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How did you get that job?
Name Yogi Haughton Job title Hustler/DJ/ Promoter/Writer
Company Scottish Soulful Weekenders Ltd
So what does your job actually involve? Well what I do is a li’l like being a footballer and just grows organically from a passion for something you love. In my case it was an obsession with black music – before I knew it people were wanting to pay me for messing around with my hobby. That happened to me 35 years ago when I started DJing; since then I’ve just fallen into all kinds of work associated with music, including writing, broadcasting, teaching actors how to dance to northern soul and now to promoting one of the UK’s largest house and soul events called the Scottish Soulful Weekender.
118 THE LIST 20 Sep–18 Oct 2012
For the Weekender I have numerous tasks: booking DJs/ acts from around the world, hiring equipment, liaising with designers, printers, the venue, sponsors, production staff; the list is actually endless. Then I have to deal with the great British public when we start selling our tickets, which is always interesting and fun but the thinking on your feet aspect is what I really get a buzz from, especially once the gig is under way.
Best / Worst Aspects? When I DJ the best part of the job is that I get paid to look at lots of girls, get drunk and play my favourite music – a pretty good job, methinks. The downside is that I have no money thanks to promoting but I own 60,000 records/CDs and they are worth their weight in gold (the majority are now worth between £10–£2000 each). The worst part is the promoting, it’s a mug’s game. You lose money hand over fist; people don’t appreciate the time, effort and money that goes into putting a gig on; everybody wants a freebie or into the event for a pound less. Would you walk into a bar and ask for a pound off your pint?
Looking back, what advice would you give a young Yogi Haughton at the start of his career? Be innovative, be creative, chance your arm here and there and wing it a lil’ but always know your limits and keep educating yourself as you go. If you had told me that I would end up writing for several national titles when I left school at fifteen with no qualifications I would’ve looked at you as though you had just fallen out of the sky. Life is a game of snooker, you have to create and build on what you can from those breaks.
and finally . . . what are you most looking forward to in 2012?
I’m now just putting the finishing touches to The Scottish Soulful Weekender in November. We have 75 world class DJs and numerous live house, soul and jazz acts appearing, and people travelling from all over the world for the event. It’s a lot of responsibility, putting on a three day party and making sure everything runs smoothly for the customers, but I relish it. I’m looking forward to that, followed by a weekend away for some peace and quiet to let my ears rest and to detox. scottishsoulfulweekender.com