A Coulsdon schoolboy had his dream come true when he was given the chance to perform at a Cheam festival.
For years, 11-year-old Archie Simms has loved music, dancing and performing.
At a family party earlier this year, Dave Goodings, a content creator known for doing all sorts of wacky stunts, was booked in as the DJ.
Archie’s mum, Amy, told Your Local Guardian: “Archie has always loved music.
“Even when he was upset as a baby, we’d put dance music on in restaurants, and he would cheer right up.
“Dave was DJing for us at his granddad’s 70 th birthday, and Archie was so fascinated by Dave making the music and mixing it all.
“Dave was essentially showing him what to do.
“By the end of the party, Archie was doing it himself, and the family loved him for it.”
Archie became a “bedroom DJ”, using his iPad with DJ Software to make music.
After seeing Archie’s passion and determination, Dave felt it would be a great idea to have Archie experience the real thing at the annual FeastyFest in Cheam Park.
Chris, Archie’s dad, said that Dave rang him “out of the blue” and suggested the plan.
Archie had already gone to bed, and when his parents informed him the next morning, his response was “Oh, my gosh, I hope you’ve said yes”.
Dave explained: “After speaking with Archie’s parents, I thought, what with FeastyFest coming up, we could give him a platform and put him on the main stage.
“I decided to talk to Mike, who is the organiser of FeastyFest, and he loved the idea straight away.
“So, I managed to flag 10 minutes on the main stage for Archie to do his DJ set.”
After getting the thumbs up from Mike, Dave felt that they could go bigger and give Archie the full DJ experience.
Dave said: “We sorted out a dressing room for him, artist wristbands, green room entrance.
“He met some of the big headliners that were performing, and he got a photo with Scouting for Girls backstage.”
Before going on stage, Archie experienced a mix of excitement and nerves, and after a few words of encouragement, he went up on the stage.
Chris said: “I don’t think Archie had quite grasped the size of the event, so naturally he felt a bit nervous.
“But the moment he got on that stage, he just went for it, and we’re both incredibly proud of him.”
Amy said: “Archie was made for the stage; it made me really proud and happy to see him be his authentic self and live by his passion.”
Dave described the audience as surprised by Archie’s ability and said he found it “so rewarding to make this happen”.
The video went viral and had big-name celebs commenting, such as Vernon Kay and DJ Joel Corry.
Chris said Archie was treated like “an absolute superstar” and praised Dave for “wonderfully bringing it altogether”.
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