You’ve definitely cultivated an alternative persona as ‘Mr. Scruff’. Is this a conscious move?

Not really. The image I have came about because of what I’m into. I serve tea at my clubnights because I like drinking tea in clubs, it’s the best thing in the world. The cartoons at my shows and on my albums are just what I like drawing. It’s not really a conscious move to be ‘alternative’. My music is eclectic but I try not to be too geeky about the music because if you do that you just end up with a dancefloor full of beardy blokes passing record sleeves about.

You’ve played a residency at Manchester now for ten years; how has that changed?

I’ve always liked it because Manchester’s a bit like Cambridge in that it’s got a decent-sized student population. It means that your audience always has a mixture of new faces and the hardcore regulars who keep you fresh and interesting.

You’re well known for your marathon six-hour sets, something not so common nowadays. Why do you they last so long?

Well I actually started DJing in the 1980s and in the era I was influenced by the DJs who used to play all week at the same club and for the whole night. They’d even sweep up the dance floor after the place had emptied. But I like long sets because I can set the mood for the whole night with the progression of my set. It took me ten years of DJ-ing in my bedroom to get to that stage, though.

Your music gets featured on television and in adverts – does that bother you?

Yeah, most of it’s on trailers. I don’t really have a problem with it because I understand that once you release something it’s out of your hands, and music shouldn’t be kept secret anyway. What’s weird is that nowadays you’ll hear better music on TV than on radio. When ‘Get a Move On’ was first released Radio 1 wouldn’t play it because it was apparently too specialist, but it’ll now get played 20 times on Cash in the Attic .

There’s always humour in your work, do you think that dance music needs that element when certain scenes take themselves a bit too seriously?

I’m not going to say a scene’s too moody because if a scene like dubstep has its share of moody people then fair enough, any scene’s going to attract anoraks, looking for the next underground record. What I look to do is create a friendly atmosphere where people can dance however they want to. What I also like is that I can leave behind the politics of different scenes because my music shifts between genres.

Does that lack of a consistent genre in your DJing and music give you freedom?

Exactly. I’ve used rappers on my music before but I wouldn’t by any means consider myself a hip-hop artist. I also do a lot of collaborations, and the great thing about that is you can just say [to] the other guy, "Keep going whilst I go and pick up some tea bags."

What do you like finishing your sets with?

I like to mix it up, but obviously something big because I hate that feeling when a night ends on something a bit half arsed. I like a bit of knees-up ska to end the night, or sometimes even something of my own.

 And you’ve played at The Junction quite a lot?

I like the venue, it’s got great acoustics, and the crew that work there are great, which is always brilliant. I also like the fact it’s not just a club, but has other stuff going on there. You get the feeling that it’s respected locally and is a bit of a community venue.