DJ Fat Tony has become one of the most respected and in demand artists on both the gay and straight club scene. Registered office: 1 London Bridge Street, SE1 9GF. What was hardest to give up? I took my teeth out with a screwdriver one by one. This led to Tony opening his own night Total Fashion Victim and then Jungle in 1984/5, this became the first garage and house club in London. "I'm a harvester of filth! Sometimes hedonism can be utterly exhausting. With a list like this you can only imagine the stories Tonys got to tell and the type of life style he lives. thewolseley.com, Fat Tony on the London Pride Adidas campaign featuring David Beckham, Pharrell, Elton John and Naomi Campbell, Stanley Tucci on his love for food and Italian heritage, American Gods star Ian McShan on angry Comic Con fans and playing a God, The best Pride-celebrating collections to buy right now. And there, in the nosebleed seats, sits none other than Johnny Depp, handsome and wolfish, no doubt wondering who's going to pay for his haddock Monte Carlo... And, in the middle of the beautiful melee, Marnach - a man who, as a DJ, excels in a crowd. I planned everything - who would be on the front row, what I would be wearing. "Well, I've got new teeth, a fresh career, a lovely house in Pimlico - I've every reason to feel blessed." He has continued to provide quality music on an International scale for a number of years and now resides at London�s Premier club nights. DJ Fat Tony has become one of the most respected and in demand artists on both the gay and straight club scene.
Look, there's Edward Enninful, new editor of British Vogue plotting at a table in the inner quadrant. This didnt stop Tony in his tracks just made him more determined and Tony now works weekly in the Trade lite lounge, The Voodoo Lounge and Twisted UK, bi weekly at Crash and monthly at Heaven, in addition to this he guests at clubs such as Velvet Rooms, Paradise Factory, 051 Club, Decadence, Progress Tour and more. Well, judging by the high level of power-lunching going on as I walk in to meet infamous Eighties hell-raiser Fat Tony (real name Tony Marnach) on a sunny Tuesday afternoon in June, the place still has some serious appeal for rubberneckers. Maybe one day. 724 talking about this. You'd think that after 14 years The Wolseley might have jumped the shark, wouldn't you? “The first time I went to play at Donatella’s house in Milan, she said, ‘I’m so honoured you’re in my house.’ I thought, ‘Are you f****** mental?
"Meth is the real danger, though.
The majority of the best clubs world-wide has experienced the unforgettable presence of Fat Tony and although Tony is now based mainly in London he still guests in the clubbing capitols of the world such as Ibiza, New York, Sydney, Hong Kong, Greece and Cyprus. "I was nothing without them. Listening to Marnach recount some of his life's highest high jinks, I'm dumbfounded as to why no one has asked him to write a book about it all yet. I used to stop the music and shout over the PA, 'No K, no play!'. The Wolseley, 180 Piccadilly, London W1. ", Marnach tells these harrowing stories with a wonderfully arch London cackle - it's a testament to his physical and mental strength that he can make light of what for many would be far too private and painful. It's almost enough to consider packing it all in oneself.
"I took drugs every single day for 28 years," he recounts. Tap ‘Menu’ and then ‘Times Radio’ to listen to the latest well-informed debate, expert analysis and breaking news. I lived on the edge of Hampstead Heath so it was too easy.". Marnach not so much cheated death as snorted it.
We have noticed that there is an issue with your subscription billing details. Tonys DJing career began 15 years ago at the Playground at the Lyceum.
Turn into yet another Itsu? If you don't know who Fat Tony is then you're probably too young to know what the gay clubbing scene was like 30 years ago. Lunches with Kate, £100,000 per night DJ bookings with Naomi in Monaco, shopping trips to Saint Laurent - looking at how Tony has turned his life around, yet remained true to the hoot he's always been is, without getting all cooey, utterly inspiring. Tony Marnach, also known as DJ Fat Tony, 52, took drugs every day for 28 years with dark consequences.
Registered in England No. He has continued to provide quality music on an International scale for a number of years and now resides at Londons Premier club nights.. Tony s DJ …
I remember right before I decided to pack it all in it was meth that was killing me.
I was five when Marnach and his band of basic-averse buddies - including best friends Boy George and, later on, Kate Moss and Naomi Campbell - were "going out on Wednesday and coming home the following Tuesday". His early days included gigs at the Palladium, New York, in the 1980s, Turnmills in London. "The sex.
Fat Tony’s “Texas” Is A Punk Ode To The Lone Star State [Premiere], Fat Tony Honors Houston With New Album ‘MacGregor Park’. And his story is one of the most remarkable in all of dance music. Aged 51 he can now, much to his own bewilderment, add "influencer" to his list of achievements; his memes are without doubt the rudest (and funniest) on Instagram (@dj_fattony_). "I used to stop the music and shout over the PA, 'No K, no play!'"
I used to call them my chemical scaffolding - they literally propped me up.". Best friends with Boy George, Kate, Naomi and Elton, Marnach, 54, has helmed the decks of the biggest clubs and best fashion shows during an illustrious 35-year career in dance music. "Drugs were my life," he admits. Well, you know where I am if you need a hand, Tony. Today he's the closest thing British club culture has to a national treasure. Meet Fat Tony, a pioneering house DJ when most of you were still a glint in your mum’s eye (if that), a key face on the London club scene for decades and now one of Britain’s greatest Stately Homos. I wanted a big screen in church so I could tell people what I really thought of them from the grave. I was having sex seven or eight times a day, even after I'd packed in the gear.
Marnach used to be booked to DJ for three main reasons: his impeccable taste in uplifting house bangers; his fairy dust connections that spanned multiple industries; and, last but not least, his ability to consume more drugs than could silence a lame horse at the Grand National. With studio time being booked we can expect a follow up to Tonys last hit Men Adore a Whore released on Big Life by Fierce Child Collective, plus future International bookings in Moscow, New York, Kuala Lumpa, China, Beijing and Melbourne maintains Tonys high international profile. I know I am. ” Meet Tony Marnach, aka DJ Fat Tony, aka fashion’s favourite DJ and owner of one of the most popular Instagram accounts in lockdown. Hard drugs or fags? The It-boy DJ, Fat Tony, switches gears at The Wolseley to spin tales of survival from the party of his life. 152.6k Followers, 7,491 Following, 15.9k Posts - See Instagram photos and videos from Fat tony (@dj_fattony_) The thing about drugs, however, is they're fun until, well, they're not. In addition to Tonys outstanding history of club gigs he has played at some of the biggest celebrity parties this decade including three of Madonnas parties, several for Prince, Pet Shop Boys, Boy George, George Michael, Luther Vandross, Sade, Michael Jackson etc. 894646. Thirteen years ago I was sleeping rough, now I’m DJing at Donatella Versace’s house and flying first class to Miami to play the opening of a stadium.’ ” Meet Tony Marnach, aka DJ Fat Tony, aka fashion’s favourite DJ and owner of one of the most popular Instagram accounts in lockdown. "I post stuff people wouldn't dare," he howls. Please, Listen to Times Radio for the latest well-informed debate, expert analysis and breaking news. If only other DJs would say anything as sharp, you'd see it emblazoned on T-shirts across Beefa this summer. I remember right before I decided to pack it all in it was meth that was killing me. im a DJ and probably the best person you will ever meet. Or whatever it is that happens to swanky West End restaurants when they fall out of favour with London's smartest and snarkiest. From that time to now the list of clubs Tony has played at, the residencies he has held and the countries he has toured in is just too endless to list. The It-boy DJ, Fat Tony, switches gears at The Wolseley to spin tales of survival from the party of his life I was 14 when I started drinking, and 18 when I … It's actually something of a relief going out to lunch with someone who doesn't drink - no expectations or palm-scratching anxiety that, due to one's own weaknesses, a pleasant midweek lunch with one glass of Whispering Angel will turn into aquavit shots and spontaneous sing-alongs in the Groucho at 2am. Please, The subscription details associated with this account need to be updated. The tales that span more than 40 years, taking place within London's seediest, edgiest and wildest scenes are nothing if not culturally enlightening, not to mention wickedly entertaining. I was going to be carried in to Womack & Womack's "Teardrops" and then I'd be cremated to the sound of Mary J Blige's "No More Drama". I'll be at the bar. His journey is one from radical hedonist to champion of recovery. One night Tony told the promoter how bad the music was so he was asked to bring his own records the following week, he did and became resident.
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This year he is celebrating ten-and-a-half years sober - not to mention seeing off lung cancer at the age of 28. There were times when he wouldn't put another record on unless someone provided the required chemicals. Registered office: 1 London Bridge Street, SE1 9GF. I was having sex seven or eight times a day, even after I'd packed in the gear. ", Drugs were my life, I was nothing without them. It was a time, as Marnach puts it, "before Grindr and chemsex ruined it for all of us". Now, was it fizzy or still? A couple of years ago Tony was diagnosed with cancer and fought hard to beat his illness, thankfully he was successful and his cancer has been in remission for over a year. It's true. And maybe one day he'll write that book. I lived on the edge of Hampstead Heath so it was too easy, "I used to think about my funeral every day. "Coke was always the main drug for me, but when that turned to crack, well, that was when it got bad," he explains.