From the Balearics to the Boro - the DJs nurturing a new generation
Judy HumeFatboy Slim, Daft Punk, Happy Mondays and Grace Jones. Just some of the big names Sally Rodgers has rubbed shoulders with while performing on the dancefloors of Ibiza in the 80s and 90s.
But Rodgers, from Middlesbrough, has returned to her roots. She is now working with organisations such as the Middlesbrough Institute of Modern Art (MIMA) and Teesside University to put the area on the creative and cultural map.
"We've built up relationships with a host of arts organisations," she says. "There's so much going on here. It's an exciting time."
Rodgers admits it is a world away from the clubs of Ibiza, but Teesside is where her story began. The area, she says, that gave her "Northern blonde ambition".
The DJ and producer - one half of pioneering electronic music duo A Man Called Adam - now lives with her dog Monty by the sea in Saltburn.
She grew up in working men's clubs on Teesside in the 60s and 70s and had one ambition - to be in a band.
"We had one in Middlesbrough, one in Grangetown and one in Redcar," she says.
"My father's family was third generation Irish Catholic. It was a cross between Derry Girls and Phoenix Nights! A lively childhood!"
She attributes her resilience in a tough industry to the characters she met in those working men's clubs, recalling the humour of the fishermen and steelworkers.
Aged 17, Rodgers left Redcar to work in fashion in London, where she started performing at clubs like Ronnie Scott's in Soho.
She then met her music partner Steve Jones and A Man Called Adam clinched big record deals throughout the 80s and 90s, thanks to hits such as Barefoot in the Head, Easter Song and Estelle.
"It was a real boomtime in the music industry, strangely it was easy to get a record deal," she recalls.
"We played all the big clubs in Ibiza - Amnesia, Ku, Pacha. The 90s were really fun."
Sally RodgersThe Balearic sunshine was quite different from industrial Teesside which Rodgers left behind - and her work has spanned decades, crossed generations, and is still as relevant today.
Fast forward to the 2000s, and A Man Called Adam packed up their DJ boxes, deciding the time was right to do something different.
Rodgers went off to the University of St Andrews, gaining a Masters and a PhD - making her Dr Sally Rodgers.
It was then she decided to use her skills to boost creativity across communities on Teesside, working with young people and a range of local organisations.
Rodgers still writes and produces with Jones. Their music is now deep-rooted in the heart of Teesside, inspired by the area's industrial heritage.
Their most recent album in 2023, The Girl with a Hole in her Heart, features original sounds from the former Redcar steelworks.
It might be a long way from those hedonistic Ibiza days, but Jones himself took a shine to Rodgers' hometown and re-located from Paris - where he had been living.
"There are new generations here with excitement, looking and thinking differently," he says. "You just try to share your passion."
Judy HumeThe role the pair play in the future of the arts in the region is vital for people like Helen Welford, head of programmes at MIMA.
"Sally and Steve are international artists making music here on Teesside. It sends such a positive message that this great work is happening on our doorstep," she says.
It is a quieter hum on the streets of Teesside, compared to the throb of the Balearic dancefloors, but Rodgers is using her passion to empower others, as well as DJing around the country and at the eponymous Café del Mar in Ibiza.
However, her focus has been on events such as Wintertide in Hartlepool and Middlesbrough Arts Week.
"A real highlight of the last few months has been the People Powered exhibition, all about the River Tees," she says.
"Our Sunday vinyl sessions put a big focus on Teesside's music scene from the Rock Garden to the Bongo Club. We hope to do these again."
But from the Balearics back to the Boro, the next 12 months promise to be big, not least as the prestigious Turner Prize heads to Middlesbrough.
"It's going to be a momentous year for Teesside," Rodgers beams.
"We're creating some events to support the Turner Prize which is just so exciting and a real coup for Middlesbrough. We just have so much here - more, more and more momentum."
