By Emma Norodom
For as long as she can remember, Christine Tew has been surrounded by music. The sound of the piano reminds her of the time her father played the instrument at home. Although she used to play violin in an orchestra, her style wasn’t defined by classical music. Having grown up in the late 1950s, a decade that changed the music scene forever, Christine was inspired by all kinds of sounds from crooners like Frank Sinatra and Duke Ellington, to the King of Rock and Roll, Elvis Presley. Over the years, her tastes evolved at the same pace as the music, experiencing both the disco era as well as the punk. She finally found her stage alter ego in the drumbeats of house music when listening to her son working on his sets for a university party. Her stage name is Dizzy Twilight.
When watching Britain’s Got Talent on a Saturday evening surrounded by her family, Christine never thought about being in the spotlight. Yet she walked onto the stage in 2017, whipping off a stale beige cardigan to reveal her ‘Dizzy glitters’ as mixing decks were wheeled towards her. Her performance lasted only three minutes, but that was long enough to get the auditorium up and raving to a mix of Bowie and Sigala.
She made such an impression that fans online began planning upcoming events with the unexpected queen of the console. “When he saw me on TV, my seven-year-old little grandson called me to say he believed I was a DJ now,” she says. “He was so proud. That mattered a lot to me.”
Spinning the decks amongst party animals is a life far removed from Christine’s former profession as a nurse. The 67-year-old dedicated her life to raising her four sons while pursuing her career. It was only when she retired seven years ago that she decided to take up a mixing course at Ministry of Sound, the home of dance music. “It felt like I was back to being a teenager, working on the mixer in my room and having fun with music,” she says.
Although people first thought she came to the wrong place, Christine did not let herself get discouraged and kept learning the processes of music among her much younger colleagues. “If I am focused on a goal, I do everything to achieve it,” she tells me. “We always get marked for trying and don’t always succeed but we’ve got to try haven’t we?” In fact, she loved it so much that she then got a private tutor for another year and a half.
Her performances up north started to catch the attention of the media. After giving an interview on the radio, she received a call from the producers of the ITV talent show to see if she would like to audition. “I couldn’t believe it. I was quite shocked and immediately my reaction was no,” she says. “I wasn’t being a diva. I just thought this wouldn’t be the thing that would work.”
But the producers persisted and eventually Christine put on her Dizzy outfit and brought her equipment to a small audition. She enjoyed it more than she thought and got selected for the live audition. “Can you imagine what it felt like?” she says.
There she was, a few months later, wearing a sequinned mini-dress and standing on the stage of the London Palladium in front of a captivated crowd. All she could think of was sitting in that audience fifty years ago with her mother. “I don’t want anybody to think that I put myself out there thinking I’m going to be the next DJ when you have so many talented young people working hard to make their break,” she says. “What it does say is that it doesn’t matter what age you are. You can always have fun.” The audience seemed to get her message as she qualified for the semi-finals.
When she’s not travelling or playing gigs, Christine is busy between singing in the church choir and living a regular family life with her husband and sons spread around the world. In the summer, you can find her rocking with her beloved husband of 45 years in the most famous clubs of Ibiza. “Dizzy has this dream one day to do a gig on the island, even if it is a small club,” she says. “And I really have to believe it don’t I? We have to dream.”
Even though her teenage years are long gone, Christine Tew never stops dreaming. She is determined to get better through online courses and to carry on having fun. This experience as a DJ has given her a whole new lease of life.
“For some people, particularly with physical infirmities and family responsibilities, it can be really tough to make time for yourself,” she says. “It’s really hard, but I think it’s good for the body and the soul just taking a little time for something you enjoy. If we want to make time for something, we can. Age is just a number.”