Wolverhampton dad and daughter team taking popular DJ show on the road
When father-of-two John Dixon started streaming DJ shows online from his Wolverhampton home during the first Covid lockdown, it was just a bit of fun.
The 41-year-old had been trying to raise spirits after pubs and entertainment venues were forced to close their doors and people were told to stay at home to stop the spread of the virus.
"Back in 2020 I noticed people were miserable as they were not allowed to leave the house," said John, from Bushbury, who has been DJing for 20 years at private events.
"I decided to DJ online for people weekly from home using Twitch to give people a reason to dance.
"During this time I started to do discos two times a week in my street for children, where we would meet outside my house socially distanced and we would all have a good dance.
"We would dress up, do dance-a-longs and all round have fun. We also walked the estate on Sundays dressed as different characters to cheer up the kids, and collected money to donate to charity."
But when John would DJ from home, using online streaming platforms, his daughter Poppy would catch the eyes of viewers as she danced cheekily in the background.
Eventually the pair decided to team up to launch Kidz Club, with Poppy becoming part of the show.
And after lockdown lifted, they were able to take their show on the road.
The pair now put on DJ entertainment events for youngsters at private functions and charity shows.
During the show, Poppy encourages other children to dance along, and parents are even encouraged to join in the fun as her father plays the music.
They are also avid fundraisers and have been busy raising money for Aquarius, a charity helping people overcome the harms caused by alcohol, which has helped John in the past with his own personal issues.
Since the first Covid lockdown, they have raised around £1,600 for the charity and plan to continue raising even more.
"My daughter suggested doing merchandise and selling it for charity," John said.
"We started selling Kidz Club T-shirts, face masks, hoodies and other things. Poppy also made a charity song and we went on a local radio station to help build up our fundraising.
"As I’d done for the last six or seven years I visited local homes meeting kids and giving them presents, raising more money for our charity cause."
Forterra, who John worked for in Tamworth as a brick maker, also gave him a community award for the Kidz Club show and his fundraising during the lockdown.
John, who also now has a part-time job working behind the bar at the Hogshead in Wolverhampton, said: "Poppy is now 10 and we have an extremely popular show that we travel around with.
"We host children’s birthdays, christenings and also do shows for charity.
"Meanwhile myself and Pops are booked in for a few Christmas parties where we will do our usual show but I’ll also be playing Santa and she will be my helper.
"I've enjoyed every second of it, I love what we do. It's amazing, especially doing it with my daughter as well."
