Spotlight on ... DJ Mark One
by Dirk Faes

A short biography
As we all know the sound of Texas isn't only made by Sharleen's voice, the guitars and drums, but on the last albums and concerts also by DJ Mark One's remixing and scratching both on the albums as on stage.

Mark Blundell was born on July 22nd 1973 in Manchester, UK.
At the age of 13 Mark got interested in DJ'ing after witnessing a former UK Mixing Championship Finalist practicing in his back garden. After purchasing a couple of decks and a mixer it didn't take long for Mark to get the basic skills of DJ'ing, after a few years of practicing he went on to be the Northwest Mixing Champion in a number of competitions in 1991,1992,1993 & 1995.

During this period Mark co-produced a number of Hip hop / RnB radio shows on local pirate & commercial radio stations in the Manchester area. Not satisfied with just being a competitive DJ and a radio presenter Mark switched his mixing skills to night clubs, Dj'ing at many high profile club events in the Manchester area and eventually expanding to many venues in and around the UK.

Mark's hunger for success brought him into the world of recording, laying down scratches for UK Hip Hop artists Jeep Beat Collective & Rae & Christian. As a result of the studio sessions, Mark was asked to lay down scratches for Texas for the 1997 White On Blonde album and the following tour and he remained with Texas since then.

Working with the band gave Mark the inspiration to start making music himself, after doing a few demos he was offered to do remixes for DMC. Since then he has remixed a large number of high profile artists (J.lo, Destiny's Child) and achieved a show reel many would be impressed with. Mark's next target for success is to write music for high profile artists in the Hip Hop & RnB field. And with his track record he will no doubt be as successful in his goals in the future as he has been in the past.

Listen to some of Mark's great work with Texas :
"When We Are Together" live at Bercy, France in 2001 Listen
"Summer Son" live at Brixton Academy at the Madonna Show Listen

Some of Mark's remixes :
J.Lo - Waiting for tonight
Destiny's Child - Independent woman
Wycleff Jean - Stayin' alive
Missy Elliot - Get your freak on
Dr Dre - Next Episode & Forgot about Dre
Nelly - Country Grammar


The Interview
Tid: You were born in Manchester, do you still live there?
Mark: I live in Manchester at the moment, but I plan to moved back down to London soon. I miss the excitment of the big city !!

Tid: Are you living alone or do you have a girlfriend, married, ... ?
Mark: Single and lovin' it !! ha ha I'm too young to get married yet, and too imature ! ha ha

Tid: What were you doing before you joined Texas ?
Mark: I was dj'ing in clubs around UK and Europe and also competing in mixing championships around the country and generally causing as much mischief as I could.

Tid: Can you tell us how you and Texas got together?
Mark: I did the scratching for a group called Rae and Christian who remixed and wrote a few tracks for Texas, Sharleen and Johnny mentioned they wanted a dj so I was recommended and the rest is history.

Tid: When they first asked you to go on tour with them, what was your reaction then? Where you immediately convinced that you wanted to do it?
Mark: Damn right !! I was up for doing anything that got me out of Manchester !! I like to travel and see other places and cultures, it really helps you develop as a person, so I was convinced straight away but I didnt realise how big the whole thing would become.....but its all good. its the best job in the world.

Tid: How did it feel to be the newbie of the band?
Mark: Hmmmm it felt strange at first, I didnt really know anybody and I was taken on tour immediately so it was hard at first. The band are a very close unit of people and it takes a while to adjust to that invironment. They all used to say that I was a "wide boy" and I was very cheeky !! ha ha I suppose I still am but they have become used to my cheeky ways. But I think it was weird for everybody at the time to see a dj in the band so I think we were all as confused as each other.

Tid: Which Texas song that you have contributed to are you most proud of ? Is that song also your favorite Texas song?
Mark: The tracks I'm most proud of were the remixes we did for the Madonna concert in Brixton. We had to go in the studio and remix the tracks specially for the concert, we only had a few days to do it because of other commitments. So we went into the studio, stripped down the tracks and I started to add samples to them, we worked really hard to get them finished, we were coming out of the studio at 4 am !!! My favourite Texas song changes all the time, it depends what kind of mood I'm in. Thats a good thing about the music, there is a track to suit every mood.

Tid: We all know that Sharleen is expecting a baby in September but also that there are already some songs finished for the upcoming album. Were you also in the studio for those new songs and can you tell us something more about them?
Mark: I could tell you but then I would have to kill you !!! ha ha If I'm doing any scratching on the songs I wont hear them till about 10 mins before I do it, which is usually just as the songs are being completed in the studio. Because of my super human dj'ing skills I dont need to be in the studio for hours and hours. I just turn up do the scratching and then spend most of the day on the playstation !! ha ha (losing !! )

Tid: How do you see your contribution to Texas live on stage? Do you decide yourself how far that input goes?
Mark: Johnny is the co-ordinator really, he tells me what kind of sound he is looking for and then gives me the freedom to do what I want in the tracks, but I have been working with them for 5 years now so I know what sounds/scratches they are looking for. but I pretty much get to do what I want on stage. Sometimes I play on tracks I'm not supposed to and somtimes don't perform on tracks I am supposed to !!! just to cause a little mischief !!!

Tid: What's your most memorable gig with Texas and why?
Mark: I cant choose the most memorable gig because they are all special, when you have the opportunity to do a job like this you have to enjoy every second of it because it can be taken away from you just as quick as it was given to you, so I enjoy every second of it really. But I did really enjoy the tour of Poland and I love going to Paris.

Tid: Being on stage with Sharleen AND Madonna must have been amazing, wasn't it? Was that also the highlight in your career so far or is there something else?
Mark: It was certainly very special. When I was 14 Madonna was playing in Leeds and my parents wouldn't let me go to see her, so it was funny that we ended up supporting her 14 years later ! at the moment working with Sharleen and the crew is the highlight of my career but I feel that there is more to come. I'm just getting started !!!!

Tid: What are the upsides/downsides to touring?
Mark: Hmmm let me think...upsides: travelling, women, free drink, free food, loud music, amazing hotels, screaming fans, parties, disc presentations..... downsides?????? are you crazy !!

Tid: What is the most essential item to take on tour with you?
Mark: An empty bag to put all of the free stuff in for when I get home !!! ha ha ha no really.... its my music cd's when I get into the hotel room of the tour bus I always put my music on LOUD !!

Tid: Being a DJ who ends up onstage with a rock band, do you feel you have positively contributed to the mixture of 2 very different music types?
Mark: Well that was my intention, to open up the eyes of people who had never really seen a scratch dj before, but it works in 2 ways because I never listened to rock music either, so we all learnt something really.

Tid: You have a bit of a heart throb status of the band, how do you feel about that ?
Mark: Alriiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiight hey ladies !!!!!! ha ha ha thats all good, but I never really see it, I just do my thing on stage and have a laugh, go to the after party, get myself in trouble and then stagger back to my hotel room.

Tid: Do you feel you can bring in enough of your own ideas to the albums and when on stage?
Mark: I feel I can, but I only play a small part of what Texas are all about, they are such a talented bunch of people that they dont really need more input from me other than on stage. But given the opportunity I would like to write a couple of underground/club tracks with them.


Tid: What do you love most about playing live?
Mark: I love the LOUD music, and I love to watch pretty girls dance (but I don't like to pay to watch them !!) I also like the the fact that anything can happen, if somebody makes a mistake then we all laugh at them and give them grief when we have finished. Thankfully none of them can scratch so when I make a mistake its usually just me who notices ! ( I hope)

Tid: Have you ever made a serious mistake in the 4 years since you have been touring with Texas?
Mark: I dont think so....but I'm sure the band would disagree !!

Tid: So what's it like to work with Sharleen and the boys?
Mark: It's madness !! there is never a dull moment with them, we are always laughing and joking with each other, its like having another family when you are away from home, Sharleen is like a big sister, she usually sorts things out for me when things go wrong.

Tid: A technical thing which I always wondered about ; What kind of records do you use to scratch? Are those normal records which everyone has? How do you make your choice on which records to use?
Mark: The records I use are special ones designed for scratch dj's, they contain about 1000 samples and noises on them, so I only take a small amount of records with me.

Tid: What other things do you do for work when you are not on tour with Texas?
Mark: I still dj in clubs and bars, I also do remixes and megamixes for a dj company called DMC.

Tid: What kind of music and/or artist influence you?
I'm really in to hip hop, RnB, funk, soul, disco....anything that uses live musicians!! I cant stand electonic music.

Tid: Do you play any musical instruments yourself?
Mark: I played percussion for 5 years when I was in school, I liked making as much noise as I could with the drums, I bought a drum kit to practise on but my mum made me sell it coz I made too much noise, so I bought a record player instead, and scratched my mum and dads record collection......oops

Tid: Which is the most memorable remix you ever made for someone and why? Which one are you most proud of ?
Mark: I'm not proud of any of them really, I always think there is room for improvement. but I do like remixing Busta Rhymes...his vocals are pure energy and they get you hyped up to do the music.

Tid: If you could pick any artist to work with, who would that be?
Mark: Hmmmm....well I have taken Madonna and Methodman off my list of people, I would like to work with J.lo ( I hear she is single again ! ha ha) Redman, Dr Dre, Eminem I know I could write a wicked track with him, and Beyonce Knowles.

Tid: Who is your favourite band at the moment? And your favourite DJ?
Mark: Favourite band is.....Public Enemy.. I still listen to N.W.A. stuff too and my favourite dj's are Cash Money and Jazzy Jeff ( both from Philadelphia)

Tid: Do you have any other hobbies other then professional DJ'ing?
Mark: No...help me ! dj'ing is all I have. Im such a lonely person ha ha ha Yes, I like to go to parties and generally enjoy myself if you can call that a hobby ?????? oh I like to play football too.

Tid: Do you collect records yourself?
Mark: I've got so many records I cant move around my house, they are under the chairs, in the fridge, behind the tv. Maybe I should build another house out of my records?

Tid: Any near-future projects you can share?
Mark: Not at the moment.. its all hush hush.

Tid: What is your view of the fans Texas have ?
Mark: You are all mad !!!! ha ha.....nah they are cool, you have to admire anybody who will travel and pay their good money to see you perform becuase they don't have to do it, so RESPECT to all the massive !


Thanks again Mark and lots of success with all your future projects.


2002 - texasindemand.com

Questions by Bea, Kathy, Klaas, Julia, Rute, Lisa & Dirk





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