Drumchapel footballer on life as an international DJ

From intuitive fans turning hit tunes into catchy terrace chants, to artists being adored and disliked in equal measure by way of the team they support, the pair often go hand-in-hand.

But maybe not when, in one footballer’s experience, he is getting ready to challenge for the ball.

“Sometimes you are going up for a header, and some of the players you are up against, they are saying, ‘I saw you at SWG3 last week’ or ‘Any guestlist tickets for next week’s gig?’,” trance DJ and Drumchapel Amateurs veteran David Forbes explains.

“All I am wanting to do is go up here and win a header and I’ve got some guy asking me for guest passes!”

David has been DJing since he was 18 years old, juggling life on the worldwide club scene with his other great passion in life - amateur football.

That is no mean feat, considering now, at 49, he is still going strong in both.

At the start of April, David became the oldest ever player to be picked for the Central Scottish Amateur Football League (CSAFL) select team as part of the Inter League Trophy – a competition which pits football associations from around Scotland against each other by way of a team made up of each setup’s best players.

David, at just short of 50, started the recent semi-final - which his CSAFL side won 4-1 - and only found out about the call-up when on holiday with his wife and kids, and even then, thought he was being asked to help out with the coaching side of things.

David was back at Drumchapel Amateurs training on the Monday evening (Image: Evan Kinnard)

David once had his coaches waiting up till 2am before a cup final as he gigged at Glasgow's Arches venue (Image: Evan Kinnard)

“My initial thought was that he wanted me there to give him a hand,” he added.

“But it was to play, and I had a decent game and really enjoyed it,” he admitted - a revelation made all the more surprising given he broke a finger in the match.

David joined Drumchapel Amateurs in 1998 and, bar a six-year hiatus at 34 to ‘immerse himself’ in his music, has been doing his best to boss the centre midfield position on a Saturday afternoon when he’s not somewhere in the world DJing.

“I think for me to keep playing, I need to make sure I am still competing,” he continued.

“Obviously, I am still playing centre mid, so I’m not going to get box-to-box like I used to do back in my twenties.

“But, at the same time, I need to make sure I’m still competing on a Saturday and still getting picked on merit.”

His day job has seen him perform gigs in places like Argentina, London and Australia, and even in the movie stars’ playground of Hollywood in the United States.

David added: “I do love it. It is incredible. I pinch myself sometimes.

“I was in America four weeks ago, in LA, doing a big gig, and I’m up there and I’m like ‘Jesus Christ’, then I’m straight back and I’m in training on Monday in Drumchapel.”

Charlie Devlin, David’s long-term manager, who oversaw the squad in the late nineties when a young DJ Forbes first walked through the door, admits his player, who he thinks has racked up well over 1000 games for the club across three decades, has settled down a bit from the early days.

Charlie said: “He is a great ambassador for the club. He conducts himself brilliantly. To have an appetite to still play football at the level we are at is just phenomenal.  

“I can’t speak highly enough of him.

“To manage him, it was difficult early doors…he was a hard one to control just simply because he was younger then and DJing in the club scene.

“Don’t get me wrong, he was always at training, he was the leader, always at the front, he’s just a freak of nature; in a nice way.

“Early doors, he was getting a few sending-offs, reacting to people, but the bottom line is his ability is just phenomenal.”

Charlie told a story about David from 2005 when Drumchapel Amateurs were playing in the Scottish Amateur Cup final.

The management and squad had managed to swing a hotel stay the night before the big match so the coaches could keep an eye on the players and make sure there were no late nights. Well, that was, everyone except for David of course, who had a work shift to complete before he kicked a ball.

“David had a gig down at the Arches on the Saturday night,” Charlie went on.

“So, Graeme Diamond, one of the other coaches, and myself, we had the players there on the Saturday afternoon. We had a bit of chill-out time. Did a quiz with them at night, gave them the team then sent them to their beds early.

“But Graeme and I had to sit at reception, waiting for David to come in from his gig at 2/2.30 in the morning.

“Just so we knew he was there, and we were all together.”

David, about that night, concluded: “In hindsight, looking back, I wish I hadn’t played the gig. Because I never really had that great a game!”

He’s had some good times, like the time he spent 24 hours on a plane from Australia only to land, play in another cup final and get the man of the match award.  

It’s a balance, but David has found a way to blend his music career with an amateur footballing one like it was one of his trance records.

And how does David reflect on his time with the Drum?

“The Drum has been a huge part of my life. So much so, people actually think I’m from Drumchapel but I’m from the north of the city.

“It’s just been a huge part of my life. I genuinely can’t think of life without it.

“Just seeing the boys every Monday and Wednesday and being round about the club…see when I do stop playing, I can’t see myself leaving, I’ll be there in some capacity.

“It is just too big a part of my life.”