Step inside the journey of Guy Williams — one of Manchester’s most respected DJs whose story stretches from the record-stuffed garage of his childhood home in Cheadle Hulme to the dancefloors of Ibiza.
In this conversation, Guy talks about growing up surrounded by music. His father worked for record labels like Chrysalis, Arista, and Virgin during the 1980s — years when Two-Tone, The Human League, and Blondie filled the airwaves. Their garage overflowed with promo vinyl and band merchandise, giving young Guy a front-row seat to Britain’s pop explosion.
By the late ’80s, the Manchester club scene was calling. Guy began going out to Deville’s and The Number 1 Club, a space that became central to the city’s gay nightlife. It was there, in June 1989, that he first experienced the energy of ecstasy and the sense of unity that defined the house-music movement. That night changed everything — from his clothes to his mindset — and set him on a new creative path.
Guy describes the early ’90s as a time when music, fashion, and freedom collided. He started DJing as one half of Planet Janet, landing residencies at Paradise Factory, Vague in Leeds, and Trash in Sheffield. By 1995, he was resident at the Holy City Zoo, one of the Village’s most talked-about venues. Soon after, London called — with gigs at Ministry of Sound, residencies with Trade and DTPM, and a full-time role at Defected Records, where he helped promote timeless house classics like Another Chance and Finally.
In the early 2000s, Guy’s career grew internationally, taking him to clubs across Europe and especially to Ibiza, where he first DJed at Space, El Divino, and Manumission. After two decades in London, he made the island his home — launching Flash, his own inclusive night at Pikes Ibiza, inspired by the spirit of Manchester’s legendary Flesh parties.
Guy shares memories of the Hacienda years, the creativity of Manto’s and Dry Bar, and the way Manchester’s gay and straight club scenes influenced each other during the city’s cultural revolution. His story captures how the energy of late-’80s Manchester helped shape a global sound — and how the spirit of those nights still lives on today.
Watch to the end as Guy reflects on the importance of community, the politics that shaped club culture, and why Sunscreen’s Perfect Motion still gives him that same rush of joy decades later.
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