ROB da Bank, real name Robert Gorham, is a Radio 1 DJ and co-founder of Sunday Best - an evening of laid back, eclectic music and relaxation that took place in a tea-room in London's Battersea area a few years ago.

By Andy Welch

ROB da Bank and his wife have established Bestival, an eccentric, fun festival on the Isle Of Wight every September and, more recently, another offshoot, Camp Bestival, which takes place in Dorset each July. There's also a record label and various other enterprises in the pipeline.

Corsa Presents Bandstand is the latest new event and takes place in London's Old Billingsgate on May 3 and in the Liverpool Academy on May 10.

Mark Ronson will headline both events, while the rest of the line-up includes DJ sets from Rob himself, Late Of The Pier, The Troubadours and Kitty, Daisy And Lewis.

For more information, go to www.bandstandevents.co.uk or visit www.sundaybest.net

We caught up with Rob during a hectic morning of organising.

CORSA PRESENTS BANDSTAND - WHEN DID YOU GET THE IDEA FOR IT?

The end of last year, I started thinking about doing an indoor show, aside from the two festivals we already do. We thought about this indoor thing and then someone came up with idea of getting Corsa involved. It got married up that way. Essentially, it's a Sunday Best event but we couldn't have done it without money, so we teamed up with Corsa.

IS THE FACT IT'S INDOORS INSPIRED BY HOW BAD THE WEATHER WAS DURING FESTIVAL SEASON LAST SUMMER?

Yes, partly it was to do with that. We were lucky at Bestival, we got the sun in September so it was scorching but not everyone was. You need to guarantee you can have a nice experience without having to worry about wind and rain and mud, so an indoor space is the way to go.

BESTIVAL AND CAMP BESTIVAL ARE FAMOUS FOR THEIR ECCENTRIC VIBE - FANCY DRESS, JUGGLERS, TEA-ROOMS ETC. IS BANDSTAND SIMILAR?

Yes, kind of. It's a Sunday Best thing, like the other two, but it's more about getting back to our roots of eccentric parties. Running Bestival and the Camp, it all ties in. It's about eccentricity, good music and a certain type of Britishness, you know, a village fete atmosphere but with a bit of psychedelia. It's all tied together with quality though and that comes from having people like Mark Ronson there.

DID YOU KNOW IT WAS GOING TO GET SO BIG WHEN YOU HAD THOSE EARLY TEA-ROOM PARTIES IN BATTERSEA?

No, not at all. We just did that for fun. I was a music journalist at the time and I thought I was going to do that forever really. I worked for Muzik magazine and was having a lot of fun, DJing as well. The party kept getting bigger and bigger and then it turned into festivals, radio and all the rest of it. None of it was planned, it's just all come along nicely.

IS IT A JOB KEEPING IT ALL GOING? DO YOU HAVE TO THINK OF NEW THINGS TO KEEP IT FRESH?

Yeah, but I suppose it's a good job to have isn't it, doing a radio show and organising festivals! It's not easy, but I would never moan. Me and my wife run the things, so we never really get a break. That can get tiring but we just have to keep thinking up new things to stop it getting stale. Bestival has been going well, it's been going for five years now, so we added the Camp too. Now we've got this and, if it goes well, hopefully it will, we can expand it next year, do more cities and things like that, keep London and Liverpool and have other dates.

WHEN ANYONE HAS A PARTY AT THEIR HOUSE, IT'S HARD TO ENJOY IT FOR WORRYING ABOUT EVERYONE ELSE. IS THAT WHAT BESTIVAL IS LIKE FOR YOU AFTER SPENDING SO LONG ORGANISING IT?

It is actually. I've made myself get better at enjoying it recently. The first two years I can honestly say I hated going to the festival. When it all kicks off and everyone's having a few drinks, the people who've put it all together can't. That's what we've chosen to do though and I love seeing everyone having a whale of time. I've just got used to being the square person who goes to bed at 2am and doesn't drink. Having a family has changed that too. We've got a two-year-old boy and another on the way, so my crazy days are behind me anyway.