal attire. In summer we only wear shorts if permitted by you as you probably don't want to see our legs!

For outdoor events - we dress to suit the weather - but don't fear - we don't own Hawian shirts for the summer!

Q. Do you drink during events?

A. We feel that we should not be seen to be consuming alcohol during an event as it is both unprofessional and, should an emergency situation occur, we need to be fully able to deal with the situation.

Drinking alcohol not only impairs the judgement, it may also invalidate our insurance, Public Liability Insurance and be leading to a criminal offence due to having to drive home again later. If you do really insist on 'buying us a drink', do it when your guests have gone home and we are all packed away and, even then, we will only have a small glass due to the drive home that awaits us.

(Also, Leigh, when DJing, tends to drink water, shandy, fruit juice or squash and is more happy with a cup of tea or coffee most of the time.)

Q. Do we have to provide you with a meal?

A. Any gratuities are welcome but do not organise a full-blown meal for any A2Z attendees. If you are having a buffet, invite us to visit it once your guests have chosen their food. If you are having a 'set meal' or 'multiple-course' meal, ask the kitchen staff to plate up a 'main course' and a small selection of fruit, cheese and crackers, etc, that we can eat away from your guests.

Q. I have a 'playlist' of songs - will you play it for me?

A. We are happy if you draw up a playlist but you have to remember that music you may enjoy at home or listening on the radio often doesn't go down too well in a disco. People prefer 'up-beat' or fast-paced music that they can dance to - so don't expect many on the dancefloor jigging around to Celine Dion's "My Heart Will Go On".

Also, when we receive playlists, we often change the order to fit the 'mood' of the event and also the other music being played - i.e. don't expect us to play a 1960s track from your list in the middle of a 90's R&B selection.

But - a playlist is vital for a wedding - especially to tell us of the 'special tracks' that the Bride and Groom enjoy - so if you want to ensure you are dancing to the correct track for your 'first dance', please tell us.

(Our terms and conditions also cover music choice and our reluctance to play certain tracks or requests - remember some music has offensive lyrics which often don't go down very well.)

Q. How long do you need to set up your equipment?

A. Often 1 hour for our standard setups - but larger systems can take longer. Remember that we also can require up 1 hour to remove our equipment at the end of an event - so bare this in mind if staff wish to lock up and go home - after a few hours of DJing, it can be tiring and then we still have a pile of equipment to take outside and load up - which isn't the quickest thing to do especially when it has gone dark and started to rain.

Q. We are having a meal at our event - can you play background music?

A. Yes - and it can be any type - smooth jazz, classical, new age or a selection of pop and other styles you would feel happy to listen to while eating played at low levels. (We find punk rock doesn't go down to well as a meal accompaniment!)

Q. Do you use Smoke Machines?

A. If you wish us to bring a smoke machine, we will bring one. We often do have one with us and will set it up but, if asked not to use it, we will refrain. Also, if we see smoke detectors installed in a venue, we NEVER setup the smoke machine!

Q. The venue I have booked has a sound level limiting device fitted. Will this effect you and my booking?

A. While we prefer not to take bookings at venues that use sound level limiting devices, we also prefer to honour your booking but will have to play at reduced volume levels.

This means, basically, we will have to provide a smaller sound system as the limiting devices will often 'switch off' the power to our equipment should the volume be too loud or exceed levels set by local authorities (often for venues in the middle of large residential areas) - this is something we prefer NOT to happen as our digital playback system (PC based) can crash, leading to possible total failure, and most venue managers show little concern for equipment in use.

Music can often be played at a 'regular' and 'even' level to satisfy the monitoring system - we incur most problems when we are speaking to an audience or your guests are making announcements.

Even young children screaming have been known to activate level limiting devices in the past that suddenly causes the music to STOP!

(Rule of thumb - book somewhere else without sound monitoring systems!)

Q. What is a sound limiting device?

A. They are often know as 'decibel meters' and are used in a lot of public venues that are surrounded by housing estates or are fitted as part of an entertainment licence agreement to stop sound and noise from going over certain levels.

A small microphone, small display and some electronic devices are used that, usually, show the DJ how 'loud' the music is within the set limits. The DJ has to take his electricity from sockets controlled by the system - and should the sound become too high, which is displayed on the meter by Red lamps, the power will switch off and stay off for a set time.

This means a few things - a DJ that has to play things quieter than they usually want to, a DJ who is always looking at the system to make sure the sound isn't too loud (taking concentration away from your party and guests) and a DJ who doesn't want the power to go off because it does two things (a) stops your enjoyment because the power has tripped and (b) has got a music system that can be damaged by an abrupt loss of power.

As we stated above - if you are offered a venue with a sound limiting device, you have two choices - either accept a disco from us that will play music at a lower level or book somewhere else without a sound monitoring system.

Q. What kind of music will you play?

A. What kind of music do you want us to play? See our Music section for more details.

Q. My mate is a 'dead good ex Ibiza/Club/etc DJ' or 'I am also a DJ' - can we have a 'go' on your equipment?

A. Sadly, while DJing is fun and an extroverts paradise, our equipment is only insured to be used by the owners and representatives of A2Z - much in the way that your family car is only insured for you to drive it. Think of it this way - if you attended a rock gig, would you ask the drummer to have a base on his drum kit?

The plain and simple answer is no.

Q. I'm planning a Children's Event and someone has told me that I need to ensure that my DJ or entertainers are 'CRB' approved. What is this and do you have it?

A. CRB - or the Criminal Records Bureau is a government agency that helps employers in the public, private and voluntary sectors identify candidates who may be unsuitable for certain work, especially that involving contact with children or other vulnerable members of society.

You can visit their website at http://www.crb.gov.uk/ for more details.

Leigh has Advanced CRB disclosure due to his employment in the education sector and his paperwork is available for inspection upon request. Only CRB checked persons will attend any event attended by persons under the age of 16. (Personally we feel that if you are booking anyone to entertain or work with children under 16, they should have CRB disclosure and be able to provide you with their certificates when requested)

Q. How do we confirm our booking?

A. Simply complete the booking pack, signing all paperwork and return it to us, either by post or in person, complete with the required deposit.

Q. How far will you travel?

A. Well - we are served here in Stoke on Trent with an excellent road system of motorways and dual carriageways and Shropshire, Cheshire and Derbyshire aren't too far away. To give you an idea of distance, if you grab a copy of the Stoke on Trent area Yellow Pages and look at their coverage map - that is our 'local' area - from one corner of the map to the other.

Q. Do you charge more during Christmas and on New Years Eve?

A. Sadly yes we do but only because it is a time which we could really be spending with our families or having the night off. You will find that 99.9% of DJs and Entertainers charge more during the festive period.

(Unlike other DJs - we won't rip you off - our festive price increase is a lot less than others!)

Q. I'm opening a pub, bar, club and I'm looking for a resident DJ or regular Disco, can you help me?

A. Leigh would happily become resident at any kind of venue as long as it fits in with the rest of A2Z's diary commitments. Contact us to see if we can work something out.

THIS IS THE LATEST BUT NOT SURPRISING QUESTION WE RECEIVED SHORTLY BEFORE THIS WEBSITE WENT ONLINE:

Q. Would you accept Paypal as payment for your services?

A. Why not? What a damn good idea - but do make sure you are a local booking!

Q. How do we ask you other questions not listed above?

A. Click on our contact page and email us or ring us asap.