Andy Burnham: ‘Here I am in Poynton – the pinnacle of my DJ career’

A ‘Dance for Change’ event took place on the 13th of April in Poynton, with Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham playing a DJ set for charity.

The ‘Dance for Chance’ event, which is organised by Poynton and Disley Labour Party, was a fundraiser for the CLPelection campaign funds, in preparation for the local council elections on the 4th of May. A portion of the profits also went to local food bank Silklife in Macclesfield, who are supporting those in need through the current cost of living crisis.

On the night, the Manchester Mayor stayed local in his choice of music, playing bands such as New Order, Blossoms and the Doves. 

It’s not the first time Burnham has danced for change either: he’s done a string of events, including a DJ battle between Manchester and Liverpool, going up against Liverpool Mayor Steve Rotheram. They raised £20,000 for the charity, A Bed Every Night, which supports rough sleepers in the area.

On the day of the event, Burnham reflected on his DJ career.

Commenting on the charity battle of the Mayors, Burnham said that “It was incredible, and there is a return leg, maybe to coincide with Eurovision so Liverpool are going to sort of host an away team from Manchester, we’ll have to get the coaches on the M62.”

Throwing light on how it all began, Burnham said that his first gig was “Jimmy’s bar in the Northern Quarter…with Clint Boon [DJ and former member of The Farm] which is a bit of a name drop, but I did and it was really good.”

“It was incredible…”

Andy Burnham, 2023

Explaining that he tends to go for “New Order really for anything that’s more dance oriented, so there is one New Order song in there tonight.”

“Then I started getting asked, so it can’t have gone that badly,” he added. 

“I learnt from electric in Chorlton, erm I did Ramona, and then the Warehouse project and here I am in Poynton the pinnacle of my DJ career.”

Poynton Labour party member and local election candidate, Amy House, organised the event alongside branch secretary Dave Griffiths. They raised £2300 for party funds and a further £226 for a local food bank Silklife in Macclesfield. 

House explained the idea came about through a desire to do a fundraising event for the CLP. She initially asked Burnham for ideas.

“I asked If he’d be happy to come to Poynton to do a fundraising dinner and he said I would much rather do a DJ set.

“When I asked him he said I’m happy to do whatever you need that will raise the most funds for the party,” she explained. 

“There’s lots of different things that we want to get out of this event, largely raising money for the party, but I went to uni in Manchester, moved here from left wing Disbury and it was quite nice to realise that there was quite a active Labour party in Poynton.”

“I think there’s more people in Poynton that would benefit from knowing that there is an active group of people in Poynton erm lobbying for change and wanting to do more,” she added.

The night was rounded off with music from local band North Room, who regularly play events in Poynton such as Acoustic lounge, Poynton beer fest and Party in the park.

It also featured a BBQ from local business Butchers Block alongside a raffle, with the top prize being a pair of goalie gloves from Neville Southall.