Like many Merseysiders before him, John was discovered under the arches of Cavern Club in Liverpool. Blowing people away on three decks at ‘Alcatraz’ at the tender age of fifteen, John caught the eyes of heroes Regis and Surgeon, who took one listen to a demo of his music and gave it to RSB records. The track was released in 2006 on vinyl under the moniker ‘Hek’. The Murder Boys themselves played that very record on the Maida Vale sessions on BBC Radio One not long after.

John was then offered a residency in the emerging Rehab event at the famous Lemon Lounge in Liverpool. With a policy of not booking big names and free entry, people flocked from as far as Glasgow and Dublin to revel in the music. John quickly cemented the peak time slot until the night came to a close after its Third Birthday. In this time John was offered more production work, one notably in aid of a Parkinson’s Disease Charity.

Various gigs around the UK followed, as he added Roland Drum Machines to his fast paced Live/DJ shows. Production took a back seat during this time, as John concentrated on the quality of his performances. In 2009, following a 2-year release hiatus, he rekindled his passion for production after becoming inspired by the music of record label Mathematics Recordings (in particular the music of Jamal Moss, whom John had travelled to Belgium to see perform live). The purchase of a Roland synthesizer with his brother Bill shortly after marked the beginning of a new sound in John’s production; a sound which consequently bled into his still-frantic DJ sets.

In 2010, John was signed to Mathematics Recordings, releasing the exceptionally well-received ‘Life On Titan EP’, to cap the peak of his short career so far. A track on Tabernacle Records (run by the ‘Slabs of the Tabernacle’ organizers, who had booked John for two previous parties) soon followed, before a track on ‘Music from Mathematics Vol.7’ and 2011’s ‘The 4th Dimension EP’. 2011 will also see his hotly awaited debut album, 'The Second Son', released, as well as a future EP on Tabernacle Records.

John continues to perform, using an assortment of hardware to accompany his ever-varying vinyl selections. Full hardware live shows are now also available as part of his repertoire.

John Heckle

Although The Third Man is a born and bred Londoner, his musical roots lie in Scotland where he lived for 4 years. During this time he met DJs, producers and promoters and not happy just watching others ply their trade he started to teach himself how to DJ and soon started exploring the world of production.

Surrounded by regular techno nights featuring the likes of Stephen Brown, Neil Landstrumm and DJ Rolando, his taste was very much slanted towards all things techno, particularly the classic Detroit sounds. However, after many all nighters it became apparent that people north of the border liked their music that little bit harder. This was something he couldn’t resist embracing taking to the more industrial sounds of Surgeon, Monolake and minimalist legends such as Robert Hood and Jeff Mills.

The Third Man's First EP 'Before We Begin' was released on Ai Records in March 2008. It was well received being played out on Radio 1 and Ben Sims citing him as an upcoming producer to watch out for. He had two further releases on Ai before a small hiatus. 2010 saw the release of two unabashed dancefloor 12"s on Kirk Degiorgio's ART-DDS imprint as well as featuring on the Tabernacle Records debut release.

2011 promises his first album proper and further releases on ART and Tabernacle Records amongst others. He is available for booking and performs a live PA.

The Third Man Music