It was an usually mild October evening as the sun went down over London town. There was an air of anticipation, for this was the stuff of dreams. Two largely unpromoted parties back to back in London's smallest club hosted by a true dance legend: Francois Kevorkian. The venue Plastic People, a small dark basement in the depths of Shoreditch. For one weekend it felt like 'the Underground' had returned.

You could almost feel people's anticipation as you arrived at Curtain Road, although the mood was also somewhat strange, the events of Sept 11th brought back to the forefront of many minds. For the man we were about to hear play records had just made his first trip back on a plane from New York since the tragedy. Later that weekend, we would all be reminded of these tragic events and the importance of life.

The fiasco that was guaranteed entrance to both Friday and Saturday night had been raging for weeks: you could buy tickets for both nights, then you couldn't, then only for Friday night… you get the picture. So it, was no supprise that by 10pm a line outside the club was weaving its way down Curtain Road.

All sorts of people stood in line: original headz turning out as a mark of respect to a legend, cool Brick Lane'ers their mullets freshly cut, records industry workers who didn't really know why they were there but it seemed like the thing to do, and serious trainspotters who proudly wore their Body and Soul T-shirts like a uniform of allegiance.

Once you'd made it down the narrow staircase and inside, your gaze turned straight towards the square dark dance-floor and beyond that to the DJ booth. He hadn't arrived yet, phew we hadn't missed anything.

People stood around anxiously, saving their energy, waiting for the party to really begin. The clock neared midnight and the dance floor began to jack, but still no sign of the man we had all come to hear. Then through the darkness that was the dance-floor, the silhouette of a man appeared, Francois had arrived and the party could begin.

FK began his set up in the tiny dance floor level DJ booth, hardly anything separating him from his dancers. This was just like having Francois spinning in your living room. But still he kept us waiting as he organized his massive collection of CD's. Then he put his slippers on and we were ready to rock.

The dance floor was ready to explode, random screams and cheers met his arrival at the controls. The journey began perfectly with some wonderful Jazzy tracks and before long Francois was familiarizing himself with the EQ's, rocking back and forth, his jaw hanging open, eyes closed. FK works the crossover like a man possessed, he can make the records you and I have sound completely different.

This was demonstrated mid way through the night when he had us all moshing like we were at a rock concert as he killed Deodato's "Super Strut" with the crossover. I needed a refreshment break so momentarily left the dance floor. When I returned entering the dark dance-floor I was met by the sound of a familiar rolling bassline, then the vocal kicked in "Home, swimming in the warm haven, as dark as the blackest raven…." This was Blaze's mix of Mondo Grosso's "Star Suite" the track of the moment, and the roof had just been blown off Plastic People.

Francois' journey continued through the night with many wonderful peaks and valleys. I'd never heard a musical selection quite like this in London before. This wasn't House music, this was just MUSIC. Francois's invention behind the controls meant that each track was a journey and a mix in itself. I recognized at least 3 different mixes of one track in the mix and then he'd get busy on the effects. His sheer work rate and creativity makes other DJ's look pale in comparison and makes the art of 2 decks and 1 mixer look stone age.

The clock struck 5am and Friday night had turned into Saturday morning. The lights came on and the dancers faces I had shared the floor with become visible. The music faded out. We had reach our destination. Physically shattered, I was ready to drop but two hard core dancers to my left had other ideas. They continued to chant for more not letting Francois leave. He looked somewhat embarrassed and glanced over at the security man who gave him a nod, a smile came across Francois' face, we were in for another half hour which started with Lisa Stansfield's "Change".

Unfortunately the night had to end and around 5:30am it did. The DJ booth became a mass of hands all wanting to congratulate and thank Francois. I simply turned around from my spot on the dance floor and shouted "Hey Francois, see ya tomorrow" he looked and gave me that grin. Saturday night arrived before we knew it. Two of my crew had gone straight to work from the party Saturday morning and from work straight back to the party tonight. This was the sort of sacrifice you made when FK was in town.

Ade Fakile was warming up inside and doing a wonderful job: Herbie Hancock's "Stars in Your Eyes", FK's "Hypnodelic" and Fela Kuti all got played. It was noticeably quieter than the previous night, which was a good job because the serious dancers were in attendance, no drunken fools tonight.

I bumped into a friend DJ Micky, he asked me about last night and joking said he'd heard that last night was only a warm up for tonight. He couldn't have been more right. It felt like Francois had familiarized himself with the sound, the club and the dancers and was now ready to fuck this shit up.

He arrived around midnight and once the customary slippers were on he continued where he had left us last night. Although tonight felt different, more serious, more real. This was about as good as it gets in today's London.

Francois got to work immediately sifting through his CD's, looking down through spectacles preached on the tip of his nose, like a mad professor concocting an experiment. Tonight he was to take the music to another level, a level that had seemed unthinkable the night before. The musical selection was inspired, the like of which we so very rarely get to hear in London's clubs. As well as his usual mix-up of House, Garage, Disco, Electro, Jazz we got an hour of R'n'B which included: Mos Def, Sunshine Anderson, Jill Scott and India Arie. This was great, I couldn't remember the last time I got down to R'n'B. It was as if I had forgotten how to dance and now Francois was reminding me again. Its hard to put into words just how wonderfully original his musical selection is and the unique way he presents it. Even now I feel frustrated as I know these words don't even begin to do him justice.

Francois doesn't just stick a record on and expect you to go crazy. He experiments with it while its playing. He brings it to life. Pushing the music to its limits. This is how they do it in New York, DJ's go out on a limb and try to create something extra. Francois plays from his heart. It's not smooth, calculated and seamless, its fierce, passionate and raw. He takes risks and when to take risks things get hectic sometimes. But if you don't take risks and play it nicey nicey its boring as hell. Who wants to listen all night to boring seamless mixing that follows a one-dimensional linear groove, not me.

Saturday night was drawing to a close beautifully, the music slowed to a pace I've never witnessed and a style I find hard to categorize. Maybe it was "Sounds From the Humpback Whale" that FK was tweakin' the fuck out of. Whatever it was it made the room fall quiet, which almost felt aerie in a club environment. As these strange sounds reverberated around the club people began to "Ssshhhh" demanding quiet to appreciate the sound and the music Francois was creating. It was one of the most peaceful and beautiful moments I have ever witnessed in a club. Then a voice appeared, the man himself was about to speak. You could have heard a pin drop, absolute silence.

"These are humble times we're living in and in New York we don't  know what's going on, but this, this is beautiful. Thank you for listening and sharing all this beautiful music with me, I hope we can all do it again soon".

The silence was broken by claps and cheers, everyone headed towards the booth to embrace Francois and thank him for coming, there was a tear in his eye. The applause continued and knowing that we wouldn't let him go, he reasoned, "Now if you'll excuse me I have another party to go to this afternoon".

We all smiled and secretly wished we could join him at Vinyl.