FROM Burnley to the Balearics…..Paul Taylor has spun the DJ decks all over the globe.

Taylor was in the eye of the storm when the acid house revolution hit, masterminding the legendary Retro at Angels nightclub in Burnley.

But nothing, he says, can match the sheep chaperoned festival fun of Beat-Herder.

Taylor will be behind the decks again for an extended Friday night slot on the Fortress Stage, a gigantic, homemade corrugated steel castle with fire-toting ramparts and a huge courtyard for Beat-Herder’s rave generation.

He said: “The thought, imagination, care and ingenuity that goes into every corner of the festival is astounding, it is a very special place.

“It is my favourite gig of the year.”

Taylor admitted he was a little sceptical when the Beat-Herder gurus asked him to play his mighty Retro tunes when the Fortress doors swung open for the first time in 2013.

But Beat Herder is one of those rare festival incarnations, able to attract big-name acts like Leftfield, Basement Jaxx and Groove Armada without losing that DIY vibe.

“I don’t like festivals, and I thought about that awful place – Creamfields,” he added.

“That’s a hideous event, absolutely horrible, and I’d never play there.

“But I’d heard so many people say what a special place Beat-Herder is.

“It is a surreal festival and a carnival; a parade for things a bit different and I love that.”

Orbital’s Phil Hartnoll, Graeme Park, Dave Angel and Justin Robertson are also lined up to do battle in the Fortress with Taylor.

“I lived in Gisburn once, just down the road, so to see this amazing thing happening in the Ribble Valley – a place I have a great affinity for – is amazing.

“They don’t usually ask people back the following year, but this is my third Beat-Herder in a row and I’m chuffed to be going back.”

Taylor added that it is the sense of community that makes Beat-Herder the event it is, adding: “The music is brilliant, but for me it is the people who are the essence of the festival.

“The lads who run it are really nice and I have to applaud them for what they have achieved over the past ten years.”

So are there are any clues to Taylor’s eagerly anticipated set – pencilled in for Friday at 10pm, Beat-Herder’s opening night.

“I plan the Beat-Herder set weeks before. I choose the 20 or 30 records very carefully and people perhaps expect me to play the music I’m famous for.

“They’ve asked me to do a 90 minute slot, and I’ll be playing a bit more of an experimental set – a one-off for Beat-Herder.

“The sun will be just going down, so everything will be booting off at that time.

“But judging from what I saw last year, the Fortress was just a massive happy gathering all day. I can’t wait to wait for it.”

n Beat-Herder, Friday, July 17 to Sunday, July 19. Dockber Farm, Sawley, near Clitheroe. See Beatherder.co.uk for details or 0844 888 9991.