I’m a frazzled fortysomething – but put on the right song, and I’m 18 again and on holiday in Tenerife

‘It’s still as thrilling and fun in my 40s as it was when I was half my age … DJing at Global Gathering in 2013. Photograph: Ollie Millington/Redferns/Getty Images

I am just about to turn 44 years old. When I was in my 20s, I never thought I would still be DJing in my 40s, but it turns out that it’s still as thrilling and fun as it was when I was half my age. I still love the connection to the crowd; I still love being in the middle of all that noise. But all those late nights have taken their toll on my brain. I wish I could remember more.

This year, I seem to want to play only old music. I have been ending my DJ sets with an edit of Abba’s Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight). At Glastonbury, I played John Paul Young’s Love Is in the Air and Fleetwood Mac’s Everywhere. I can’t get enough of playing the classics at weddings, having DJed two this summer already.