Personal Profile

Aidan Kavanagh, aka The Lounge Lizard: a club DJ who also offers customised packages for weddings and corporate events. Since the Sugar Club opened in 1999, I have had a Saturday night residency there. I have played in London, Barcelona, Edinburgh, Vienna and Budapest as well as all over Ireland.

list of clubs/bars/venues played

Sugar Club
Morrison Hotel
Vicar Street
Mono Bar [now The Village]
HQ, Middle Abbey Street [now Spirit]
Odeon Bar
Gaiety theatre
Ocean Bar
Dublin Castle (Beckett Film Festival Launch)
Toner’s pub
Tonic bar, Blackrock
Church Lane, Galway
Powerscourt Gardens, Co. Wicklow

And various spots in London, Edinburgh, Vienna, Barcelona and Budapest

The Sugar Club CD has become a cult object; ‘limited edition to the chosen few, and burnt by countless others. Chilled but uplifting, it’s perfect for the month that’s in it.’ (Irish Times, ‘What’s Hot’, 24th January 2004)

Not just a club DJ, I have branched out into corporate events and weddings as well as one-off events such as charity fundraisers. How did all this come about?

Way back in the 80s, in a tiny sweaty Dublin club called Sides, I had my first experience of DJ’ing. A few of us set up Club Egg – I played soundtracks, go-go music, soul and latin beats, often accompanied on bongoes by Ronan O’Snodaigh, now of Kila fame. Unpredictable, packed, and with bizarre attractions such as ‘Cook With Wendy’, Club Egg was a cult success in the Dublin club scene.

Music has always been in my life– sometimes, from the varied vinyl collections of my four elder brothers, which meant that the Stones, Kraftwerk, and Jethro Tull soundtracked my childhood – or when the Chieftains would drop in for a cup of tea and a session with my da, a great lover of traditional music.

A brief interlude as a ridiculously unsuccessful wannabe rock star (with Seamus Sheridan, now a well known cheesemonger on vocals) seems like an obligatory rite of passage for many Djs. This was followed by a few years in Spain and then Scotland, where I organised party nights and Dj’d in clubs as well as on radio programmes.

Back in Dublin, I built up a portfolio of radioand live DJ work. One off gigs and special events have seen me share a bill with many of the great and the good, from Ireland and abroad.

Neil Diamond
Bono
Mundy
David Kitt
Jack L
Brian Kennedy
The Cranberries
Cathy Davies
Rodrigo y Gabriela
Sack
Nina Hynes
Turn
Nick Kelly
Luka Bloom
Kíla