Welcome back to ‘Matchday DJ Of The Week’, where each week we interview a matchday DJ from the world of football, asking them 10 serious and not so serious questions.
In the spotlight this week we have Dagenham & Redbridge’s very own, Mike Jones!
- Name: Mike Jones
- Occupation: Stadium DJ @ Dagenham & Redbridge F.C.
- Club Website: Dagenham & Redbridge FC
- Division: National League
- Stadium: Victoria Road
- Capacity: 6,078
- Twitter(s): Dagenham & Redbridge FC & Mike Jones
Sport Playlists: When did you take over as Matchday DJ at Dagenham & Redbridge?
Mike Jones: I joined D&R at the start of the 2007/08 season.
SP: How did you initially get into the role?
MJ: I went to watch Grays Athletic in 2005 and thought the stadium announcer was
dreadful, so I boldly told the club owner I could do a better job. He gave me the job pretty soon after and that was that!
SP: Can you remember your first football match/stadium experience?
MJ: My father used to take me to watch Romford play in the Southern league around the 67/8 season, which they won but were never promoted. First big game was at White Hart
Lane in September 1967 to watch Spurs V Man Utd. I was lucky enough to see the greats play; Best, Charlton, Law and of course Jimmy Greaves.
SP: Would you say your first experience of live football and the memories of that day were motivation for taking on the role of stadium DJ?
MJ: I don’t think so. I was already planning at the age of 9 to be in the game somehow, likely as a player. Unfortunately, I possessed zero lack of talent and couldn’t get into the school team…
SP: In all your time at D&R, who’s the best player you’ve seen wear the famous red & blue shirt?
MJ: We had a kid called Jodi Jones who was fabulous and was bought by Coventry City. He’s still there but had a horrific injury run. In the last few seasons West Ham U23 have played at the Daggers, and watching Declan Rice bloom has been great. As for a Dagger, for me Paul Benson was an outstanding striker.
SP: Who is your favourite artist/band of all time?
MJ: I have no hesitation in naming Pink Floyd.
SP: Which piece of music do you think is the ultimate track for motivating a footballing side?
MJ: I don’t think there’s any particular piece I use, but generally anything current that
builds into a crescendo.
SP: Do you have an all-time favourite track that you play at Victoria Road?
MJ: No, but ‘Song 2’ by Blur is regularly requested!
SP: What are the main songs you use week in, week out at the ground?
MJ: I go to a lot of other grounds and monitor what others are doing, and I’m almost always disappointed. It’s usually repetitive and predictable, with no awareness of its audience. It’s easy just to play the current top 5 and stick in a couple of Queen songs for good measure. A high percentage of football fans are men aged 50 plus who don’t necessarily want to hear mainstream chart music.
I try to spread the choices across the whole spectrum. I’m delighted to say I get lots of comments on social media about the music and lots of questions, usually asking “What was that song you played?” People tend to follow my playlists too, my job is to entertain.
There are a few Daggers favourites that get regular plays, such as ‘Poppiholla’ by Chicane and ‘Samba de Janeiro’ by Bellini.
SP: On a final note, are there any funny mishaps/cock-ups that have taken place that come to mind when you think about your career so far?
MJ: I’m not sure about cock-ups, but The Daggers were playing Bradford in League One a few years ago, and 800 away fans were singing “Dagenham’s a sh**hole, I wanna go home”. At a suitable moment I announced to the away fans in The West Stand, “When you do decide to go home, please use exits B and C.” Daggers fans spat their tea out.
At a Grays match many years earlier, I announced, “You are reminded that the Player of the Year awards will take place in the main bar immediately after the WAR!!”
We’d like to say a huge thank you to Mike for taking the time to talk to us. We wish him and all of the Daggers’ players, staff and supporters the very best for the 2021/22 season!
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