Page 57 - Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Coverage Book 2023-24

Best DJing moment?

I played I Like It Like That on the main stage at Wilderness Festival and had 15,000 people
jumping along in sync. That was special. And every Glastonbury, I do an epic set at Shangri La. It’s
been said you can’t get within half a mile of the stage while we’re playing, a lot of people see it as
the official opening of the festival.

Best advice you’ve ever been given?
My dad used to say “You can live on potential until you’re 26 and then you have to live on
achievement”. I didn’t know what he meant by it, I’m still not sure I do, but it’s always stuck with
me and I think it’s why I came out of the blocks quite fast.

Best album you own?

Let It Be on original white vinyl. I watched the documentary, which is about nine hours long but
brilliant to see the whole thing created from start to finish. It made me fall in love with those songs
again. I’ve got a library full of vinyl, I wouldn’t be able to count how many, and tens of thousands
of CDs waiting for them to make a comeback.

Worst career moment?

I’ve had some bad reviews, one of the nastiest was in a long defunct magazine called City Limits. It
said “Red Dwarf’s mission is to boldly go where many sitcoms have gone before – up its own
backside. Is Craig Charles from a distant planet called Rent-a-Liverpudlian? Or was he
spontaneously generated by a TV screen? No matter, Charles and this series are heading for a
sticky end.” It was so hurtful, every word was burned into my psyche. I had another that said “Mr
Charles’s performance reminded me of a cheese and ham sandwich, without the cheese and the
bread.”

Worst thing about fame?

The lack of privacy and not being able to have an off day. I could have had a major argument with
Jackie or a heavy night and I’ve got to put that aside because someone wants a selfie. Sometimes
people think they own you. But you don’t want them to think “he was a d---head”.