Second Planet Love appearance beckons for Newtownabbey DJs

Andy and Barbara Irvine - better known to clubbers as Mr and Mrs DJ - will play in the Q-Dance arena on day one of Planet Love’s first outing at its new Belfast venue.

Having been a regular attendee at the festival and after curating the Home arena in 2009, Andy told the Times he is counting down the days to September 10 at the King’s Hall.

“Myself and Barbara have been attending the festival for the past five years. We have always come away from the event after having an amazing day out and eager to get to the next one which always seems to be that bit more special.

“Hosting and playing in the Home arena last year was an amazing experience but a lot of hard work, so I dread to think of the work involved at the promoters’ level.

“We both consider ourselves privileged to be on the Planet Love line-up; some people might wait all their lives for a chance like this and never get it, so it is an honour.”

Reflecting on the festival’s new location, he added: “It will certainly be a lot more central for people and this will attract more punters as the travel cost will be considerably less and people won’t be leaving in the usual ‘mucked to the eyeballs’ state.”

The couple have been married for close on nine years and initially pursued solo DJ careers before starting back-to-back hardstyle and trance sets last year.

Immediately dubbed ‘Mr and Mrs DJ’ by friends and fans, the nickname stuck and despite occasional disagreements over whether it is necessary to turn every setting on the mixer up to 11, the partnership looks set to continue for the foreseeable future.

In addition to their DJ appearances, they run TFI Promotions, which hosts hard dance and hardstyle events at various local venues. The line-up for the Q-Dance arena includes a number of familiar faces from TFI events.

This summer, DJs from the stable appeared alongside Judge Jules and Cosmic Gate at the Radio 1 DJs Judgement Sundays party in San Antonio, Ibiza.

While looking forward to the other sets in the same arena, Mr and Mrs DJ, who have vowed to “be there from start to finsh on both days”, are eager to catch a few performers who set a less blistering pace, including Calvin Haris and former Run-DMC rapper Rev Run.