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‘I’m getting 500 DMs a day’: Fish56Octagon, the dressing gown-wearing viral DJ sensation

He’s a 44-year-old marketing professional – and the toast of clubland thanks to his passionate TikToks. Ahead of three Glastonbury sets, ‘Fish’ explains how he’s defying the snobs

Six months ago he pivoted his social media account, Fish56Octagon, away from automotive advice to playing his decades-old rave vinyl in jarringly domesticated scenarios: listening to happy hardcore in the family estate car, chivvying the kids along in the morning with underground speed garage, or eating breakfast to hallucinogenic psytrance. He is loved by legions of fans in their 20s, with one telling me: “His enthusiasm always cheers me up and gets me through the day.” His age isn’t a barrier, it’s a virtue; young audiences today like it when their DJs have accumulated rave wisdom and a huge vinyl collection to draw from. His contemporaries may have the same tunes, the same rave experiences, the same Hospital Records T-shirt – but Fish’s ability to be so open and unvarnished, on a platform that demands full immersion from its content creators, is a genuine skill that many of his generation don’t have.

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