Queen Elizabeth II has now been the ruling monstch since 1952 in the United Kingdom and numerous other countries around the world – yet over 70 years, we have learnt almost nothing about her views or how she sees the world. And by the looks of it, Defected boss Simon Dunmore seems keen to emulate her model.

Well, at least in terms of his views on the pandemic, anyway. Exactly what he thinks isn’t very clear – and for good reason. If there’s one thing Dunmore is good at, it’s reading the room. And he knows as well as anyone that the dance music world is very divided on the subject – hence why Danny Rampling bizarrely still commands respect despite holding patently ridiculous views on the current situation.

But Defected coming out on the side of anti-vaxxers and moonbeams wouldn’t be a good look, hence why Simon Dunmore has to choose his words on the pandemic very carefully. This policy, however, does not appear to apply to artists whom his label represents, with The Shapeshifters tweeting on Boxing Day that “I don’t feel it would be irresponsible for any Artist or Venue to ignore any further restrictions”.

So when Boris Johnson announced on Monday that England wasn’t putting any new Covid restrictions in place this week, Dunmore had to exercise a degree of caution when he spoke – saying he was “mindful of the differing opinions” and believed “that this is the right call”. And not surprisingly, someone took him to task on it.

A Scottish DJ called Ryan Kerr accused the Defected boss of putting “profit over people”. Dunmore’s reply is worth reading in its entirety…

No. It’s the need for the world to start moving forwards. There is much suffrage outside of COVID that needs addressing. We discussed the situation extensively and all agreed we need to start working towards to a world beyond loch downs.

— Simon Dunmore (@SimonDunmore) December 27, 2021

Dissecting this word salad, I get the impression Dunmore is trying to employ the same trick as Sacha Lord – namely speaking in very vague terms that could be interpreted either way by his followers. For example, what “suffrage outside Covid” is he talking about? And who exactly did he have “extensive” discussions with? Last time I checked, he ran Defected – so the final call ultimately rests with him.

His next tweet on the subject is even more vague. Presumably he’s talking about nightclub workers, DJs and producers when he speaks of “people that have suffered indirectly from Covid” – but he gives little else away. He also mentions trying “a different approach”, again with nothing in terms of specifics.

Could money be a consideration on Dunmore’s mind? It’s a reasonable question. After all, the Prime Minister closing nightclubs in England this week – like has happened for the rest of the UK – would have meant Defected having to cancel or postpone their New Year’s Eve party at Printworks London. It would also mean a Classic Music party on New Year’s Day being pulled too.

Then again, it’s worth bearing in mind Defected has actually grown during the pandemic – as this blog reported back on November 8th. Another theory is that he’s referencing his own family – his sons are both aspiring DJs under the Dunmore Brothers name, whilst his entrepreneurial daughter runs a bespoke clothing company. All will have been hit in some way by the pandemic.

Will there be an interview somewhere in the dance music press soon where he’ll be asked to elaborate on his views? Don’t count on it – Defected are notorious for keeping tight control over their own message. So unless the Defected machine decides to tell us, expect the real reasons to remain a mystery…

The Wednesday Whisper is taking a break over Christmas. It’ll be back next week.