Biography / Discography:

Paul Elstak is together with DJ Rob [Parkzicht Rotterdam] the godfather of the Dutch Hardcore/Gabba/Gabber scene.

(The Rotterdam sound is wellknow -> nice fact: Paul Elstak doesn't come from Rotterdam, he's born in Den Haag/The Hague)

He started as DJ in a local youthcenter in Den Haag: De Kreade.

His fame as DJ started in Rotterdam, in clubs like The Bleutiek Inn and Parkzicht (the hardcore club of Holland in that days).

I just wanna show the biography of the commercial DJ PAUL ELSTAK:

The commercial DJ PAUL ELSTAK started in 1995 with his first big hit called "Life Is Like A Dance" which went straight into the Dutch top 10. "Life Is Like A Dance" was one of the first commercial happy hardcore songs to enter the charts after MARK'OH's "Tears Don't Lie" and CHARLY LOWNOISE & MENTAL THEO's "Wonderfull Days". Paul Elstak's first commercial hitsingle didn't feature the vocals of Lindsay and the raps of MC Irvin. Instead a voice-sample was used. "Life Is Like A Dance" was the first of many of the following singles to be produced by Dutch producer trio Digidance (a.k.a. The Klubbheads).

The radio mixes of the happy hardcore tracks of DJ Paul Elstak were made by the Ultimate Seduction (nowadays known as DJ Boozywoozy/Klubbheads).

The second DJ PAUL ELSTAK single was called "Luv U More". This track is a cover of the SUNSCREAM single with the same title. The vocals were done by female singer SHAYDEE, a student who had worked with DJ PAUL ELSTAK as a dancer on his tours. Paul Elstak discovered that SHAYDEE could sing so he asked her to sing on "Luv U More" and boy... was that a great move!!! "Luv U More" went on to be an even bigger hit than "Life Is Like A Dance" going to the number 2 spot in Holland.

"Rainbow In The Sky" is the title of the third consecutive top 10 single. This one went on the sell even more then it's predecessor "Luv U More"!! "Rainbow In The Sky" is a hi-nrg happy hardcore track which for the first time features the raps of MC Irvin. MC Irvin had worked with Paul Elstak before at his hardcore/gabba performances at large houseparties like Thunderdome and Hellraiser.

At the same time "Rainbow In The Sky" was released, a female singer called BERRI released a single called "Sunshine After The Rain" which had the same melody but different lyrics.

People who thought that DJ PAUL ELSTAK would be a one hit wonder were proven wrong as his fourth single did the same as the previous releases. "Don't Leave Me Alone" also went straight into the Dutch top 10. The video which comes with the single sees Shaydee, Irvin and Paul on a graveyard surrounded by zombies. But no worries... Shaydee and Paul really kick some ass and the zombies are back were they belong... 6 feet under!

Together with the release of "Don't Leave Me Alone" DJ Paul's first full-cd's were released. "May The Forze Be With You" comes in 2 versions.. the commercial version and the hardcore versions for his hardcore/gabba fans.

The 5th commercial Paul Elstak single made history as the most expensive video ever made in Holland. "The Promised Land" video sees Paul, MC Irvin and a hundred ravers at a secret meeting where they are awaiting the arrival of aliens. And then suddenly there she is... SHAYDEE appears from a spaceship and comes with one message... "...Let Me Take You To The Promised Land..." Where they can rave and dance all night!!!

"The Promised Land" equals "Rainbow In The Sky"'s salesrecord and is one of the songs to get the most airplay on key-radio stations in Holland. "The Promised Land" was also the last single to feature SHAYDEE. She left DJ PAUL ELSTAK to continue her studies. But 1 year later she's was back with a eurodance single called "Always Forever".

The new female vocalist was called Lindsay. Lindsay had worked with Paul Elstak as a backingvocalist on the "May The Forze Be With You" album.

The first single with Lindsay's vocals was called "Rave On", which, as the title already suggests, is an upbeat happy hardcore tune.

"Rave On" went top 10 in no time. The catchy lyrics and melody were always a guarantee for filled dance floors: ... Everybody leave your worries behind. You've got to open your mind and just rave on, rave on! The future is ours because we are the young. Together we're strong and just rave on, rave on!....

"Rave On" was followed by "Unity" the first single to be produced by DJ Paul without the help of Digidance.

After the release of "Unity" DJ Paul Elstak announced that he would no longer be performing live on stage together with MC Irvin and Lindsay. He wanted to devote all of his energy to producing and mixing. He also announced that Lindsay and MC Irvin would continue in the same formation, but under a new name and that they would go on to make hi-nrg happy hardcore tracks!

June 1997 is the month in which the new single was released. The single was called "Get This Place" and well... as you can see on the single-cover they just made a slight change in the name... The new name was DJ PAUL ELSTAK featuring Lindsay & MC Irvin.

"Get This Place" was again produced by Digidance and it is a slightly slowler happy hardcore track, which starts with a breakbeat but that doesn't make it a lesser tune!