Back in 1999, a new club called Fabric opened in London. Housed in the Victorian-era Metropolitan Cold Stores near the heart of the City, it would change the course of clubbing in the capital for a long time to come – and would become home to some of the most influential DJs and producers of the modern era.

Mass, The End, Turnmills, Scala, the Coronet, and Ministry of Sound were already influential in the capital, and had been for many years, but it seemed there was still room for one more. And when the highly respected, but still relatively wet behind the ears (at least on a global, super-club scale), Terry Francis was asked to become the club’s Saturday night resident he almost said no. Perhaps he wasn’t sure how seminal a place it would quickly become, or perhaps, as he once said, he just wasn’t overly keen on the idea of playing at the same place week in, week out. The lure of international travel was too great. The excitement and splendour of exotic, far-way destinations pitted against the rain and gloom of England.

The rest, as they say, is history. Taking up the residency at Fabric turned out to be an inspired decision, as Francis has since become known across the world as one of the best tech-house DJs around. And if you ever find yourself in London on a Saturday night, head down to Charterhouse Street and ask for Mr. Francis. It’s his stoop, and he likes it that way.

But like almost all current electronic DJs born in the 1960s or 70s, Terry Francis did not start out mixing techno, or house, or jungle, or breaks. It was an early appetite, and subsequent hunger, for soul, funk and disco that got him his first sets in the UK – on the South Coast of all places. Recalling that time, Francis once said, “I lived in this town where I was probably the only one who owned a pair of decks,” and so, influenced by the likes of the BBC’s John Peel, reggae DJ David Rodigan, and Paul ‘Trouble’ Anderson he began to make a name for himself. In 1997 he was named ‘Best New DJ’ by Muzik Magazine, and given that one previous winner had been Derrick Carter, the Chicago house legend, Francis was in good company.

Being a born and bred Londoner Francis is now content plying most of his musical trade in the deep belly of the capital, but heads to Hong Kong this fortnight. Homebase may not hold 2,000 people, there certainly aren’t three separate rooms (well, the smoking ‘balcony’ and the dark recesses at the back excluded) and it certainly does not have a ‘body-sonic’ dance floor (essentially transducers transferring the bass directly from the track into your body) but it is intimate. Francis’ flawlessly smooth and flowing sets are known for their seamless mix of deep dubby house, celestial breaks and ethereal vocals, and taking his sound into a small place like Homebase can only be a good thing. It’s where the true heads go, and we’ll see you down there.

Oliver Clasper

Terry Francis plays Homebase on September 10.