NOT many people can alphabetise their lives.

But for David Hamilton - or DJ Hammy as he is better known - flicking through his carefully categorised CD collection, there is a song to accompany all of his milestone moments.

Under the letter V' is The Verve's Bitter Sweet Symphony, which will always remind him of his wedding day, under B' his childhood will forever be associated with The Beatles' All My Loving and in the O' section there's Gilbert O'Sullivan's Alone Again Naturally, which takes him back to when his mum sadly passed away.

A DJ at various Southampton clubs for the best part of three decades, his playlists have not only been the soundtrack to his life, but also to thousands of other peoples' across the city.

Since he first got behind the decks in 1980, he has been a crucial part of Southampton's alternative music scene.

When the Manchester Baggy sound was dominating the airwaves in 1989, when grunge bands like Nirvana captured the imagination of teenagers across the world two years later and when the Britpop scene exploded in the mid-90s, Hammy was playing the records that mattered.

And he has been evolving ever since, to earn his title as the city's longest serving alternative DJ.

"I enjoy it as much now as I always have done," says Hammy full of his trademark enthusiasm.

"I love what I do and still get a buzz out of it. I love making people happy and to have them educating me about music. I still get asked for tons and tons of stuff that I haven't got which is brilliant."

Sat in Hammy's office - a small room in the Swaythling house he has lived in all his life - it is crammed full of crates brimming with the thousands of CDs and vinyl he has spent years collecting.

Music is playing, separates are wedged beneath his desk and a computer screen is illuminated by his never-ending download list.

His massive speakers and the rest of his DJ gear are also squeezed into the room, which is decorated with an assortment of camper van memorabilia, a fish tank and family photographs.

He currently has two regular nights, Wednesdays at The Rhino, where his set includes the latest alternative tunes and Saturdays at The Dorchester, popular with the old faithful where he plays a mixed bag of tracks from over the years.

2008 sees him celebrate his 10th anniversary at both clubs.

"It just seems to have gone so quickly. It's a bit scary really! Being big headed, I think I have got a bit of charisma, you have to have it. Lots of DJs in this town are better than me. I make lots of cock-ups and drink too much to calm my nerves. I get very nervous because I don't want to let anyone down. I'm my own worst critic and absolutely tear myself to pieces the next morning."

With three older brothers, Hammy grew up to the sound of a Dansette record player blasting out the likes of The Beatles, The Stones and Roy Orbison.

But if he could pinpoint the moment that music really changed his life, it would be when he discovered punk in 1976.

"Punk was my education really. I was as thick as two short planks before that. In terms of politics and my way of viewing the world, it changed my life forever. It was the same for a lot of working class people. We started going to punk gigs and it opened up a whole new social scene."

With intimidation and violence hanging ominously in the air, the late-70s was a time when a night-out in Southampton invariably spelt trouble.

Hammy and his friends tended to congregate at The Magnum - a gay club in St Mary's - the first nightclub to admit punks in an age where a suit was a prerequisite of entry to most late-night venues.

"I pestered the DJ there and annoyed him so much that I got my own night down the Rio Grande. It was at the bottom of St Mary's and supposed to be a country and western club.

"I used to take a bag of seven-inch singles down there. I soon moved on to doing Saturdays for about £5 a night and as many bottles of Pils as I could drink.

"There were always hooligan types. I was a football boy so I wasn't an angel myself but some of those people were from another league.

"I got done in a couple of times down there. I had to tell my mum I had walked into a lamppost one night. It was a crazy, crazy place but they were great times."

Over the years that followed, Hammy DJed at a host of nightclubs across Southampton, many of which no longer exist.

There was Manhattans, The Riverside, Barbarellas, Thursdays, The Joiners Arms, The Network Club, The West Park Tavern and The Academy, to name just a few.

After so many years immersed in music, his tastes are definitely diverse - along with punk, he loves everything from ska to rockabilly and 60s psychadelia to soul.

"It's very difficult to say what my favourite bands are but you always go back to your early years I think. I'm more of a favourite tune person really as bands, like your football team, tend to let you down. Songs are always there."

These days when he's not transferring his massive music collection onto his computer (he's going digital and has been at it every day for the last three months - the end still isn't in sight), he's riding his Vespa scooter or desperately trying to keep his beloved camper van on the road. "It's a money pit" he sighs.

Taking just four Saturdays off a year ("I don't want to lose my crowd"), Hammy admits that he often feels for his wife of ten years, Emma.

"It's not very fair on the wife but she is very understanding. I can't imagine marriage lasting if I had done it when I was younger."

Passionate about his beliefs, he is a staunch vegetarian, a member of the League Against Cruel Sports and loves Southampton Football club.

Just turned 48, he is keeping it as fresh as ever.

"I am always looking for something new to get into, new music and new scenes but people are still coming from the beginning as well. Many of my younger regulars come up and say you know my mum or dad or you went out with my mum or auntie. That always makes me chuckle!"

And he is not going to give up any time soon.

"I celebrate 30 years of DJing in early 2010 and I can't believe how quick it's gone. The thrill of getting the floor going crazy never leaves you, it is the drug of choice for me. You get the crowd you deserve and I have a wonderful crowd coming to see me."