Lockdown DJ Dale Castell to perform set at Halifax Piece Hall

"We've been talking about it for months and now it's finally happening," Dale Castell said

A DJ who provided the soundtrack to thousands of kitchen discos during lockdown is to play a live open-air set now restrictions have been lifted.

Dale Castell broadcast DJ sets over Facebook from his son's bedroom in Leeds, West Yorkshire, gradually building up a community of fans online.

He said he had organised the event in Halifax, his hometown, for everyone who "danced their way through lockdown".

The sold out event is due to take place at the landmark Piece Hall on Saturday.

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Mr Castell's fans connected online through a Facebook group called Our House Family

The ticket-only Our House event will see over 1,800 people get together at the venue from 20:00 BST until 01:00 BST.

Mr Castell said: "The whole idea was to get everybody together that has been watching the live streams over the past 17 months.

"We have been talking about it for months and waiting for the lockdown to end and now it's finally happening.

"It's going to be absolutely awesome. I'm a little bit nervous, if I'm honest. I've gone from playing in clubs to playing on a laptop online, and now after nearly 17 months I'm back and I'm a bit nervous."

Mr Castell said he had worked as a part-time DJ for 15 years, alongside his day job in sales for Cadbury's.

At the start of the coronavirus lockdown in March 2020, he was put on furlough and never went back.

'Beacon of light'

Since his first Facebook live on 28 March 2020, Mr Castell has performed to over 500,000 fans from his seven-year-old son Leo's bedroom.

The event in Halifax was originally planned to take place at the town's Victoria Theatre, but was moved to an outdoor venue when the council raised concerns about ventilation, amid fears over the spread of Covid-19.

The DJ said: "If it wasn't for lockdown, this wouldn't be happening. As terrible as it has been, this has been a beacon of light for me and for the people who have been involved.

"We've all got together and made the best of a bad situation. Everyone has become best of friends and we are going to celebrate that."

Mr Castell's son, 7, had his bedroom transformed into a DJ booth every week

Over 500,000 people watched Mr Castell's live DJ sets online