Justin Berkmann (born December 1963), is a DJ and nightclub owner. He is the second son of Joseph Berkmann and his second wife, Jean Berkmann (née Barwis) and younger brother of

Marcus Berkmann Marcus Berkmann (born 14 July 1960) is a journalist and author. Life Berkmann was educated at Highgate School and Worcester College, Oxford. His younger brother is the DJ Justin Berkmann. He began his career as a freelance journalist, contribut ...

, an author. They were both educated at

Highgate School Highgate School, formally Sir Roger Cholmeley's School at Highgate, is an English co-educational, fee-charging, independent day school, founded in 1565 in Highgate, London, England. It educates over 1,400 pupils in three sections – Highgate ...

North London North London is the northern part of London, England, north of the River Thames. It extends from Clerkenwell and Finsbury, on the edge of the City of London financial district, to Greater London's boundary with Hertfordshire. The term ''nort ...

. Berkmann is the co-founder of the nightclub and brand,

Ministry of Sound Ministry of Sound or Ministry of Sound Group is a multimedia entertainment business based in London with a nightclub, shared workspace and private members' club, worldwide events operation, music publishing business and fitness studio. James ...

(now MSHK Group). Since its conception in 1991, the company has grown from a nightclub in

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

’s

Elephant and Castle The Elephant and Castle is an area around a major road junction in London, England, in the London Borough of Southwark. The name also informally refers to much of Walworth and Newington, due to the proximity of the London Underground station ...

to a multi-media business. Berkmann's initial involvement was from January 1990 until May 1994, and he was resident DJ and Artistic Director during that period. He then rejoined in 2006 to build their franchise clubs in

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

and

Kuala Lumpur , anthem = '' Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , su ...

. It was found out in August 2018 that Berkmann is 4th cousin once removed to

Coronation Street ''Coronation Street'' is an English soap opera created by Granada Television and shown on ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres around a cobbled, terraced street in Weatherfield, a fictional town based on inner-city Salford. Origi ...

actor Liam Bairstow who plays Alex Warner.

Professional career

Berkmann was introduced to house music by a friend, who recommended

Farley "Jackmaster" Funk Farley "Jackmaster" Funk (born Farley Keith Williams; January 25, 1962) is an American musician, DJ and record producer of Chicago house and acid house music. He is notable for writing and producing a number of highly influential tracks in th ...

's track "Funkin With the Drums Again" to him. Berkmann soon started to DJ, and in 1986 he moved to New York City, where he visited the

Paradise Garage Paradise Garage, also known as "the Garage" or the "Gay-rage", was a New York City discotheque notable in the history of dance and pop music, as well as LGBT and nightclub cultures. The club was founded by sole proprietor Michael Brody, and o ...

, which he described as "an amazing club. It had lights, darkness, music, quiet – everything you wanted. I thought it was the perfect template, so I came back to London in 1988, determined to do something similar". He then spent a year looking for a suitable site, finding a car park in

"with a roof covered in pigeon poo". He joined forces with entrepreneur

James Palumbo James "Jamie" Rudolph Palumbo, Baron Palumbo of Southwark (born 6 June 1963) is a British entrepreneur and member of the House of Lords. Biography The eldest son of property developer Peter Palumbo, Baron Palumbo, Jamie was born in London and e ...

and Humphrey Waterhouse at the end of 1989 and 21 months later they opened

. Berkmann was in charge of booking the talent and being resident DJ until mid-1994. Berkmann sourced American DJ talent like Tony Humphries from the New York and

Newark Newark most commonly refers to: * Newark, New Jersey, city in the United States * Newark Liberty International Airport, New Jersey; a major air hub in the New York metropolitan area Newark may also refer to: Places Canada * Niagara-on-the ...

scenes (which centred on

Club Zanzibar Club Zanzibar was a dance club that opened in 1979 at 430 Broad Street in Newark, New Jersey. Its presence in Downtown Newark was noted for its influence on house music and garage house genres and scene. Club Zanzibar, along with other gay and s ...

and the

). Following this, Berkmann continued to DJ. He rejoined Ministry of Sound in 2006 to assist with the design and sound installation in the Ministry of Sound, Singapore, later to become Venues Development Manager for MoS International, and co-creating the concept and design for their club in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia with

Austen Derek Austen is surname deriving from the Latin ''Augustine'', and first used around the 13th century. Notable people with the surname *Abigail Austen (born 1964), British Army officer *Alice Austen (1866–1952), American photographer *Augusta Amhe ...

. In 2011, one of his older Ministry of Sound mixes was released in ''

Live & Remastered ''Live & Remastered'' (subtitled ''20th Anniversary Box Set'') is a box set released by the record label of British nightclub Ministry of Sound in September 2011. It was released to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Ministry of Sound, as part ...

''.

References

Nightclub owners British businesspeople Living people 1963 births People educated at Highgate School DJs from London Ministry of Sound {{Dj-stub