The Journey of a Track: How ‘The Iron Hamma’ Found Its Way to the Hacienda and Beyond

Back in 1993, I was just 21, living with my parents in Rotherham, and completely immersed in making music. My setup was simple: a Roland W-30, a DR-550 drum machine, and a borrowed Juno 106. That was all I needed to create a track that would unexpectedly find its way onto the dance floors of one of the most legendary clubs in the world.

I started by sampling some drums, programming a bassline, and laying down a basic structure. At the time, I had no formal production training—just years of DJing and an instinct for what worked on the dancefloor. The next day, I played the rough idea at a local studio I used to frequent, and fate stepped in. Pianist Pete LeVine from LA and a local guitarist (whose name I never even caught) heard it and immediately wanted to contribute. Pete laid down some keys, and the guitarist came up with a hook line that became one of the defining features of the track.

Armed with those new elements, I borrowed a Korg M1, went home, and got to work. That same night, I watched Top of the Pops and caught a Brothers In Rhythm remix, which inspired the arrangement and feel of the track. By morning, The Iron Hamma was finished.

From Bedroom to Pressing Plant

At the time, I didn’t know much about mixing or mastering—I just knew that the track needed to go through the process. We booked Rob Gordon (one of the key figures behind Warp Records) at Fon Studios in Sheffield to mix it. After an 18-hour session that ended at 5 AM, the track was done. Later that week, I drove straight to Nick Webb at EMI in London to get it mastered.

With the final master in hand, the next step was getting it pressed. Without any knowledge of how distribution worked, we sent the master to PR Records and pressed 500 copies under our newly founded label, Beeswax Records. Then, we did it the old-school way—jumped in the car and traveled across the North of England, dropping records off at shops, some buying them outright, others taking them on sale-or-return.

That, I thought, was that.

The Hacienda Calls

At the time, I was DJing every Friday night as a resident at Rise in Sheffield—a 1,500-capacity venue (The Leadmill) that was packed every week and voted #1 Club in the UK by DJ Mag. My set ran from 9:30 - 11 PM, warming up for a guest DJ before closing the night from 1 - 3 AM. Saturdays were all about clubbing, and our go-to spot at the time was The Jam Factory in Sheffield—another iconic venue.

Then, completely out of the blue, Virgin Records called me.

“You need to get to the Hacienda this Saturday night. Graeme Park has been playing your track for seven weeks straight, and it’s absolutely blowing the roof off.”

I could hardly believe what I was hearing. Graeme Park? The Hacienda? My bedroom-made track? It didn’t seem real.

That weekend, our crew headed to Manchester. We’d been to The Hacienda plenty of times before, and our spot was always to the left of the stage—a prime place to absorb the energy of the club. That night, Tom Wainwright warmed up, and then Graeme Park took over. The place was electric, pure Hacienda prime.

And then… I heard it.

The bassline of The Iron Hamma started rolling in, and the club erupted.

It was surreal. A packed Hacienda, one of the world’s biggest DJs, and my track absolutely shaking the foundations. I stood there in disbelief, overwhelmed with a mix of numbness and joy. That moment will stay with me forever.

A Chicago Label Comes Knocking

A couple of months later, I got another unexpected call—this time from Cheese, a Chicago house legend and one of the Hot Mix 5 engineers. He was launching his new label, Mindfood Records, and had heard The Iron Hamma at The Hacienda. He told me he had been advised to go to Manchester to hear it in the club, and after seeing the crowd’s reaction, he wanted to sign it.

For someone like me—living in Rotherham, making music in a tiny bedroom—having a label in Chicago (the birthplace of house music) want to sign my track was next level.

We hit it off straight away, chatting for days and building a solid connection. Then came my first record contract.

It was also my first time dealing with music lawyers. I reached out to a lawyer in my hometown, who immediately told me I needed a music industry specialist. So, I found one in London, and after weeks of back and forth, they advised me not to sign the deal.

That was a gut punch.

I had already built up £1,000 in legal fees, and now my lawyer was telling me to walk away. But Cheese? He was genuine, and I trusted him. He reassured me that he was offering a fair deal, and despite my lawyer’s warnings, I went with my gut and signed the contract.

I’ve never regretted it.

Cheese looked after me, and our partnership led to many more releases. To this day, he remains one of my closest friends—he was even my best man at my wedding.

Lessons Learned

What started as a simple idea in a spare bedroom turned into something far bigger than I could have imagined. The Iron Hamma led me to The Hacienda, to Graeme Park’s setlist, to a Chicago record deal, and ultimately played a pivotal role in shaping my career.

I share this story to say: you just never know where your music will take you.

It’s easy to overthink, second-guess, and wait for the “perfect” moment—but sometimes, you just need to trust the process. Keep creating, keep putting your work out there, and stay open to opportunities.

Because the track you make today might just end up shaking the foundations of a legendary club tomorrow.