Paul Delaney
Introduction
Paul Delaney is a Scottish Entrepreneur, Publisher and SEO Professional based in Valencia, Spain. Paul has a three decade long track record of generating growth for brands in the Education, Travel and Leisure sectors.
Paul has worked with and for a diverse range of clients and employers, from start-ups to PLCs, and has helped brands break £1million, £10 million, and £40 million revenue for the first time in their history. He has also helped brands with multi-million pound losses turn their fortunes around in record time. Paul also performed as a DJ for over two decades under the stage name EL dEL and has released podcast mixtapes and track-remixes under that name. He holds a Postgraduate Diploma in Digital Marketing from the Digital Marketing Institute, a BA in Publishing from Edinburgh Napier University, an UCLES CELTA certificate, and an Ableton Live Certificate in Music Production from Point Blank Music School.
Early Life and Education
Paul Delaney was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, where he displayed a keen aptitude for English, and an interest in Sport, Entrepreneurship and Music from a young age. Inspired by the success of charity fund raising initiatives they were involved in, Paul and his friends started car washing and newspaper delivery enterprises when they were just eleven years old, and continued with money making schemes throughout their secondary school education at Trinity Academy.
During his teenage years, Paul was deeply involved in sports, representing both Trinity Academy and Boroughmuir Rugby Club. In 1995, he played a pivotal role in his team’s victory at the Under-18 Scottish Cup. His passion for music saw him dabbling with different instruments before ultimately diving into the world of DJing and club culture. In the summer of 1995, he began working at the legendary Edinburgh club night, Madchester.
Shortly after turning 18, Paul and his flatmate, now-renowned DJ Chris Knight (Astrojazz), started hosting their own club nights. Paul pursued a BA in Publishing at Edinburgh Napier University from 1995 to 1998, where he shone in commercial, design, and editing aspects of his coursework, allowing him time to nurture his business interests in parallel.
In this period Paul worked closely with Events Armoury managing, promoting and performing at events. He built up a nightclub publicity distribution service that stretched across 11 university and college campuses in Edinburgh, as well large street teams at weekends. The organisation's activities peaked in 1996 and 1997, running over 10 in-house events and producing posters and publicity for most other nightclub and live music events in Edinburgh.
From early 1996 onwards, Paul was the main DJ at the Madchester event as it grew from strength to strength in the Edinburgh club scene and packed in crowds at La Belle Angele, The Music Box, The Jaffacake and other Edinburgh venues. In 1997 Mani of The Stone Roses and Primal Scream joined Paul and performed at the club's 5th birthday party in La Belle Angele.
During this period in the 1990s, Paul Delaney and his club promotion mentor, Steven Cummings, unleashed guerrilla marketing campaigns that captured attention in national publications, featuring in International DJ Magazine and Loaded Magazine. Their innovative tactics included "photoshopping" the faces of Shaun Ryder and Bez from Happy Mondays/Black Grape onto old movie and TV posters, Bee-Gees band photos— this was a pioneering approach to meme and mashup publicity more than a decade before it became a mainstream phenomenon, and even before the DTP package was branded photoshop.
Further pushing the envelope, the duo ingeniously employed students to place projectors in their apartment windows, which at night would display moving images of their upcoming event posters onto prominent historic buildings in Edinburgh. This not only secured local media coverage but also positioned them as avant-garde marketers.
Their groundbreaking efforts predated a similar stunt by the promoters of Ministry of Sound, who gained acclaim for projecting images on the Houses of Parliament nearly two years later. Yet, no credit was every given for the Edinburgh based innovators of the guerrilla marketing tactic in the UK.
Career
In 1998, Paul Delaney took a summer job at Basil Paterson, a renowned English Language school in Edinburgh, which was in the midst of being acquired by the OISE Chain. During this period, he continued to DJ on weekends. This role at Basil Paterson provided Paul with his initial exposure to the workings of a multinational company and opened the door to the international education sector—an area he was eager to explore.
A turning point came when Alison Johnstone, a colleague of Paul's at the school and now an MSP for the Scottish Green Party, left to embark on her political career. Paul was offered her position. Leveraging his background in sales and marketing, he quickly made his mark by promoting the school at industry events and during a pivotal trip to Spain where he met with agency and affiliate partners and secured contracts worth six figures for the company. Soon after Paul accepted a sales and marketing role at the OISE brand's head office in Oxford, England.
Paul Delaney's career in international education soared after his move to Oxford. There, he traveled internationally, promoting English study abroad courses. During this time, Paul's interest in technology and digital marketing grew. He pioneered the use of email marketing within the company, significantly transforming the sales and marketing strategies of a multinational turning over more than £10 million—all before the age of 25.
In 2003, seeking a change from the commercial sphere, Paul pursued a certification to teach English as a foreign language and relocated to Valencia, Spain. He quickly secured a teaching position, mastered Spanish, and began freelancing, teaching both individual students and employees at international companies. Alongside teaching, Paul worked in a local bar and continued DJing.
Despite his relocation, Paul remained a pivotal figure at the (Club) Madchester events in Edinburgh, which he still DJed at semi-annually. These events remained hugely popular, and the brand was becoming one of the longest-running in both the Scottish and UK club scenes.
After a fruitful period in Spain, Paul Delaney returned to Oxford in 2006, resuming his career with OISE, which had grown into a significant multinational entity. In his middle management role, Paul not only managed all agent and affiliate relationships for the parent brand but also oversaw the promotion of six other brands and provided training and guidance to their sales and marketing teams.
By 2008, Paul had moved to the prestigious Eurocentres Foundation, where he spearheaded the chain's sales and marketing efforts across diverse regions, including Russia/CIS, North and Central America, and the Middle East.
In 2011, Paul's career took a decisive turn when he joined EAC Language Centres, newly acquired by TUI Travel PLC as part of its foray into the international education industry. Stepping into senior management, Paul played a crucial role in his first year, helping turn around a struggling brand from a net loss of £3 million to achieving operating profit for the first time in several years.
Despite this success, in 2013, following the merger of EAC with its sister brand ELC to form a new company, most of the commercial team, including Paul, were made redundant. Post-Paul's departure, TUI failed to replicate the previous success in the international education sector, and due to continued poor commercial performance, the company was compelled to sell the now again loss-making brands only 18 months later.
After becoming disillusioned with corporate politics, Paul Delaney relocated to Zurich, where he began working as a commercial contractor for educational businesses. In 2014, he consulted for AEC Education Group PLC, helping them expand their services and successfully establish a new multi-million pound revenue stream.
Seeking a balance between his professional and personal life, from late 2014, Paul took a year-long break from the education sector to devote himself to full-time care of his infant son and to further his passion in music production. During this time, he continued to DJ, performing in Glasgow, Edinburgh, and guest slots in Switzerland alongside producer DJ Groovecellar.
Returning to the international education field in early 2016, Paul's expertise was quickly sought out by the Hallmark Property Group, which was developing educational accommodation and study facilities around London as part of their £500m portfolio. Paul took on their struggling English language brand and, employing savvy email and affiliate marketing strategies, transformed it into a multimillion pound success within just one sales cycle. His efforts not only generated substantial net profit margins for Hallmark but also led to the creation of one of the largest international summer schools in the UK, attracting over 2000 students to the Colindale centre during a seven-week period in the summer of 2017.
Despite his success, Paul found himself once again at odds with corporate politics in international education. Consequently, he decided to part ways with Hallmark, which, similar to his previous experiences, struggled to replicate the success achieved during his tenure.
Alongside his thriving career in international education, Paul Delaney's involvement in club and concert promotion not only continued but also expanded significantly throughout the decade. The (Club) Madchester brand capitalised on the resurgence of UK guitar music from 2006 onward, drawing average monthly crowds exceeding 750 attendees at Edinburgh's Liquid Room, where the venue owner became a partner in promoting these events.
Paul and his co-promoter Steven successfully curated a series of landmark nights, introducing significant UK music scene figures to the DJ world. They were instrumental in providing the first DJ "gigs" for Shaun Ryder of Happy Mondays and Tim Burgess of The Charlatans, both of which set attendance and revenue records for The Liquid Rooms. Their events in Edinburgh and Glasgow hosted an impressive roster of guest DJs from the UK's alternative music scene, including: - Mani of the Stone Roses - Clint Boon of Inspiral Carpets - Peter Hook of New Order - Bez of Happy Mondays - Rick Witter of Shed Seven - Andy and Jez Williams from Doves - DJ Dave Booth, the original Stone Roses DJ - Terry Hall of The Specials - Steve Craddock of Ocean Colour Scene
Additionally, Paul and Steven promoted live music events featuring performances by notable bands and artists such as Northside, Stereo MCs, The La’s (acoustic), Shed Seven (acoustic), and Tom Hingley from Inspiral Carpets.
A particular highlight was promoting Peter Hook & The Light's first concert outside of Manchester in 2011 at The Liquid Room. This event was part of a tour where Peter Hook performed the Joy Division debut album post his split from New Order. Footage of this memorable gig is still available on platforms like YouTube and Facebook.
Throughout this period, Paul was also a sought-after DJ for guest slots at other club nights, festivals, and warm-up sessions for bands touring through Edinburgh. He played at official post-gig parties for The Charlatans, Beady Eye, Ocean Colour Scene, and events like the Shiiine On Festival and Fabrika De Funk, often sharing the stage with artists like Shaka Loves You and Sammy Senior.
By 2014, Paul started to decrease his DJ commitments in Edinburgh, and from 2015 onward, he shifted his focus entirely towards events in Glasgow, adapting his promotional activities to align with his evolving personal and professional interests.
After the Stone Roses reformed in 2012, Paul Delaney and Steven Cummings made a significant impact with their infamous pre and post-gig parties for all the band's Glasgow dates, including the Stone Roses' final concert at Hampden Stadium in 2017. These events featured collaborations with long-time collaborators Clint Boon, Dave Booth, and also the Stone Roses tour manager, Steve Adge. The parties were a hit, with online feedback overwhelmingly pointing to Paul and Steven's events as the best of the night in Glasgow.
However, in February 2018, the (Club) Madchester events came to an abrupt end, marking the close of an era that had begun in November 1994 with Steven Cummings at Shady Lady's in the Mission, Victoria Street, Edinburgh. The final event took place at The Record Factory in Byres Road, Glasgow, and neither the attendees nor the crew were aware that it would be their last night. An acrimonious split had previously halted the Edinburgh events in November 2017, and this discord eventually led Paul and Steven to dissolve their partnership in Glasgow events in early 2018.
The tumult, a common theme in the music industry, involving external pressures and internal disputes, brought an end to their long-standing collaboration. Despite this, Paul's connection to the Madchester scene continued. He later performed at a one-off 'Official Madchester brand' event at The Liquid Rooms in Edinburgh in late 2018, finally cementing his status as an 'official' Madchester DJ after over two decades of playing that kind of music and keeping it popular in Central Scotland.
In 2018, Paul Delaney embarked on a new venture with his friend DJ Fran Taburrini and others, launching the Stereo Revolver club brand. These events ran successfully until the COVID-19 pandemic brought them to a halt, but there remains the potential for future events.
Simultaneously, Paul made a strategic shift in his professional life by deciding to focus exclusively on digital marketing services through his agency. This decision was motivated by a desire to stop travelling extensively and spend more time with his young family. To formalise his expertise in the field, he completed a Postgraduate Diploma with The Digital Marketing Institute in 2019 and soon after started offering services under Perception Digital Consulting. Although the agency initially saw success, the COVID-19 pandemic severely impacted its operations, leading to the shutdown of many of its clients' businesses, some of which never reopened.
In 2021, in response to evolving market needs and the changes to the educational landscape post-Covid, Paul rebranded his agency to Content Ranked. He now specialises in delivering SEO projects to clients in the education sector. Additionally, he became a shareholder and Marketing Director of the successful start-up Seed Educational Consulting, a company is dedicated to providing study abroad opportunities to West African students. Paul has recently also embarked on a new venture with Rhys Southern, the Australian entrepreneur, SEO professional and public speaker.
Personal Life
Details about Paul Delaney’s personal life are primarily private, but it's known that he resides in Valencia, Spain with two sons.
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