Erol Alkan

Some people get into djing because they feel awkward standing around at parties. Others want to be the first to break new records, and then get lured on by the adulation and the fame. And then there's Erol Alkan, who does it because music grabbed him by the balls at such an early age that he couldn't ever imagine doing anything else. Raised in north London by strict Turkish parents, his obsession with music turned professional in his teens, when he'd sneak out of the house to dj at a club in Leicester Square for a tenner and sneak back home before his mum caught him.

In the past few years, since his own club Trash began to attract attention everywhere from Italian Vogue to The Face and from Rolling Stone to Kerrang, Erol's party-starting genius has surged in demand. One night he'll be djing at an Alexander McQueen catwalk show afterparty in London, with Kate Moss and Sadie Frost shaking their arses down the front, and the next night he'll be playing to a notoriously tough, no-nonsense Belfast crowd, who'll welcome him like a lost son.

However, Erol is a truly modest fellow and shrugs off the accolades, still failing to see himself as distinct from any other clubber - his rider request is simply a bottle of vodka, which he'll gladly pass into the crowd and share with anyone. He's happy to give you the name of a record he's just played or chat to anyone who wants a word. He will continue to play dance music that rocks, and rock music you can dance to. And, if you're lucky, you just might, maybe, possibly - catch him djing with his feet.