At the time of the millennium The Artful Dodger were huge clubbing acts and dance music gurus. Today Dodger is still pushing the plastic and producing solid dance tunes but with a new fresh, earthy urban streets beat.

Next month Dodger will be appearing in Swindon alongside some top DJs from the dance music world at Wake Up Meca party.

The original line-up was a garage duo made up of Mark Hill and Pete Devereux. They teamed up with Craig David on the song Re-Rewind which shot to number two in the UK singles chart.

They called themselves The Artful Dodger after the character in Charles Dickens' novel Oliver Twist. Dodger was just that - a dodgy character - and the duo thought it appropriate because of the many bootlegs they had made as youngsters.

The Artful Dodger even got a mention in a single by The Streets called Let's Push Things Forward.

Dodger plays funk and soul house, electro, UK Garage, R 'n' B, Hip Hop, Bassment, jungle and drum and bass.

Other hits include Movin' To Fast which reached number two in the charts, Woman Trouble with Craig David and Robbie Craig that got to number six and TwentyFourSeven with Melanie Blatt which got to number six.

Dodger will be bringing cool vibes to the MECA, in Regent Street, Swindon for The Big Summer Party on Bank Holiday Sunday, August 28 Also performing on the night are the So Solid Crew featuring Romeo and Lisa Mafia, Sunship, MC RB and DJ Paul Carroll.

Lisa Mafia is a singer/songwriter, musician, presenter and fashion designer who has notched up five hits with the So Solid Crew including the massive hit, 21 Seconds, as well as enjoying a solo career. She reached number two in the UK charts with All Over which she was invited to perform at the Mobo awards. She is currently heading up her own Maffia Media production company.

Romeo, a wild child of rap, is also a member of the So Solid Crew. He was called Romeo because his pals said he was so smooth with the ladies. Like Lisa, Romeo has his own solo career and scooped two top ten singles, Romeo Dunn’em and It’s All Gravy Baby with Christina Milian. He also appeared on the TV reality show The Games, Fool Around With… Romeo, Celebrity Big Brother and an episode of Don’t Tell The Bride when his brother got married.

Tickets to the MECA show are £10 and available from www.theticketsellers.co.uk/tickets/wake-up-big-summer-party/10040595 - Flicky Harrison