Paul Kaye is the man behind the film’s superstar DJ, Frankie Wilde. He’s amenable, his anecdotes well polished and his charisma's on 100 Watts high-beam.

Director, Michael Dowse says he based his lead character on Larry Levan’s legendary skills, Paul Oakenfold’s status and branding and Brandon Block’s partying. Paul Kaye wanted the part as soon as he read the script, although he describes it as “a true Rock’n’Roll movie".

So are you or were you a clubber?
I was a clubber, but not really big clubs. I always liked little, seedy ones, with red velvet furnishings. Jo Jos was always my regular, and a place called Gigi’s, off Wardour Street. There was a [Britpop] club called Smashing through the mid-Nineties - I went to college with the guys who ran it. Suddenly it became the hottest place in town and it was nice to be involved in a little scene. I actually nicked Damon Albarn’s parka from there, and it’s in the film cos I wear it when I try and kill myself, so it should be in a Britpop museum but it’s actually in It’s All Gone Pete Tong.

What was your favourite club in Ibiza?
I loved Pacha, it was beautiful, the way they’ve done the dressing rooms. You see it during the day, which is a completely different experience; it’s like an Antonio Gaudi… ceramics everywhere. Manumission was like going to a football match… [laughs] just HUGE… I’d never seen anything like it. I had to get lowered from the ceiling, dressed as Jesus and dropped into a swimming pool, then get up and DJ for 10 minutes.

The film's title came first in late 2002, with director, Michael Dowse, adding the concept later, “The deafness simply was the worst and most common thing to happen to a DJ. A tragedy about something you love doing causing you the most harm.” It’s a cautionary tale about the perils of excess – familiar to most of us, even without a top DJ’s lifestyle or bank balance.

The film’s not the comedy the title and your Dennis Pennis past might suggest...
Personally, the films I’ve loved the most are ones that took me on a journey I didn’t anticipate going on. There should be more of that, the way things are marketed, you know exactly what’s on the tin and that’s kinda depressing. So here’s a film with a throwaway title, it sounds quirky and light, but there’s lots of hidden treasures. You know, a great surfing movie isn’t about surfing for an hour and a half, it’s about the characters and story… I think this is a great clubbing film cos it’s not 90 minutes of clubbing.

Tell us about preparing for the role, did you learn to mix?
I always figured they’d be using someone else’s hands anyway, I thought the important thing was to make him convincing performer and give him the energy, the charisma in the booth and on the decks to justify his legendary status. And he was a car crash character like a Pete Doherty of dance world… A lot of people would go to see Frankie not knowing if he would make it through the set or trash his gear or throw up on records… An unpredictable, rock’n’roll animal. In those terms, the soundtrack is not irrelevant, but it’s a film about music.

Did you study big characters like Mick Jagger then?
Not Jagger. Keith moon, Iggy Pop, Sid Vicious – these self-destructive types. I read the Keith Moon biography – I used to love the stories about this crazy madcap drummer, but when I read the book and saw the trauma, pain and suffering that went with it, that was very useful, because obviously Frankie’s a very isolated character. He’s got everything: money, drugs, booze, women, but he’s desperately numb to all of it and it takes a physical disability, the loss of his hearing to allow him to see the world for first time, and possibly find salvation.

And for the deafness?
No I didn’t prepare for that either. I just figured, plug my ears up and see what happens. We didn’t rehearse anything: I suppose when you go deaf you don’t really know how you’re gonna feel, the important thing was to demonstrate Frankie’s surprise. So everything on camera was done for the first time. I think if you over-prepare the pain and the anguish it certainly isn’t gonna feel spontaneous.

You made everyone care about an obnoxious character
That was always the most difficult thing… Like, how’s anyone gonna like this guy? I’ve taken him too far. Mike’s cut out the most disgusting things… it’ll probably end up on the DVD! He’s not an easy guy to like, but most of these people aren’t. Anyone who gets through a mountain of cocaine a day, and drinks bottles of whisky. Unless he comes across as an arsehole, we’re not being honest or true to the material. We had to make him difficult to like, but everyone’s worth second chance… If we pushed it too far, then we’ve blown it. People have to care about him or they’ll leave after an hour!

Did you expect to win any awards?
No, that was amazing. It’s incredible how you think of awards as being trivial and self-indulgent until you win one, then they suddenly become really worthwhile! We had to get this film cut – there was a three hour art version knocking about… Mike had two weeks to kick it into shape. He finished the film, we got it into Toronto film festival and won, it’s had a momentum since then I could never have imagined.

Ibiza is, according to director, Michael Dowse, “the hedonism capital of Europe. People don’t just to to Ibiza to party, they go there to lose their minds.” The small budget meant they couldn’t hire clubs and had to fit around their normal hours, for example, Tiesto would put on long record and let them sneak in for two minutes.

What was it like shooting in Ibiza?
Oh, it was really mellow, really quiet... We all lived in a villa, about 40 people crashed out on the floor of this villa, just driving around going to every club and every party for 6 weeks… mellow! There were a few casualties along the way, they were dropping like flies. But we all stuck together and thankfully remembered why we were there, because it would never have got have got made if the crew had gone off the rails. It was incredibly tempting cos it’s all around you and everyone’s having a great time, and you’re thinking, ‘Why am I making a film?’ We all went off on bender to get it out our systems, and one of the chaps on the film stuck his head out the car window and almost got it taken off by a wing mirror. He was in a very, very bad way, so that was a warning to all of us.

Would you go back, or has it put you off for life?
I was there in 1980 with my mum and dad, playing a lot of crazy golf… I figure I’ve done my stretch. I’ve got some friends there who live in the North of the island, up the mountains and I stayed there, so I could get away from everything. It was an amazing experience. It is the most beautiful island in world. You go up north and it’s like you’re in Asia, the mud is that blood red colour. There’s something special in the air, a real magic. But there’s a darkness as well… And for me, the focus was that out of every hundred people there, one of them’s gonna jump off a balcony thinking they can fly, and Frankie was that one, so I had to focus on negatives.

What are you favourite memories from shooting?
Sitting on the plane on the way home, knowing I was alive, rather than in a box! The suicide scene is my favourite. We actually shot two; one of them was to open the film, where I’m dragging these two enormous speakers like a cross. I had to push these speakers in, but they floated, so I don’t die. I pray it’s on the DVD cos if I had to drag those bloody things up the hill for nothing, I’ll be very annoyed!! But I think it’s the most imaginative suicide scene I’ve ever scene: a guy strapping fireworks to his head, thinking he’s gonna die, but wanting to hear something before he goes... There’s a beauty and poetry in that!

Finally, are you really careful about your hearing and wearing earplugs now?
Oh yeah, I think more DJs should wear nose plugs, that would help them out and all!

For more information check out the RNID’s Don't Lose the Music Campaign