Original Hacienda resident DJ Paulette has been awarded DJ Mag Top 100 DJs 2022 Lifetime Achievement gong.
The Manchester-based DJ has been given the award in recognition of her pivotal role at the center of a number of significant moments in European electronic music history over the past thirty years.
A DJ, radio and TV host, A&R and PR for over 30 years, whilst still in her twenties Paulette made history as the Hacienda’s first female DJ resident – first coming on board to play the club’s gay night, Flesh Nites, with organizers bringing her in after seeing just one DJ set, which happened to be her debut.
She stayed for four and a half years, progressing to resident along the way, then moved down to London to play at the Garage club nights at Heaven, followed by residencies at Brighton’s The Zap Club and the Ministry of Sound.
Later, in 2004, she lived in Paris for some time and has also done some stints in Ibiza, but today she can be found in her hometown of Manchester – the place where she was born and raised.
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Speaking to DJ Magabout her heady career, she described how her first ever DJ gig came about, saying: “Fast-forward six years of buying records and whatever and a friend of mine knew somebody who was putting on a party at the No.1, and she’d spent all the money on the promo.
“She didn’t have any money to pay a name DJ, and was told about somebody who had lots of records who could do it. She must’ve been so fucking desperate!”
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DJ Paulette first started off in music working for Manchester Piccadilly 261 radio station, aged 18, as a cub reporter but has since gone on to do great things – including helping the Roni Size & Reprazent ‘New Forms’ album win the Mercury Prize.
Moving down to London in the mid-90s, she got a PR job at Mercury Records to supplement her DJing income.
Speaking about that time in her life, she told the magazine: “Everything that happened for Roni Size Reprazent, and also 4hero who were nominated for the Mercury Music Prize, came off the back of the press campaign and their live gigs.”
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“It’s very rare to translate a good press campaign for some dance music singles to the Mercury Prize, it has to cross them over into the nationals and broadsheets everywhere.
Image: DJ Paulette
“Obviously they had to perform live, I would never take credit for their creativity, but without that press campaign… there were so many other bands who were really great live, but they didn’t have the press.”
She would then go on to win a gold record for the Reprazent PR campaign after they sold 100,000 copies of ‘New Forms’ and were nominated for two Brit awards.
It’s a well-deserved accolade for the Manchester music legend, who is also on the cusp of releasing a new tell-all book – detailing her amazing 30-year career and shining a light on discrimination within the dance music world.
Titled Welcome To The Club: The Life And Lessons Of A Black Woman DJ, Paulette says it will tell the ‘candid story’ of her hugely successful DJ career, which has seen her hold high profile residencies at some of the best parties in the world, including the Hacienda, Ministry of Sound and Queen Club in Paris.
Described as both a memoir and a “call to arms”, Welcome To The Club will feature contributions from some of her fellow UK DJs including Dave Haslam, Gilles Peterson, Jamz Supernova, Sonique, Smokin Jo, Norman Jay and Jaguar.
It’s sure to be filled with some amazing stories. She is, after all, a true dance music icon and has been at the heart of the global house scene for many years.
Hilary Duff announces massive Manchester gig on first world tour in nearly 20 years
Danny Jones
Noughties throwback, Hilary Duff, is continuing her contemporary comeback trail by announcing a brand-new world tour, including a massive arena gig right here in Manchester.
That’s right, Lizzie McGuire herself is returning to the UK with new music.
In all seriousness, child star Hilary Duff has gone on to have quite the career, but it feels like it’s been forever since we’ve had fresh music from her, which is why her next album and huge run of tour dates around the globe feels like such a big deal.
Ahead of her sixth studio release, lucky… or something, dropping this month, the American popstar has now confirmed nearly 50 upcoming dates in support of the record; she also still managed to give us a very Disney Channel reveal video.
Yes, heading out on the road across North America, Europe, the UK and Ireland, as well as Australia and New Zealand, Hilary Duff has announced a total of 47 gigs so far.
With no other live shows confirmed in mainland Europe yet, Great British and Irish fans can be glad of the five shows locked in for the UK leg.
Having said that, with the 38-year-old enjoying a real renaissance of late, we wouldn’t be surprised to see more added to the newly confirmed ‘lucky me’ tour.
As mentioned, with her latest LP scheduled to launch on 20 February, we got her most recent track just a few short weeks ago.
Following the lead single from the project, ‘Mature’ – also released this past November 2 – you can see the music video for her ‘Roommates’ down below.
The song is also produced by her husband, Matthew Koma.
This newest outing is the first Hilary Duff album in over a decade, following 2015’s Breathe In. Breathe Out; it’ll also be nearly two of them since her last world tour, having last played Manchester all the way back in 2007.
As for her shows, following a number of performances in late 2025 and this year already, she’ll be playing throughout the calendar and well into early 2027.
You can see the rest of the European tour dates thus far down below.
Hilary Duff UK and IE tour dates – September ’26
6 – Dublin, IE – 3Arena
8 – Cardiff, UK – Utilita Arena Cardiff
10 – London, UK – The O2
Thursday, 12 – Manchester, UK – AO Arena
13 – Glasgow, UK – OVO Hydro
For tickets to see her here in Manchester at the end of this summer, early access can be enjoyed by Three mobile members from 10am on Tuesday, 17 February, or via the venue’s own presale window from the same time next Thursday, 19 Feb.
As for general admission, tickets will then go live at 10 the following Friday (20 Feb), and you can get ready to grab yours HERE.
SING TO ME PAOLO! 🎤🛵💅
Superstar @HilaryDuff brings 'the lucky me tour' to Manchester!
Featured Images — Press shots (supplied via AO Arena)
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Gig Review | Mika shines at the AO Arena in Manchester on the first night of his world tour
Aimee Woodcock
Mika’s Manchester stop on his ‘Spinning Out’ global tour was a vibrant, high-energy celebration of all things pop.
Not happy with just walking on stage – this is Mika we’re talking about – he made his entrance on a spinning hamster wheel, bathing the AO Arena in kaleidoscopic lights.
Opening with ‘Modern Times’ and ‘Eleven’ from his latest discography before leaning into one of the classics, ‘Relax, Take it Easy’, the atmosphere inside the packed arena felt charged.
His stamina was something that stood out from the get-go, delivering every track with that signature Mika flair, accompanied by choreography and a live band that matched his energy – no mean feat.
The production leaned heavily into colour and movement, with swirling visuals and playful stage design that mirrored the tour’s theme of motion and momentum with nods to themes of LGBTQ+ rights.
Working through this current album, and after a quick outfit change, we were treated to an a cappella intro to another classic, ‘Lollipop’ with Mika dressed in a full pink suit (and shoes).
Between songs, Mika’s easy rapport with the crowd added warmth and intimacy to the arena-sized performance.
He shared anecdotes and playful banter, encouraging the crowd to sing along, uniting the fans.
Highlights included a rendition of ‘Grace Kelly’, which sparked one of the loudest reactions of the night, and a heartfelt performance of his more reflective ‘Happy Ending’ offered a welcome contrast to the glittering pop anthems.
The Manc -
31st October 2022 
