Tony Moran is a dance music legend. Given his success over the last 30 years, particularly in the pop and gay scenes, few people would have guessed the difficulties he faced during his childhood. But over an email, he confesses his secret: he was a total nerd at school. “I was short and not that cute. Faced with the dilemma of obscurity or action, I chose action.” And action came in the form of music. “DJing was a natural choice for me. The goal was to use music as a bridge to try to finally make friends. At least people would talk to me, and I gave them all cassettes of my mix work.”

Today, it’s hard to believe that making friends could have been difficult for this global star. Luckily for Moran, and the music world alike, his ploy was successful. Through his perseverance, firstly through his work with Albert Cabrera as The Latin Rascals, and then on his own, Moran became known for his pop remixes, leading to collaborations with music’s biggest names. Indeed, the catalogue of his re-mixes reads like a who’s who of popular music over the last three decades, featuring names such as Michael Jackson, Britney Spears, George Michael, Whitney Houston – pretty much anyone who has ever been described as a diva.

Somewhat surprisingly to Moran himself, he found himself revered across the gay world – an icon no less. “The status thing was not planned; I did a remix for Gloria Estefan, Janet Jackson and Michael Jackson, and its reaction in the dance community and from gay people around the world was mind-boggling. I am thankful for that every day.”

Today, Moran is involved in a plethora of projects, DJing, producing and remixing as he has for years, but also recently branching out into the unusual and challenging world of movie scores. “The movie was called Circuit. It was interesting,” indicated Moran, adding that he would definitely like to continue exploring the genre.

As much as anything, however, the boy from Brooklyn is known for his parties, recently playing at two of the world’s largest celebrations: Carnival in Rio de Janeiro and Mardi Gras in Sydney. Now, Moran visits the Fragrant Harbour for the first time, warning Hongkongers to rest up in preparation. “Expect to dance your asses off and leave with smiles on your faces. The experience is worth resting for.” It sounds like a night where you will need to choose between action and obscurity. You know what Moran would do.

Mark Tjhung