He credits bands such as the Chords, the Jam and Secret Affair for sparking his love of all things mod, indirectly beginning his career in music.

[2] During the early '80s, Piller began DJing at mod club nights with great success and decided to set up his first record label aged just 21, releasing a single by R&B band Fast Eddie,[3] whilst a couple of years prior, in late 1979, he had already launched the popular mod revival fanzine Extraordinary Sensations, along with Terry Rawlings.

[5] As well as working for Stiff, he set up another label named Re-Elect The President which launched the careers of the James Taylor Quartet and the Jazz Renegades (a band featuring Style Council drummer Steve White).

[6] This soon gave rise to Britain's newest musical movement, the acid jazz scene, which included bands such as the James Taylor Quartet, Corduroy, Brand New Heavies, Mother Earth, Galliano and Jamiroquai, most of whom Piller signed in 1992 after Peterson's departure from the label.

[15] In 2023, Piller curated a touring exhibition dedicated to Acid Jazz and published a memoir of his early life entitled Clean living under difficult circumstances.