Matt Ryder

Age: 33

Relationship status: Live in Oxfordshire with partner Rebecca & two sons, Joe & Alfie.

Likes: Movies, Sports & spending time with the family.

Dislikes: Ikea

Favourite food: Tom Thompson’s Veggie Burgers (you know who you are!)

Favourite drink: Guinness

Favourite restaurant in MK: Loch Fyne, fantastic oysters & seafood!

After Vegas: I played a few more gigs for Progress then hung up the headphones! The decks & the downloads now get used for mix-tapes for when I’m out training.

Thoughts of Vegas back in MK: That’s got me thinking and getting all nostalgic about hedonistic days gone by. ’91 was my first Rave, it was an empty warehouse in Mk and the night was called Dreamscape. The DJ’s were awesome & the sound system mind blowing. From that warehouse with the smoke & the lasers & the truck in the corner selling the bottles of water, things moved on in Mk, that venue became the Sanctuary, a huge club where Marc (Vegas) put on some unforgettable nights such as IQ etc... My mates and I had many fantastic nights there as well as travelling up and down the M6 every weekend to Moneypennys and Progress (which I was lucky enough to DJ at several times). Being asked to DJ at Vegas from the local pub “House and Techno night” was an unforgettable experience. Vegas was where it was at from ’96 onwards though and as the clubbers used to say “It’s the right side of Birmingham and it’s the right side of London, smack bang in the middle of the M1, that’s Ultra Vegas!”

Thoughts of Vegas in the future: Ultra Vegas is back and for me as a DJ it’s all about the music. If you’re a DJ, a House veteran or a new face, when you hear the music and you get those heart-warming hairs on your arms standing up sensation... You know you’re in the right place!!!

Oh, and that old warehouse in MK... It got flattened... It’s now an Ikea!!!