Tony De Vit: Don't Ever Stop premiere celebrates 'godfather of hard house'

Tony de Vit died aged 40 in 1998

A film charting the life of Tony De Vit, one of dance music's biggest names, will be premiered in Birmingham later.

The screening of Don't Ever Stop takes place at the Midlands Arts Centre (MAC) in Cannon Hill Park.

Born in Kidderminster, De Vit made his name at the Nightingale Club in Birmingham in the 1980s, going on to DJ at iconic clubs like London's Heaven.

He died in 1998, aged 40, after contracting HIV.

Describing it as "a story of tragedy, ecstasy, music and mayhem", the producers are showing the story as part of the Doc'n'Roll film festival, with a second screening in Dalston in London on Thursday.

It documents how De Vit's fame grew, alongside his then teenage apprentice Fergie - who was thrust into dance music's global limelight when his mentor died - and Andi Buckley.

Tony De Vit was nominated for a number of awards including DJ of the year three years running

The three men's lives became intertwined, in what the film says was a "tale of love, loss, gay identity, hero worship, attitudes to AIDS and the 90s boom in dance music".

A plaque was unveiled last year at the Custard Factory in Digbeth, Birmingham, near the site of his recording studio.

De Vit's sister Jayne Parkes thought the DJ would have been secretly thrilled with the idea of a film about him.

'Queuing round the block'

"He was so humble that he'd probably be slightly embarrassed, but underneath he'd love it," she told BBC Hereford & Worcester.

Ms Parkes told how he'd already become popular in smaller venues before moving into the cities, recalling how fans were "queueing round the block" for a gig in Hereford in his early years.

She said the DJ's work was hugely distinctive. "He pioneered a sound where as soon as he started playing, you knew it was him."

During his career, De Vit was nominated for a number of awards including DJ of the year three years running.