Early years

Tong was born in Dartford in 1960, and was educated at the fee-paying King's School, Rochester, Kent.

Tong's original musical interest was in drumming, but he soon moved on to DJing. He played his first public gig at a friend's wedding at age 15. While at school he and a couple of friends earned some extra money by promoting a couple of local bands, booking halls for gigs etc. He also worked as part of the Kent "Soul Mafia" bringing soul weekenders to seaside towns like Caister-on-Sea and Prestatyn. Tong was heavily influenced by the late DJ Froggy in his early years and most of Tong's success is down to Froggy's originality in style of record mixing presentation.

Initially after leaving school Tong set up a mobile disco based in a transit van, but he soon started his own club in Baker Street called Family Function. He also booked bands for an alternative night, the first of which was the then unknown Culture Club. Tong originally performed as a DJ using the name "Kickstart Roadshow" and then later "OHMS Roadshow" with an extensive sound system. Prolific Soul event promoter Brian Rix (Kent Soul Festivals, Seduction, Caister Weekenders) is credited as being the first person to extensively promote Tong using his own name at King Arthurs Court Nightclub in Kent, the Woodville Halls in Gravesend and other Kent venues.

Later he became DJ and promoter at the Kings Lodge club in West Kingsdown and quickly gained a faithful following, who were prepared to travel from far and wide on a Wednesday night to hear him playing underground jazz, funk and soul. Later moving venue to the Hill Top, also in West Kingsdown, he was responsible for breaking classics such as Lonnie Liston Smith's "Expansions" and Ritchie Cole's "Groovin on a New York Afternoon".

In 1979, Tong became a staff writer for Blues & Soul Magazine. After a year he was promoted to features editor, a position he would hold until 1983. He left Blues & Soul to join London Records as an A&R manager. Through his connections in London Records, Tong was exposed to the newly emerging house music sound from Chicago. In 1986, Tong organised a compilation album, The House Sound of Chicago, Vol. 1, the first British release to gather and expose this genre.

Radio career

Tong's first appearance on radio was in the late 1970s on Radio Invicta 92.4fm, Europe's first soul music station. He joined a rotation of nightclub DJs, including Steve Walsh, Chris Hill, Chris Brown and others, to present monthly guest shows. Later, he appeared on local radio station BBC Radio Medway, as part of the 'Soul Mafia', and performed occasional mixes for Radio London. In 1981, Tong made his first appearance on Radio 1 as the host of a 15-minute feature on Peter Powell's show—he played new tracks, and covered the latest gossip and news from the dance music industry.

When Invicta Radio started in Kent in 1984, Tong became the host of a regular soul show on the station. As Tong had joined the developing dance-DJ management company of DJ-turned-journalist Eddie Gordon, of the Kent Messenger, he built a prominent county profile and performed at Gordon's local club 'The Slammer'. Tong joined Capital Radio in 1988 to present a weekly dance programme, replacing the departing Jeff Young.

In January 1991, Tong began his Friday evening show, branded as the Essential Selection for its first 15 years, on BBC Radio 1. The show still continues every week (currently it is broadcast at 10pm for three hours), and Tong is the second-longest serving DJ (after Annie Nightingale) on the station. Additionally, a one-hour Sunday edition of the programme, called "The Essential Selection - Part 2", was broadcast from April 1992 to April 1993. A spinoff, titled The Rap Selection (featuring rap, ragga and new jack swing), aired on Thursday evenings on the station from 9-10pm from April 1991 until March 1992.

From October 1993, Tong oversaw the production of the Essential Mix show, which was devised and, until 2003, produced by Gordon. The show was the first BBC production to broadcast live from Ibiza, Spain. The 500th mix was broadcast on 23/24 April 2010, featuring solely Tong on the Friday night, and Tong, plus DJs Sasha and Richie Hawtin, live from Circus nightclub in Liverpool, UK, for the second section.

In November 2012, Tong was asked by Clear Channel Communications in the US to help launch a new EDM channel, on their iHeartRadio platform, called 'Evolution'. Along with the launch of the channel, Tong introduced a nightly two-hour program titled Its All Gone Pete Tong, which is similar to his BBC 1 program. The platform would later form the basis for Clear Channel to expand the Evolution brand, with the 20 December 2012 launch of the format on WEDX/Boston that included Tong's station promos and voiceover drops. Likewise, Tong's iHeartRadio program also airs on WEDX. In addition, a supplemental 2-hour weekly program, Evolution Beatport Show, is also aired on various Top 40/CHR and Rhythmic stations in the U.S. and in other countries worldwide, and is syndicated by Premiere Networks.

DJing

Tong is one of Britain's most recognised DJs, having gained a large following of fans from his Essential Selection programme. He was appointed a MBE at the 2014 New Year Honours for services to broadcasting and music.

From 2003 to 2007, Tong was the resident DJ at Pacha nightclub in Ibiza, where he oversaw the Pure Pacha events. In 2008 Tong left Pacha and signed with Eden nightclub in Sant Antoni de Portmany to host his own Wonderland night. Tong explained in a 2009 interview that he, "from a UK perspective", he has played in Ibiza since inception (1991) and, as of the time of the interview, divided his time between the UK, Ibiza and the US, the latter of which he tours in the northern autumn.

In March 2011, he announced that he would be returning to Pacha on Friday nights with a new event named 'All Gone Pete Tong'. Tong played the Together Winter Music Festival in London, UK, at Alexandra Palace on 26 November 2011.

Mix album discography

All chart positions are in the UK Compilation Chart

• Cream Live (1995) (#3)
• The Annual (1995) (#13)
• The Annual II (1996) (#1)
• Dance Nation 3 (1997)
• Essential Selection Summer 1997 (1997) (#4)
• The Annual III (1997) (#3)
• Essential Selection Winter 1997 (1997) (#10)
• Dance Nation 5
• Essential Selection Spring 1998 (#4)
• Essential Selection Summer 1998 (1998) (#4)
• Essential Selection Summer 1998 (1998) (Limited Edition) (#2)
• Essential Selection '98 Tong/Oakenfold (1998) (#13)
• Essential Selection '98 Tong/Oakenfold (1998) (Limited Edition) (#11)
• Essential Selection Spring 1999 (1999) (#13)
• Essential Selection Spring 1999 (1999) (Limited Edition) (#3)
• Essential Selection Ibiza 1999 (1999) (#11)
• Essential Selection Ibiza 1999 (1999) (#7)
• Essential Selection Presents Music From The Motion Picture Human Traffic (1999)
• Essential Millennium (1999) (#10)
• Essential Selection Spring 2000 (2000) (#8)
• Essential Selection Ibiza 2000 (2000) (#11)
• Essential Mix 2000 (2000)
• Essential Mix Mixed By Pete Tong (2001)
• Twisted Beats (2001)
• Essential Selection Presents The Clubber's Bible Winter 2002 (2001)
• Fashion TV Presents Pete Tong (2003)
• Essential Selection Pete Tong (2003) (did not chart)
• Pure Pacha Ibiza: Mixed by Pete Tong and Andy B (2004)
• It's Showtime! (Pete Tong Presents Pure Pacha Vol.II Summer Season 2005 (2005)
• Essential Classics (2005)
• Pure Pacha Vol.1 (2006)
• Essential Dance Mix (2006)
• Pure Pacha 3
• Wonderland (2008)
• Pete Tong Presents Wonderland 2009 (2009)
• Pete Tong Presents Wonderland 2010 (2010)
• Pete Tong and Riva Starr: Future Underground (2011)
• All Gone Pete Tong & Felix da House Cat Ibiza '11 (2011)
• All Gone Pete Tong & Groove Armada Miami '12 (2012)
• All Gone Pete Tong & Skream Miami '13 (2013)
• The Pete Tong Collection (2013)

[ Source: Wikipedia ]