From the 4th Division to the Premier League: My Journey into Cream Liverpool and Beyond.
- Phat Phil Cooper
- Aug 30
- 4 min read
One question I get asked a lot is: how did I end up playing at Cream?
I may have shared this story before on socials, in conversations, or to anyone who’s curious, but I’ve never properly put it down in writing. So here it is, in stone, on the blog — my story of how I went from playing soulful house in Chester to DJing at Cream Liverpool and eventually Amnesia in Ibiza.
Chester Roots: Sweet vs Cream and the First Invite
It all began in late 1994. Darren Hughes, the man behind Cream, was from Chester and came to a Sweet events where I was playing. If memory serves me right, that’s where he first asked me to come and play at Cream in Liverpool.
By early 1995, I was warming up for Laurent Garnier in the Annexe. Laurent had his own Chester connections — he’d worked as a chef at Franc’s restaurant before his DJ career fully took off, and Darren knew him from those days. Garnier was already a major figure in UK club culture, having played Quadrant Park in Liverpool and The Hacienda in Manchester.
For me, it was a massive leap. From soulful, New Jersey-style house in Chester to the tougher, tribal, techno fuelled sound of the Annexe at Cream — I had to adapt fast.
Finding My Groove: Andy Weatherall and the Annexe
Week two of my Cream semi-residency, I was warming up for Andy Weatherall. That’s when everything clicked.
I’d been playing since 10pm, Andy was due on at midnight, and he arrived around 11:30. He introduced himself, asked if I was new, and when I explained this was my first time at Cream, he couldn’t have been more encouraging.
In fact, he gave me an extra 30 minutes of his set. I dropped Expansions – Elevations and the Annexe went wild. I stumbled backwards off the riser in shock and landed in Andy’s lap. He just smiled, clapped, and said: “A tad cheesy old boy, but it’s worked.”
In that moment, every ounce of anxiety I had disappeared. I knew I’d arrived exactly where I was supposed to be.
From Chester to Cream Liverpool and Amnesia Ibiza
By 1995, I’d gone from what I call the “4th division” — small Chester club nights — to the “Premier League” of DJ gigs at Cream Liverpool. And by 1996, I was also playing at Amnesia in Ibiza.
The highs were incredible: standing behind the decks, narrating the night for thousands of people, finding my zone in the eye of the storm. But with the highs came the lows — imposter syndrome, ego swings, and the comedown crashes.
In those days, I’d take two record boxes: one filled with 12” vinyl, the other filled with bottles of brandy and mixers. Add various 'party supplies' and a run of afterparties that stretched for days, and it was chaos. My sixth sense saved me more than once, pulling me out of situations before they got too dark.
The photos below are when I had a full season of Cream Ibiza posters framed from my apartment in Ibiza.
Cream: Playground, School, and Home
Cream wasn’t just a superclub — it was my playground, my school, and my home.
It was a place where I could be all sides of myself: the quiet, shy, geeky Phil, or the loud, gregarious Phat Phil. I could hide in a corner with close friends or hold court front and centre. The club attracted people like me: oddballs, outsiders, the passionate and the obsessive. My tribe.
And then came the heroes. Suddenly I was rubbing shoulders with DJs I’d only ever admired from afar. Roger Sanchez took me on tour across the UK and Europe, a rollercoaster of highs and humbling lows. I’d pour everything into a warm-up set, only for Roger to step up, play one record, and send the room into orbit. It crushed me at times, but he always had the right words to keep me grounded.
My reputation among US DJs grew too. The names on the labels of the records I’d been chasing were suddenly in my phonebook. And yet, I’d still ask myself how this geeky Welsh kid had managed to break into the circles of the New York and Chicago maestros. The imposter syndrome never quite left.
Looking Back: The 4th Division to the Premier League
Those first years at Cream and Ibiza shaped me in ways I’m still unpacking today.
From Chester to Liverpool to Ibiza, I was pushed out of my comfort zone, tested, and transformed. It was chaotic, euphoric, overwhelming — and ultimately life-changing.
I went from the 4th division to the Premier League, and it’s a story I’m glad to finally put in stone here on the blog.
In 2015 I was invited back to play the original club in Liverpool before it was demolished for city centre apartments, below is the vinyl and digital set I played that evening.
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