Mike Pickering Spills Calvin Harris' Rise to Fame

0:00On May 1st, Mike Pickering, the guy behind M People and a big time DJ, just dropped a wild story from the mid-2000s. Back then, he was an A&R scout for Sony's Columbia label, hunting talent amid a sea of boring Indiex. He heard a fresh track called The Girls by Calvin Harris, real name Adam Wiles, playing in the background during a phone call to a publisher. He zoned right in, got Harris' number, and they linked up at a coast of coffee in King's Cross Station. Harris, this gangly, geeky Scottish kid stacking shells at Marks & Spencer in Dumfries, hit him with it, sign me now, or I'm out. Pickering saw the fire in him, that raw belief in his music, and locked in the deal on the spot. They clicked instantly, building a tight working and personal bond that last to this day. Harris started with a five-piece band of funny dudes from Dumfries Roadtrips were chaos, before going solo and blowing up as a top DJ and songwriter. Pickering calls him a rare breed, producing all his own global smashes, even breaking

1:02Michael Jackson's record for hits off one album with 18 months. Harris still bounces new tracks off him for feedback, and he's got fresh music ready to drop. Now Pickering's spilling it all in his new book, Manchester Must Dance, with Harris pending a forward and a chapter. He's putting Dumfries on the map, no statue yet, but Scottish fans get homecoming shows at Hampton Park next summer, keeping that legacy spinning.