Paul Van Dyk – German DJ and producer
Paul Van Dyk grew up in the eastern part of Berlin. His real name is Matthias Paul. Paul became a big fan of restricted music by listening to underground radio stations RIAS and SFB, which were operating in West Germany. He also managed to buy discs, which other music fans brought to eastern Germany illegally.
Paul was born on 16 December 1971, in East Germany. He was brought up by a single mother. Van Dyk’s father left the family when the boy was just four years old.
Since childhood, the aspiring artist was a big fan of The Smiths. He dreamed of learning to play the guitar. The boy’s idol at the time was Johnny Marr. A little later, Paul enrolled in a music school where he changed his mind about the guitar. The variety of music he enjoyed, which could be played with a guitar, was limited.
When the Berlin Wall was destroyed, the future DJ got access to the music clubs in the other part of the city. It made a huge impression on a boy, who grew up in East Berlin. He debuted in 1991 at the Tresor club. That’s when the artist adopted the pseudonym, with which he became famous all over the world. The young man started performing at different nightclub parties. His popularity was growing quickly. In 1993, he became a resident DJ of E-Werk. Many clubs wanted to book Paul Van Dyk for private events.
