24-05-2025
Star's touching tribute to city on at Radio 1's Big Weekend
DJ James Hype told the crowd at Radio 1's Big Weekend that he would "skip school" to come and visit Liverpool when he was younger. The DJ took to the Radio 1 Main Stage just after 6pm on day one of the much anticipated event.
The 35-year-old played many of his smash hit songs including fan favourite 'Ferrari' and a few "old school trance classics" including Lethal Industry by Tiesto.
An estimated 100,000 fans are expected to attend the festival over the weekend. Today, festivalgoers attending Radio 1's Big Weekend will be able to enjoy performances from Tom Grennan, Biffy Clyro, James Hype, Natasha Bedingfield, and The Wombats.
If you can't make it to the event, the BBC is offering "non-stop" coverage across the weekend. Live coverage of the event will be available on BBC Radio 1, BBC Sounds, and BBC iPlayer. You can also find highlights on the BBC Radio 1 YouTube channel.
READ MORE: Radio 1 Big Weekend Friday updates as Tom Grennan and Biffy Clyro to headline
READ MORE: 22 photos of stylish first arrivals at BBC Radio 1's Big Weekend in Liverpool
The 35-year-old DJ was honest with the crowd at Big Weekend and spoke of his humble beginnings growing up in Greasby.
He told the cheering crowd: "I used to skip school and get the bus over to Liverpool because the city was so influential to me. The people, the energy - this place is magic."
He continued: "So thank you so much for letting me play here for you tonight."
The ECHO caught up with the DJ prior to his set, where he spoke about his important connection with the city, and told us that his family would be watching him perform his set later on in the day.
He told the ECHO: "I used to DJ in all the clubs in [the city]. Funky Box, Fusion, Igloo, lots of them. I found this music thing that I loved and [being a DJ] was my goal. I thought that maybe if I made music, I would be able to DJ in other places."
He added: "I'm very grateful for my family because they didn't try to stop me. I had the support there and I always knew that I could count on them if it did all go wrong.."
You can watch the full interview we got with James below, or head to our YouTube channel.
Tom Grennan is set to headline the festival tonight at 8.45pm - all of the set times throughout the weekend are here. You can follow all of the updates on Radio 1 Big Weekend via the Liverpool ECHO's live blog.
Heading into the rest of the weekend, the festival gates will open at 11am on Saturday and Sunday, with ticketholders looking forward to performances from Sugababes, Blossoms, Sam Fender, Tate McRae, HAIM and Mumford and Sons.
