Daniel Baker and Luke Botham contributed to this report.
After six years and five UK number ones, JLS star Marvin Humes is ready to take his career in a slightly different direction. Following the band’s split, he’s started his own radio show on Capital FM, debuted his presenting skills on ITV’s This Morning with wife Rochelle and was recently chosen to replace Reggie Yates on BBC’s The Voice. The Linc caught up with him ahead of his DJ set in Lincoln’s Engine Shed.
You’ve had your own radio show since March, but when did you get into DJing?
I started DJing when I was about twelve or thirteen. My dad used to be a DJ so I’ve always had a music room at my house. I’d go in there and there’d be hundreds, thousands of vinyls and CD’s everywhere. I would always play tunes and then I started DJing with my dad at different parties. I suppose it went quiet for a little while I was in JLS and then we started picking it up again. In the last couple of years it’s almost become a new career for me.
Have you been to Lincoln before tonight?
I’ve been here a few times; we did a gig last year at the Showground. I did a DJ gig in a club here before as well. It’s a great, beautiful city.
Have you ever performed to a freshers or student based crowd before tonight?
I’ve done a few. This year I’ve done about four in the last two weeks. I must admit I’m very impressed with the Engine Shed set-up.
How do you go about choosing the music for sets?
It’s just gauging your audience. The biggest mistake a DJ can make is playing for themselves. You need to recognise where you’re going and what arena you’re stepping into. You quickly know if a song is not being responded to well. A mixture of stuff I play on my radio show, stuff I listen to and stuff that’s obviously popular is how I get my playlist.
Are you planning on going worldwide with your DJing?
I’d love to. I want to emulate the likes of Calvin Harris, Avicii and David Guetta. I’m planning on producing an album; I’m working on it now. I’m also going to release a dance record with all featured artists on next year and that’s coming together nicely. In the summer I was DJing in Ibiza but of course I’d love to be in America, Asia, the Middle East and everywhere else. It’s a great lifestyle.
Do you think JLS’ last tour will be a good send off?
Of course! Our very first audition was at the O2 Arena and our very last performance together is going to be at the O2, so it’s quite poignant that we’ve kind of gone full circle and we’ve obviously had an incredible career. Ultimately we are still best friends so we’re going out at the right time, we believe, where we’re all still good friends and we’re still performing at the highest level. We’ll all support each other’s individual careers.
Do you think any of JLS will go properly solo following the tour?
Possibly, but it’d be tough to say. We’ll all stay in music one way or the other whether it be song writing, a proper solo career or just producing music.
JLS’ final tour begins in December, and you can catch Marvin’s radio show on Capital FM every Friday and Saturday at 7pm.