WHILE most teenagers were buying football kits or tickets for the big local games, 14-year-old Jodie Finch was saving up for his first set of decks.

"I was never really sporty, but I was into dance music," confesses Jodie, who, at the age of 23, is now beginning to see his choice of teenage pastime pay dividends.

The resident DJ at Funktion, possibly Lancashire's most glamourous dance event of the moment, Jodie has just helped sell out their New Year's Eve event at Revolution in Preston.

Coupled with his twice-weekly residence at the bar, off Preston's Church Street, and getting behind the decks when Funktion took part in last summer's Feel-backed Carry On events at De Tabley in Ribchester, things have been going well for Jodie.

Although he shares a similar dream to most DJs -- to play the superclubs -- his way of getting out of the bedroom and in front of a crowd with his box of vinyl for the first time was slightly unconventional.

"I think I did what most lads did and recorded CDs and sent them off to places," remembers Jodie, of Euxton, near Chorley. "But nothing came of it.

"So I decided the only way to get to play before a crowd, which is every bedroom DJ's dream come true, was to get my own night.

"I got involved with a night called Mellow at the Old Ship near Preston's docklands at around 16 or 17, and that gave me the chance to get in front of a crowd."

According to his biography on the Funktion website, Jodie also promoted a night called "Vivarium."

In October 2001, Funktion was born, initially to help complete a university project being worked on by Louise Padmore, another founder member of Funktion, along with Clee Beevers.

Held at Manchester's Soft nightclub, what was supposed to be a one-off became popular quite quickly.

"We realised that quite a few people were travelling down from Lancashire for it so we decided to give it a go in Preston," said Jodie. Since New Year's Eve 2001, several events have been held in Preston, normally around bank holidays, and all have been a success so far. Jodie said: "I think the superclub thing is dying off a bit at the moment and I think we have benefited from that because we stage one-off events in different locations.

"Revolution is a really great venue and we are looking for new venues all the time.

"We are doing something different to everyone else.

"We are very much at the glamourous end of the market. It is popular. We keep selling out."

Funktion is very much a Funky House event, following a musical style which has been with Jodie since his first days on the decks.

It has welcomed guest DJs including Da Mentalistz, Nick Warren, George Thompson and Rick Napier.

Jodie said: "It has pretty much been my music, although when I was going to places like Cream and Gatecrasher a lot where the music is harder, more trance. I started doing more of that.

"But it is very hard to get to play in places like that if you are not known and bars tend to prefer the softer stuff, which is what I do now."

His Thursday/Saturday residences at Revolution show that Jodie is reluctant to stick to one style. He is regularly accompanied by a live saxophone player -- an idea which seems to have worked.

"We were all together one night and we were playing some music and we asked him if he could play along and he could so we get him in as often as we can, it works," said Jodie.

And as for his aims for 2003, Jodie once again has his eyes set on the superclubs and, rather like his school peers when they were hoping to be spotted by Blackburn Rovers, Liverpool or Manchester United, he hopes a club scout will discover him this year.

Jodie said: "I'll keep sending the CDs off but I am hoping one of the scouts from the superclubs sees me, because that will be the best way in.

"That's the next level, though I am really enjoying what I do now."

FACTFILE:

NAME: Jodie Finch

AGE: 23

MUSIC: House

WHERE TO FIND HIM: Funktion events and every Thursday and Saturday at

Revolution, Preston

INFORMATION: Keep tabs on www.funktion-club.com