HE got the party started for Annie Mac at V Festival and now James Glover is preparing for his eighth year at Creamfields.

The Great Sankey DJ has been making a name for himself in the dance and club scene.

And he told Weekend there is still nothing like taking to the stage before seeing thousands of revellers moving to his beat.

After building a reputation at V Festival over four years, James was invited to open the dance tent and warm up the crowd for Radio 1’s Annie Mac.

The former St Gregory’s RC High School student said: “It’s a great honour to be asked to open up the dance tent, but when it’s your job to get the crowd ready for someone like Annie Mac there’s no better feeling.

“You get to see the stage go from just you and a few stewards when it opens, to thousands of people dancing and chanting and when that happens, you know you’ve done what you needed to do. Annie Mac is such a household name in the dance scene which makes me want to put on the best show I can and prepare the stage for her to takeover to continue that party.

“With opening the stage you really get to see the party take shape. It starts off with a few people passing by and before long you’ve got 5,000 to 10,000 people jumping up and down.”

James will be returning to Creamfields this weekend with Runcorn DJ Paul Nunn.

He added: “I’ve been good friends with Paul for more years than I care to remember and we always have a good laugh playing at Creamfields.

“With it being on our doorstep we always get friends coming to see us DJ which is always a good feeling. There are so many great DJs on, the lineup is huge every year. I’m really looking forward to catching Eric Prydz at the festival’s new Steel Yard arena.

“I think Creamfields is great for the town, it’s a weekend where people from all over the world come to Daresbury to see some of the biggest acts, there’s a buzz about Warrington for it.

“And it’s great for me and Paul as it allows us to play for one of the biggest brands in dance music and with so many people we know attending, it’s a great feeling.”

James, who works with Wilderspool Park record label Playing With Sound to release music, will be performing numerous sets between Thursday and Sunday.

Some of his sets will be in the afternoon or early evening while on Saturday will see him DJ from 2am to 4am.

So does James’s job play merry hell with his body clock?

James said: “I don’t think there are many DJs that will tell you they have the best sleeping pattern in the world.

“After a hectic weekend you can find yourself struggling to sleep some nights because your body clock doesn’t know what day it is but I find it’s at these times that I’m at my most creative. I can look at making a record or planning an event I’ve been thinking of.

“I find myself staying up late even when I’m not working just trying to focus on any gigs or events I’ve got coming up in the future.”

One of those events that ended up preoccupying James’s mind whenever he could not sleep was the recent – and first – house music night at the historic Parr Hall. Working with fellow Warrington DJ Josh Butler, James helped bring Brooklyn icon Todd Terry to the venue in April.

He added: “Simply having Todd Terry play for us was a highlight for me. Todd’s music is timeless so there were people aged around 20 dancing in the crowd while my dad was dancing next to me on stage.

“To have an event where you appeal to such a wide demographic is rare so it was certainly a special night for me.”

The pair hope to run another house music night at Parr Hall at some point but James is currently concentrating on his DJ work and cocktail bar, Block One, that he opened in Bold Street earlier this year.

James fell in love with music through his mum and dad, Bernie and Graham.

He said: “My parents have always been into music, from my dad collecting Northern Soul records to hearing stories of Wigan Casino from my mum.

“From the age of 16 I started to develop my own taste in music and from there I looked into DJing.”

  • Limited day tickets and non-camping two-day tickets are still available for Creamfields which runs from August 24 to 27. Visit creamfields.com/tickets