This week on Friday Flashback, we’ve selected the truly iconic hard house track ‘The Dawn’ from none other than the late British DJ, Tony De Vit.
In his early 20s, De Vit was credited with helping to take the “hard house” and fast “hard NRG” sounds out of the London and Birmingham gay scene into iconic UK clubs such as Slinky, Cream, Gatecrasher, Godskitchen, and Creamfields – club nights that undoubtedly hold a special place in the hearts of many of you reading this!
Other major accolades included his first Radio 1 Essential Mix in 1995, a year when Tony featured on no less than twelve of the top compilation mix albums.
The original mix of The Dawn was released by Trade Records in 1998, just months before Tony’s untimely passing, then again in 2000 on the revered Tidy Trax label.
Bringing it full circle, whilst many remixes followed, Northern Irish DJ Fergie – famously a protégé of De Vit – recently remixed the timeless classic in 2023, giving the track a modern techno vibe.
Here’s the original mix on Tidy Trax. Enjoy…
Where to grab a copy?
You can get a vinyl copy of The Dawn (original mix), which includes the Paul Janes mix, on Tidy Trax via Amazon (also available on CD).
Alternatively, grab the 2023 Fergie remix, including the original, here (vinyl or MP3).
To find out more about Tony De Vit, a new documentary about his career ‘Don’t Ever Stop’ is scheduled to premiere in the UK later this month. Check out this post for more details.
