Pete Tong

Joe writes: I remember an Essential Selection show in 1999, and the first hour was just the most wonderful, eclectic mix of sounds. I even remember where I was at the time - walking along Kingsway in London. I didn't know many of the tracks but they sounded like the future and it turned out they were.

One of them was Artful Dodger/Craig David - Rewind:

And another was Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad? by Moby. If I remember correctly, the Play album was really a stiff until Pete started championing it:

I also remember the joy and excitement of hearing Dario G's Sunchyme for the first time on Pete's show:

And a big moment for me personally, because I'd campaigned for it to be re-released, was Pete making Born Slippy by Underworld his Essential New Tune even though it wasn't a new tune:

Everyone else soon followed.