In 1972, Needs became the secretary of the Mott The Hoople fan club, the Sea Divers, which he ran from his home in Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire.
Needs started in journalism on the Thame Gazette, a weekly newspaper in Oxfordshire, went on to The Bucks Advertiser and then took over editing ZigZag, the UK's first monthly music mag, in 1977.
[1] Needs and Wonder Schneider formed the band Secret Knowledge and recorded the 1992 club hit "Sugar Daddy" on Andrew Weatherall's Sabres of Paradise label.
Needs started DJing at college in 1970, continuing at 70s punk rock events, the Batcave in London during the 1980s and for Primal Scream and Prodigy in the 90s while spinning at the world's clubs, including Ibiza's infamous Manumission.
[1] In May 2017, he launched No More Big Wheels with author Helen Donlon, an online outlet for cultural essays beyond the remits of the magazines.