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Manchester Vibes In The Area

by on 11. Oct, 2011 in Black Culture, DJ / Club Culture, DJ Appearances, Interviews, Manchester, Remixes / Edits

Last April the city was once again where I went to try out a new idea - Reels Of Steel, where a further visual element is introduced whilst I DJ , the chosen venue being the recently refurbished Band On The Wall. I’ve since presented Reels Of Steel at Glastonbury and Bestival, and I’m back at Band On The Wall for a second instalment this Friday. This quartet of appearances are the prelude to the full launch of Reels Of Steel next year, giving me the opportunity to further develop the idea and iron out any rough spots in the process. Here’s some footage from last time that’s just been uploaded onto YouTube:

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Martin Rushent

by on 07. Jun, 2011 in DJ / Club Culture, Interviews, Read, Records, The Eighties

Just heard the sad news that record producer Martin Rushent died last Saturday, aged 63. His best remembered album, the electro-pop masterpiece ‘Dare’ by the Human League, issued in 1981, was a runaway success, becoming an international best seller and winning Rushent the Best Producer award at the 1982 Brits. Apart from the Human League, Rushent produced artists including The Buzzcocks, The Stranglers and XTC.

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Ball Of Confusion

by on 05. Apr, 2011 in Black Culture, Hear, Interviews, Psychedelia, Records, The Seventies

Most of the interviews you do throw up the same type of questions, but every now and again someone takes a completely different approach, which can be very refreshing. One such occasion was a few years ago when I received a request for an interview by Berlin based DJ and writer Finn Johannsen, who told me he was doing a feature series for the blog ‘Sounds Like Me’ in which he asks people to chose a favourite record that has strong personal associations. Once I’d informed him of my choice, ‘Ball Of Confusion (That’s What The World Is Today)’, a key single of my formative years by The Temptations, he came back with a whole heap of insightful questions that really caused me to get deep into my reasons behind this selection, including my views on its socio-political relevance, the role of the protest song, and the innovations of its producer, Norman Whitfield.

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Campfire Storyteller

by on 01. Feb, 2011 in DJ / Club Culture, Interviews, Radio, See, Video

On January 20th, I did something I’ve never done previously. I stood before an audience and, for close on an hour, talked about my musical journey – from when I was a child in New Brighton, right up to what I’m doing nowadays. I’ve been in similar situations before, where I was being interviewed, or I was interviewing someone else, but I’ve never stood alone and spoken for so long.

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Hooky’s Book

by on 18. Jan, 2011 in Black Culture, Books, DJ / Club Culture, Interviews, Manchester, Read, The Nineties

I was recently asked about Peter Hook’s book by Joe Rose on the Big Chill forum. He commented “just been reading about you in Hooky's 'Haçienda - How Not To Run A Club'... sounds like those early days at the Hac were bizarre!” To which I replied:

“I'm particularly happy there's finally a book about The Haçienda out there that gives props to the black scene and its key influence on the club. Generally this is missed out completely when people are writing about its part in dance culture...

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Celebrity Paradox

by on 10. Nov, 2010 in Interviews, Misc, See, TV

If you’ve not yet seen Jeremy Paxman’s interview with Russell Brand for the BBC’s Newsnight last month it’s well worth checking out. A compelling perspective on celebrity culture by someone both embroiled in it, yet fully aware of its ludicrousness.

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Where Were You In 1990?

by on 21. Oct, 2010 in Black Culture, CD’s / Digital, Documentaries, Hear, Interviews, Manchester, Read, See, The Nineties

Last month I came across a thread titled ‘Where were you in 1990?’ on the DJ History forum. It wasn’t until I was typing out the comment below that I realised just how momentous a year it was for me – tinged with the bittersweet I should add. Here’s what I wrote:
“I'd moved back North (from London, where I'd been since '86) and spent most of 1990 in Manchester, which was a great place to be that year...

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I Met The Walrus

by on 26. Aug, 2010 in Animation, Art & Design, Interviews, See, The Beatles, The Sixties

This brilliant animation enhances these words of wisdom. John Lennon interviewed by 14 year old Jerry Levitan in Toronto (1969).

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The Eclectic Circus

by on 06. Aug, 2010 in DJ / Club Culture, Hear, Interviews, Manchester, Radio, Remixes / Edits, The Seventies

I became aware of the Eclectic Circus when Adrian emailed me to ask if I’d be up for an interview, which has just been broadcast and has now been uploaded onto their SoundCloud page, where they archive their shows. It’s their second interview, their first being something of a coup – none other than the father of the remix, Tom Moulton.

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