The house music brand that started in Leeds and is a worldwide force

The founders of a house music brand that has gone global after starting in Leeds an Yorkshire have spoken ahead of a landmark festival.

- by Charles Gray

Love to be... Festival on Saturday September 6, is set to be bigger and better after being held at The Stray in Harrogate for the first time last year to mark the company's 30th anniversary.

The attendance will be larger, the names will be bigger and the beats will go harder as the event comes back to God's Own County, where Love to be... first made waves.

Love to be... was founded by Marc Dennis and Tony Walker and after establishing itself as a go-to night in Yorkshire during the 1990s and 2000s, with nights held at Mint Warehouse and Space in Leeds. It is now a renowned dance music name worldwide.

The company dates back to 1994, when Tony was running the Happy Tuesday night in Leeds, which saw DJs from all round the world playing "happy and uplifting music".

Tony said: "We'd come out of the rave scene by then and it was all about playing more cultured house music.

"That did really well. We'd get around 1,300 people in every Tuesday and off the back of that night in Leeds we got offered the Saturday night slot at the Music Factory in Sheffield when it was taken over."