Born Tony Marnoch in Battersea in 1964, Tony started his first London DJ residency aged just 18, leading to gigs in New York and Ibiza, and close friendships with Boy George and Kate Moss. After a 30-year alcohol and drug addiction almost cost him his life, he found sobriety in 2006, sparking a resurgence in his career, including sets at parties hosted by Madonna, Prince, and Michael Jackson. He was also behind the decks at Brooklyn Beckham’s wedding to Nicola Peltz in 2022. He lives in south London with his 32-year-old creative director husband Stavros Agapiou.
Here he looks back on the moments that changed his perspective on work, love, family, money and health..
I used to set fire to things. As a child, I would play with matches, and I was obsessed with candles. One day, I was walking up the stairs with a candle and set fire to the nylon carpet. All these things felt like accidents to me at the time, but maybe I was subconsciously seeking attention. I was the difficult middle child, the forgotten son, so in order to get any sort of attention, I had to do things differently.
Me being gay wasn’t a big shock to my parents. Mum was quite Bohemian, so I don’t think it was frowned upon. I was never told: “I can’t do this, I can’t do that,” in terms of being who I am. If I wanted a perm down to my waist at 12, I had a perm, and I just had to deal with the stick. Yes, this happened.
