Well...I now have a new top Defected moment to shout about. It would have been easy to simply put a DJ line up together so we had to try something a little more ambitious. I was really nervous about a band playing live at the Ministry but I guess that was what made it even better when they delivered. This tops our Miami party at the National as the defining event in Defected's history. Even with the stress of the band going on late and running into overtime I thought it was an spectactular moment and something that I am proud to be associated with.

Shovell made a big entrance (as he usually does) with a high octane rendition of Chocolate Puma's 'Whohaddrums', then Yasmeen making her London debut kicked it all off with 'Glad I Found You'. During rehearsals Marc Evans and Bryan Chambers said to her in unison ''Wow! You sing this? We love this song!!'' A very pregnant Imaani then took centre stage with the Copyright classic 'Wiseman' with the crowd chanting 'Eeayo' before the third bar had started! Marc Evans then delivered my favourite song from his album 'The Promise'. It was a live show and we had to give the audience some soul! Next up was Bryan Chambers which is when the party really started. He totally delivered 'All I Do'; this is a tough song to pull off and he did himself proud and the crowd really responded to his performance. Enter Julie McKnight. 'Diamond Life' was never actually a Defected release but she was our special guest and we all wanted to hear it...classic!!!

We were now if full swing. with Bob Sinclar and Steve Edwards in the house. In terms of sales 'World, Hold On' was the biggest tune of the band's set and the song took the vibe up several notches. Marc Evans returned, and I was actually standing next to DJ Spen when as he begun 'The Way You Love Me' This is a House anthem and Soul classic all in one bundle and we gave each other a knowing nod, stpooing just short of giving each other a girly 'man hug'. I have to give the last song a mention all on its own. I do not know if I would have been any prouder if it was Aretha Franklin or Chaka Khan up there, as Julie McKnight's 'Finally' has given me so much over the years. 'Finally' is arguably the greatest House vocal of all time. I know of no other record that is still played with such regularity 9 years after its release. Julie has a laid back but supremely soulful vibe about her but that just highlights that she is the real deal, she took command of the stage for a vamp intro for 'Finally', it was a great set up and the expectation was exhilarating as the music broke down so that that classic bass line could slice its way through the club and send the crowd into a frenzy. A fitting way to celebrate our birthday but that was only the beginning...

We then opened up the rest of the club. It was jam packed by 12.30 and outside the queues went both ways and right round the block......we could have filled a club twice the size. I am not going to go into that as the Clubland Adventures footage will tell a far better story than I. Special praise goes to Georgia Wright and Robin Lee for pulling this off.

I would also like to thank the band and singers who were all sensational: Jonas Jalhay - Guitar Nathan Curran - Drums Scotty Bayliss – Keys Robin Lee – Bass Shovell – Percussion Marc Evans Yasmeen Bryan Chambers Imaani Steve Edwards Julie McKnight

Also a big shout out to Bob Sinclar, the Shapeshifters, Junior Jack and Kid Creme, ATFC, DJ Spen, Copyright, David Penn, Aaron Ross, Andy Daniell and Sam Divine for making sure the music was of the very highest quality all night long. Finally, thank all of you that made it for making this a truly special night and a landmark event in the label's history Much love, Simon