Headphones & Heels - Lauren Pope

City Drinking recently met with Glamour Model and headlining DJ Lauren Pope to ask her about her rise as DJ, her upcoming residency at The Ministry of Sound with Kellie Acreman, the Headphones & Heels tour and of course where she likes to go out and what she likes to drink. Check out what Lauren had to say…

You are a successful models & dj, which do you get more excited about? Why?

Definitely the dj’ing the dj’ing, I’ve been modeling for 6 years now so I don’t get the same buzz I used to but with djing its always something new and different. I get to see some amazing countries and go to places I wouldn’t get the chance to if I weren’t dj’ing. I have always had a passion for music and to be able to put tunes together in my own way is exciting to me, the next step is to start creating my own music.

What music do you prefer to play?

I love to play all sorts from RnB to House but I think the crowd reaction is more energetic and exciting with house music.

Is that the same music you like to hear when you go out?

Yeah definitely, I play tunes that i get a kick out of and that i would listen to.

How did you get into dj’ing?

A friend of mine had decks at his house and I just started playing around with them then he very kindly gave me proper lessons, I bought all the equipment off him and by chance was introduced to
my agent Lisa Unique, it all took off from there really.

When were you most nervous - before your first modeling assignment or before your first live dj set?

Before the djing definitely, with the djing you have so many people you need to keep happy and there is so many elements you have to get right from the choice of tunes to the beat matching. my first live set was pretty bad, the nerves got the better of me i was actually shaking but thankfully im over that now! i still get butterflies now before I go on but I think its good to have that, it shows how passionate I am about making it a great set.

You have received a significant amount of media attention over a number of years, how do you deal with the positive & negative reaction?

Luckily i’ve never had to deal with anything majorly horrible, just the odd nasty comment on internet forums but atleast im being talked about is how I look at it now.

Why did you decide to bring out your own range of hair extensions? are you happy with the success of that business?

I’ve always had an entrepreneurial side to me and the opportunity came up to work with Peter Jones and jumped at it. He liked my idea and helped me build the business. It’s going really well, i’ve had some great press and my celebrity client base is building which helps. I have lots more plans for the businuess and have just put up a new website http://www.hairrehablondon.co.uk, it has lots of sytle tips aswell as the shop.

Where can people see you dj’ing at the moment?

We’re all over the world at the moment but here in the uk you can catch our new residency at headphones & heels at Glam Rock - Ministry Of Sound starting on the 21st june and we’re at Rainforest Cafe once a month starting in July, again with Headphones and Heels.

What are your summer plans? Will you be heading to the balearics or any festivals?

This will be an exciting summer for us as we have alot of gigs booked abroad in places like china, sri lanka and dubai plus we have other projects that were working on back here in the UK.

There has been a recent focus on the rise of ‘binge drinking’ and drunken behaviour amongst women - why do you think this is?

Probably because of the ladette culture, its become more acceptable now and almost a comical for girls to go out and get steaming drunk. its been around for a long time but lately its been put in the press with documentries like the one Michelle Heaton did showing the damage binge drinking can do. to be honest I like a drink now and again, i think as long as you know your limits your ok.

Where do you like to go on a night out?

I love Crystal in London, we were there last night partying with lindsey lohan and I also enjoy a local night near where I live in Essex. ill make a good night of wherever I go doesn’t have to be a fancy club all you need is your mates and good music.

What do you tend to drink on a night out?

I usually stick to vodka, it lessens the hangover!

Where is your favourite city to go out?

I love to party in Miami, it has such a great atmosphere and everyone always seems happy! I love America and would love to move there one day but for now we just want to get some gigs out there.

Do you have plans to dj abroad more often or are you going to focus on the UK?

Both really, one of the perks of being a dj is getting to travel the world so i want to utilise that and we always have a great time when we get to go away together, we always say we should have a camera crew following us because we get ourselves in some funny situations!

What other projects are you working on?

We are working on making our own music and have our own radio show starting in a few weeks. We are also working on some tv projects at the moment, we just want to get involved with as many exciting projects as possible.

How long is your residency at the ministry of sound?

It will last as long as the night is popular so hopefully a very long time!

You are going on tour soon, where are you going and how long is the tour?

You can keep up to date on all our gigs at http://www.myspace.com/laurenpopekellieacremandjgigs

My Favourites

Bar - Les Deux, Los Angeles
Drink - Vodka and Cranberry
Restaurant - Hakisan, London
Hotel - Shore club, Miami
Band/Music - House, RnB and Hip Hop
Film - Scarface
Holiday destination - Miami

Visit http://www.MySpace.com/LaurenPopeKellieAcremanandDJgigs for information on appearances and gigs.

Click here to visit the Vital Music website for more info on the girls and bookings.

Click here to visit Lauren’s company - Hair Rehab

Click here to check out Kellie Acreman’ interview