Howard Donald

About Howard Donald

Mixing with CDJs, he relies on his acute ear for a tune to build tension and engage the crowd, letting each track do the talking rather than distorting it out of proportion. And it works—the rapidly expanding beast that is Eastern European dance culture has quickly embraced Howard, seeing him perform in all the sharpest venues on a regular basis. As a result, he is an established star in those clued-up territories, and it’s no wonder.

Howard is also known worldwide for being part of one of the biggest bands in history, Take That. But what you may not know is that his immersion in the music world began somewhere quite different, long before that. Even then, he was known to jump at any party just to get behind the decks and make people dance—someone truly passionate about music. Even while touring the globe throughout the nineties, he was never far from a set of decks, always eager to do what he loved: mixing.

One thing is certain: it has been harder for Howard to earn his stripes as a DJ than for an unknown artist. The understandable preconceptions that surround a perennial chart-topper-turned-DJ mean Howard has had to stand head and shoulders above the rest—and he has. There’s no other way to explain how he’s secured sets at no-nonsense clubs like Judge Jules’ Judgement Sundays in Ibiza or underground venues like Newcastle’s Digital and Sheffield’s The Plug. Further afield, he has led parties from the booths of renowned venues like Pacha in Munich, Beluga in Austria, and Liquid in Switzerland, to name a few. These venues regularly host superstars like Sasha, Sander van Doorn, Utah Saints, and Marco V—so the crowds expect nothing less than excellence.

It’s safe to say, then, that Howard is taken seriously—and rightly so.

Like all true modern DJs, Howard is also passionate about studio work. In 2008, he released Going Home and continues to develop other production projects, all shaped by his experience playing to discerning dance floors across the clubbing sphere. His sets sweep dance floors away with underground electro waves and slices of tech house, expertly woven together. He keeps the energy high, building up and dropping the right sounds at the right times. His keen ear allows him to pick out the hottest releases from the cutting edge of the dance scene—embracing twisted electro and pulsing 4/4 beats—while steering clear of commercial predictability.

Howard Donald is back to doing what he loves best—something he’s always wanted to do—and it shows. He deserves his place in dance music hotspots like London’s Ministry of Sound and Pacha, Birmingham’s Gatecrasher, and Ireland’s Lush. He’s a DJ with proven credentials and limitless energy—one you’d be wise to check out.