Jodie Harsh announces debut book You Had To Be There
From moving to London aged 15 to becoming a dancefloor regular, the book follows Jodie’s journey through club culture
DJ and producer Jodie Harsh has announced her debut book You Had To Be There, following her journey through London’s club scene.
The memoir sees Jodie share pivotal moments from her life such as the day she first arrived in the capital aged 15 and headed straight to the nightclub Astoria.
From Astoria, Jodie takes the reader through many influential and hedonistic nights out, including parties at her famous friend’s houses to clubs including The Cross, Mahiki, Boombox and The End.
Read this next: Jodie Harsh: "My first time in a club felt like waking up from a dream"
As well as these formative days of her DJing career - including the birth of her iconic blonde beehive - Jodie shares an insight into how she watched the city reshape itself after the financial crash of 2008.
Speaking on the book Jodie says: "For a decade, I barely slept. I frantically jumped from club to club in a London that is now lost but not forgotten. My decadence almost destroyed me, but thankfully I kept on dancing. I’ve finally written the book I have always wanted to read, and I can’t wait to introduce you to the characters, and the places, that made it all so wild."
On top of her upcoming book release, Jodie is continuing to host her weekly queer-centred night Feel It at OMEARA with acts including The Blessed Madonna, Fatboy Slim, Confidence Man, salute and more.
Read this next: In Session: Jodie Harsh
In 2021, Jodie was the star of a Google documentary A Search Story, which followed her involvement in the dance music scene from the '00s.
The short documentary included her speaking on subjects of self-expression and the fluidity of the LGBTQ+ nightlife scene
Jodie Harsh’s You Had To Be There is out in Autumn 2025 via Faber and is available to pre-order here.
Becky Buckle is Mixmag's Multimedia Editor, follow her on Twitter