He passed away on June 17 and his family have taken to his official Instagram page to share a statement on his passing. The post reads, “It is with great sadness that we announce the passing of our beloved Paul Spencer earlier today. He was positive until the end but this was one battle he could not fight anymore. He leaves behind a wonderful musical legacy and many happy memories for many people. He will be sadly missed by everyone who loved him. Shine bright our big star – K, A & H.”

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He was a member of the hit 90s dance music trio Dario G which formed in Cheshire in the 1990s. The group was originally a duo with Spencer and his counterpart Scott Rosser having met at university in Manchester. They began their journey into electronic beats in Spencer’s home in Cheshire and it wasn’t long before two became three and third member Stephen Spencer was invited to join the ensemble. Despite popular conceptions Paul and Stephen had no relation to each other.

At the beginning of their formation Dario G were forced to change their name from the original Dario to how they are known today due to the danger of running into legal troubles at the hands of an artist carrying the same name. The group decided to decided on a name that paid tribute to both the manager of Crewe Alexandra F.C at the time, Dario Gradi, as well as adding the G in honour of jazz artist Kenny G.

The group released ‘Sunchyme’ in 1997 which became a massive hit earning itself the number 1 spot on the U.S. Hot Dance Club Party chart. It was only kept from reaching number one in the UK by ‘Candle in the Wind’ which was a tribute to Princess Diana by Elton John at the time of her death. ‘Sunchyme’s’ popularity was only exemplified by the fact it sold over 600,000 copies just in the UK alone. They then released their second record breaker ‘Carnival de Paris’ which, according to an article by the BBC, “became an unofficial anthem of the 1998 World Cup in Paris, and was later re-released for the 2002 tournament.” Both singles featured on Dario G’s debut album which just celebrated its 25th anniversary last year.

Dario G released three albums throughout their career, only one of which can be accredited to the full trio as after the release of their first album ‘Sunmachine’ the trio disbanded with Scott Roser and Stephen Spencer leaving to take up various other projects. Paul Spencer became a solo artist but still continued under the name Dario G, releasing two more albums ‘In Full Colour’ in 2001 and his most recent work ‘Hola’ in 2020. Spencer was due to play a show at the Chris Moyles 90s Hangover concert in May but had to pull out due to poor health. He will be missed by many.

The tour will begin on 25th June where Pete will take his Ibiza dance anthem show to Franklin Gardens in Northampton. He will then perform at Newcastle Racecourse on June 26th, Newmarket Racecourse on August 13th and finishing up in Colwyn Bay the next day. Pete played to a sell out crowed for a proms night at the Royal Albert Hall for a Proms night 3 years ago, which lead to him deciding to take his show on the road.

JUST ANNOUNCED: See @petetong and The Heritage Orchestra live at Colwyn Bay on 14 August 2021. Grab your tickets early in our presale on Wed 18 Nov 2020 at 09:00 here >> https://t.co/Fmh87ckNKs<< pic.twitter.com/c6A3WzrSgr

— ticketmasteruk (@TicketmasterUK) November 16, 2020

Pete spoke to the East Anglian Daily Times about his tour next year saying “I can’t remember a time where I was more excited and looking forward to playing. After being locked down for over a year, that energy is going to blow the place apart.” The Director of Colwyn Bay, Pablo Janczur said to North Wales Live on next year’s event, “We ‘ve promoted this show in outdoor locations twice with great success and its always been the highlight of our summer so we can wait to bring it to Colwyn Bay. Get ready to party North Wales.” 

Pete is one of the most famous DJ’s of today and has gained a huge following his ‘Essential Collection,’ classic dance anthem releases. From 2003-2007 he was the resident DJ at ‘Pacha Nightclub’ in Ibiza. In 2011, he returned to Pacha for a Friday night event called ‘All Gone Pete Tong.’ That year he played the ‘Together Winter Music Festival’ on 26th November at Alexandra Palace. In addition, he hosts an annual pool party for the ‘Miami Music Week.’ His ‘Classic House’ album has sold more than 200,000 copies and has reached Number 1 in the charts in the UK.

There is no doubt that Pete Tong is looking forward to embracing the Summer months with his ‘Ibiza Classics’ tour. When speaking to Northampton Saints about his visit to Franklin Garden’s next June he said,  “I can’t remember a time in my life where I was more excited and looking forward to playing to the people who will be coming to watch ‘Ibiza Classics’ at Franklin’s Gardens.”

Mark Darbon, chief executive for the Northampton Saints commented, “We’re delighted to welcome such an iconic DJ to Franklin’s Gardens next summer. Music lovers can expect to hear a unique combination of throwback anthems and dance music’s trending songs, as well as a jaw-dropping light show.”

Following the Summer tour, Tong will gig in Nottingham, Manchester, Brighton, Birmingham and London’s O2 Arena during the Winter Season. There is no doubt that following the lockdown this year, dance music lovers will be looking forward to an incredible show with visual effects and classic club tunes.

Tour Dates

25/06/2021 – Franklins Gardens, Northampton
36/06 – Racecourse, Newcastle
13/08 – Racecourse, Newmarket
14/08 – Stadium Zipworld, Colwyn Bay
26/11 – Motorpoint Arena, Nottingham
27,11 –  AO Arena, Manchester
01/12 – The Brighton Centre, Brighton
02/12 – Utilita Arena, Birmingham
03/12 – O2 Arena, London
04/12 – O2 Arena, London

Unfortunately, you’ll have to wait a little longer to truly appreciate Romy’s banger, because it’s practically begging to be played in a club. This total burst of energy is certainly reminiscent of some of the major 90s dance-floor fillers – and also, I would point out, an eighties synth vibe of the Tears For Fears variety. To me it also has just a twinkle of ‘Life In A Northern Town’ about it. What I’m saying is, if ‘Lifetime’ had come on at the eighties night at university, it would hardly have been out of place.

Romy wants us to understand that dance hits are important to her, from the eighties to the Ibiza scene; she wrote on social media, “I’ve always loved club classics that unite a room, big emotional dance songs, that you can sing along to as well. I’m excited to have the opportunity to show my love for dance music with ‘Lifetime’.

She added with a bittersweet note, “I loved working with a very talented and inspiring group of people on this song, thank you so much Fred again, Marta Salogni, Joy Anonymous and Jamie xx. I had dreamt that we could be dancing in a room together to this song by now, but until then I hope you can dance to it wherever you are!”

Afterwards I’ll be premiering the lyric video on YouTube at 6:45pm BSThttps://t.co/bdGeQDzGpu

— Romy (@romyromyromy) September 28, 2020

Beneath its catchy, neon, dance surface, ‘Lifetime’ is wrestling with greater concepts of time and making the most of everything. “Once in a lifetime / something matters,” Romy declares as the music falls away and we are suspended in the moment, thinking about how special everything is. She has spoken about the song wanting “to appreciate the moment before its gone”.

We’re all familiar with this urge these days, and Romy is clear that the moment could be anything, from a huge night out to a quiet moment with your loved ones – “simple moments of togetherness, meant the most to me,” she began to realise during the pandemic. But it also feels like the perfect sentiment for those few minutes on the dance floor where you’re having the time of your life and its all lights and colours and you don’t know what the time is or how long you’ve been there. Inevitably, clubbing can’t sustain that perfect haze for very long, but the stars might just align for three minutes when you hear ‘Lifetime’ on the dancefloor for the first time.