Eddie Halliwell talks to Skiddle ahead of his 100th 'Fire it Up' Celebrations

This Friday, Eddie Halliwell celebrates his 100th Fire It Up radio show with a special party at Sankeys. 

The event will be recorded live for Fire It Up's 100th show, marking a brilliant opportunity for fans to become part of Fire it Up history.

The ultimate showman, Eddie Halliwell has taken his syndicated Fire It Up radio show from strength to strength, now reaching in excess of 10 million listeners around the world. To mark this huge milestone, Eddie is bringing it back to his roots with a live recorded home-town anniversary party in Manchester.

We caught up with the man himself for a quick chat ahead of this Friday's mayhem. 

Hi Eddie, how is your 2011 going so far? 

Another amazing year to date thanks - just looking forward to embracing the craziness of the summer now!

You're celebrating your 100th Fire it Up radio show soon. What part does your radio show play in your overall role as Eddie Halliwell? 

I really enjoy having my own show and being able to express myself musically with such a broad range of music. My first passion will always be performing on stage - but having your own radio show is a great way of reaching out to parts of the world you can't always travel to.

What do you most enjoy about doing the show? 

The fact I can record it from anywhere in the world and reach out to so many people all over the world.

Are you looking forward to making your debut at Sankeys? It seems strange that you've never played there before! 

We've been saving Sankeys for a very special occasion, which this definitely is. I can't wait to play there - I'll be joined by Michael Woods and Steve Mulder who are two of my big ones to watch for 2011.

Do you have any exclusives prepared for your Sankeys set? 

Yep, I have a few surprises up my sleeve!

What new artists do you have your eye on in 2011?

Steve Mulder from Holland - he's producing some amazing music. 

You're quite the Ibiza regular, and you've got another busy season coming up. Do you ever manage to get any time off while you're out there? If so, what do you like to do?

There are a few occasions during the season that we plan a few days break around my gigs - when this happens we usually get a massive group of us together, do lots of chilling round the pool, eat at as many of the amazing restaurants as possible - anchor up a boat at Formentera - I love Ibiza, there are so many undiscovered beautiful places.

See Eddie's Ibiza dates and buy tickets here

Apart from Ibiza, what else do you have coming up this year?

Yes, obviously my residency at Cream in Ibiza, with a one off special ED-IT show there in August. I am playing a whole host of the festivals this year including Creamfields, Global Gathering and Escape in the Park among others in and out of the UK, lots of globetrotting as per usual and a few album releases coming up.

Which one tune sums up the Summer for you? 

The Mark Knight vs Florence and the Machine track is going to be massive this summer - sure it'll be making a regular appearance in Ibiza and the festivals.

Eddie Halliwell celebrates his 100th Fire It Up Radio show at Sankeys on Friday 6th May. Tickets are available below.

Tickets are no longer available for this event