MARTEL MAXWELL: My message to brilliant Dundee DJ Hannah Laing

The Courier

08-05-2025

There are two types of people in this word: radiators and drains.
The radiators give: positivity, laughs, support.
The drains take: sucking the joy out of life.
I thought of this as I read about Dundee DJ Hannah Laing whose homecoming dance event was by all accounts (of anyone who was actually there) brilliant.
Yet while she should have been riding high on the success of her inaugural event, she found herself hitting back at criticism by keyboard warriors online.
This Harris Academy former pupil has beaten the odds, becoming a name recognised in her field of DJing, around the world.
From Ibiza to the States, she's in demand and has experienced an outpouring of positivity for her sets in a growing list of countries.
So, you'd think playing a surprise set at the weekend at Dundee Dance Event – remembering her roots and wanting to start something special – would be applauded.
But a vocal and often anonymous minority found what they could to complain about: the crowd spoiled things videoing on their phones; the nineties were so much better – came the moans from Dundee Drains.
Hannah replied, saying: 'The Dundee Dance Event was honestly amazing.
'However, Dundee can be a really negative city and the more I explore the world, the more I realise it.
'People in other places I go are kind, welcoming, open-minded.
'If you weren't there, stop judging it. The energy was electric but loads of comments on this post are insane.'
A measured, honest response – but why should she have to defend herself? Is it not embarrassing that the most negative place she's ever encountered is her home?
She also pointed out that it's 2025, things move on and that while 'phones are not ideal for the dancefloor, which I've expressed many times, people were singing, dancing, loving life with friends/family and that's what it's about.'
I wrote just a few weeks ago about the brilliance of Dundee and Dundonians – but the underlying negativity of some that lets us down.
It's the minority who do people and our city down – for so many are proud of Dundee – but the bitterness can negate the positivity.
Why, when we could all be cheerleading and making people see how great this place we are lucky enough to call home is? That's not to say people shouldn't be honest or critical – but just saying people, events or our city is rubbish – is personal and depressive.
Not wanting people to get ideas above their station and remember where they come from is toxic. Look at Hannah – all she was doing was remembering where she came from.
She has 'made it' and this is cause for celebration. For all the kids facing the anxiety of exams with a fear they don't fit the mould of going to university or getting an office job – look at what you can do.
Be bold, be different.
Hannah's journey has taken her from being a dental nurse to selling out gigs around the world.
She will have faced gigs to a man and his dog; of not knowing when her next pay day was coming. It's not an accident she's successful – she worked hard and deserves our positivity.
Back to the radiators and drains. They exist in every town and city around the world. And I suppose one person's drain might be another's radiator.
You know when you've lost a bit of weight or have had your hair done – a radiator would tell you you look fabulous. A drain would clock the change but rather not give you the compliment. They might also frown and say 'my, you were drunk last night' while the radiator tells you not to be daft, everyone was dancing on tables.
That's not to say a radiator can't moan or complain – and sometimes they'll need you to be their radiator and buck them up.
I have one radiator friend and I take great pride in being her go-to phone call when she needs to feel better. The call for help might only come once a year but she'll say 'Can you please say something to make me feel better?'
It might be a sticky situation at work or personal dilemma. I want to be that person – it makes me feel great I can help.
The point is that radiators can moan – it doesn't make them a drain.
But that vibe when someone just isn't really on your side? That's a drain and the more I live, the more I learn – there's no point trying to please them. If they don't like you, don't try to change their mind.
Let the ranting few shout into the echo chamber of social media like the ranting drains they are.
To Hannah, and indeed all the radiators out there, just you continue to do you.