HOLDING a rave at one of the Seven Wonders of the World would be far beyond the imagination of most ordinary DJs, but Judge Jules is hardly your average man behind the decks.

"That was definitely the most surreal setting I have played in. I wish more like that came along, but it’s hard to get the licences. The rave at the Pyramids in Egypt was shut down by police riding on camels," he laughs recalling the infamous party.

With a million street savvy listeners tuning into his weekend show you might expect him to feel a little pressured. Yet he positively laps up his work and is as keen as ever to demonstrate that he’s kept his finger on the musical pulse.

While Superstar DJs have come and gone over the last decade, he’s stood as a firm fixture at the Beeb with an almost sixth sense for what’s happening in clubland. Some of the biggest tracks ever have been uncovered by Jules, who acquired his moniker after gaining a law degree at the London School of Economics.

A wealth of awards have winged his way including being rated in the top three in the business by DJ Magazine, plus prestigious accolades from Ministry and Pacha in Ibiza.

"Being around for 20 years as a DJ is not something I am particularly celebrating, but it’s good to feel relevant and I still get a buzz out of doing the live radio performances."

To his credit, he seems to be just about striking a balance being a happily married family man with two young children and the ever-present call of work.

His tour diary for the last two months more than adequately explains the story of his devotion to the admirable cause of having a good time all the time. Sydney, New Zealand, Wales, India, the Ukraine and China just for good measure have all featured in his gig schedule. It seems the latter, in Shanghai, particularly agreed with him.

As for events at home, Jules reveals he has his own studio a short distance from his North London pad, which proves a decent retreat to prepare his sets.

He’s not afraid to embrace technology and says his "entire DJ life revolves around my laptop" containing many thousands of tunes. But it was a very different story for him as a youngster, when a tape-playing Sony Walkman would have seemed a luxury.

In his teens he admitted to being an indie kid, but was won over by the emerging dance scene.

"I really liked the mid 1980s electro music which sounded left of centre and from there I just started playing at parties. Having a fairly big social circle allowed me lots of places to DJ. As a 17-year-old I never wanted to do it as a career - even now most people in the business have other jobs."

It seems old obsessions die hard and after deciding against taking up law, he returned to his old hobby. Thankfully pirate radio station Kiss FM happily embraced him.

"That was a really good time. We worked out of dodgy buildings in London. For the first few years, we had to go into them with all our records covered up in bags so people didn’t realise what we were doing," he recalls of the station in the late 1980s.

While styles have shifted a long way from his early years in the trade, he’s been careful to shift with the times. Believing that dance is still in a very healthy state, he’s now switched to CD-based equipment along with around 80 per cent of other top names, as he says it offers greater flexibility.

You can bet he’ll be belting out some of the choicest cuts for his return to Kent for the launch of Random Nights at the Manor in Chatham. It seems Jules is keen to make it a night to remember.

"I have played Maidstone quite a few times in Maidstone but never Chatham. I’ve never had a bad gig in Kent."

Judge Jules appears at the Manor Club, Chatham on Saturday, February 24. Tickets £10. Box office 0870 2462050.