In the early 80's you were instrumental in breaking the electro-funk sound in the UK, which was at the time big in NYC. When did you get your 1st taste of the sound?
What we'd later refer to as Electro-Funk seemed to evolve over a 6-8 month period, culminating in the full-on Electro sound of 'Planet Rock', which came into the UK on import in May '82. When putting together my 'Essential Beats' list for electrofunkroots I used D Train's 'You're The One For Me', released in late '81, as a starting point - although it would nowadays be regarded as something of a Disco standard, back then it had a unique sound (which would be much copied) and a different dynamic to anything else that was released around that time. Subsequently tracks like 'Time' by Stone, Electrik Funk's 'On A Journey', 'Don't Make Me Wait' by the Peech Boys, 'Thanks To You' by Sinnamon and Electra's 'Feels Good', confirmed a new direction. Then came 'Planet Rock' and the Electro era had truly begun.
I always cite the Peech Boys as a hugely significant release. Those fierce claps at the intro instantly set the track apart, and it was the record that really brought the dub approach in dance music to the fore.
who were your major influences/inspirations growing up & at that particular time?
I was the youngest of 3 children and my brother and sister were into 60's Soul, buying lots of wonderful 7" singles on labels including the big three - Stax, Atlantic and Tamla Motown. I'd 'inherit' these singles and at 11 years old I began to buy records myself. That gave me my musical foundation, along with the numerous mobile DJ's who used to play every weekend at weddings, 21st's etc, in the functions rooms, which, along with a pub, were run by my parents (we lived in the same building, 'The Criterion' in New Brighton on Merseyside).
When I started deejaying in the clubs in 1975, I was still only 15, but had a sizeable record collection. I was into all sorts of music, but Soul and Funk was closest to my heart. I aspired to be a black music specialist from day one and, locally, the DJ's I most respected were Terry Lennaine, who did the weekly Soul show on BBC Radio Merseyside, and Les Spaine, who worked at The Timepiece in Liverpool, one of the most upfront clubs in the country at that time for Soul and Funk (it's a total fallacy that it was all Northern Soul in the North during the 70's, black kids were very much into contemporary Soul, Funk and Reggae and the whole Northern thing never caught on at all in Liverpool). Some of the tracks that Les Spaine and Terry Lennaine played first would be picked up by other local DJ's, including myself. The Timepiece was a black club and my first visit there, when I was 16, left a big impression on me. From that moment my ambition was to one day work with a similar audience, who were totally knowledgeable about the same type of music I was into, and, furthermore, could really get down on the dancefloor!
Around five years later, when I was fortunate enough to find myself behind the decks at Legend in Manchester and Wigan Pier, specialising in the latest black music coming out of the US, I began to notice names on the records I was into, like Tee Scott, Francois Kevorkian, Larry Levan, Shep Pettibone, 'Jellybean' Benitez, Tony Humphries etc. Records like the US bootleg 12", 'Big Apple Production Vol 1', and the first 'Kiss FM Mastermixes' compilation in '82, undoubtedly inspired me. There was little information with regards to what was actually going on in New York (for example, we had no idea about the emerging Hip Hop scene at this point), but the music itself, and the sheer creativity of the producers and remixers, was something that immediately connected with me, especially as I'd decided in '81 that I was going to place the emphasis on mixing (at a time when only a handful of DJ's in this country were serious about this, from our perspective, new approach to deejaying - the microphone still regarded as essential back then).
From early on in your career you were clearly a fan of remixing & tape editing how did record companies/people in the business feel about a UK DJ wanting to do such a US thing at the time? And how difficult did you find it getting into this area of the business?
I knew all the club promotions people working in London and, given the status of the clubs in which I worked, I was a highly respected DJ within the industry. However, I was constantly being told that remixing was a US thing. I suppose that the record companies in this country were unprepared to trust a British DJ with their master tapes, so, despite the fact that I really wanted to be given a chance, I found myself banging my head against a brick wall. Finally I decided that the only way forward was to make my own tracks (in collaboration with musicians), resulting in the 'UK Electro' album in '84.
You were the first UK DJ (Nicky Siano being the first in the US) to use 3 turntables, were you aware that Nicky did this? & If not when & why did you come up with the concept?
I only became aware of Nicky Siano's innovations from reading about him more recently. As I mentioned, at the time our knowledge regarding what had happened / was happening in New York was extremely limited.
From my own perspective, both Wigan Pier and Legend happened to have 3 vari-speed turntables (remember that these clubs were way ahead of the game back then - most UK clubs regarded their sound system as a minor consideration, vari-speed being an extreme luxury!). Legend was the first club I'd come across in this country that had SL1200's (although I'd worked previously with them during a short residency in Germany during 1980). The third turntable was installed purely as a spare, in case there was a problem with one of the others, but after getting into double-up mixes, using 2 copies of the same record, I took it a step further, tripling-up with certain tunes, running them behind each other or switching between mixes.
If you could only pick one, what was the most defining moment in the UK Electro scene for you?
If you mean something that involved me directly, it would be when Legend went through the roof (May '82), for this resulted in a total upheaval of the scene in the North and Midlands.
With Legend and Wigan Pier now the biggest black music nights around, I was in a position where the type of music I was playing (despite the fact that many of the major figures on the scene in both the North and the South were set against it), began to make a massive impact on the established specialist club scene north of Watford.
Then, of course, there was the 'Buffalo Gals' video, which, as I've said before, literally changed people's lives. How on earth this is never mentioned on those 'I Love The 80's' type shows is a mystery to me! I wrote a piece about its impact called 'Never Mind The Bollocks Here's The Bronx', which you can find on the website: www.electrofunkroots.co.uk/buffalo_gals
Electro reached a more mainstream audience as a result of the massively influential 'Street Sounds Electro' series, the first of which was released in October 1983. Up until this point its main audience was black kids living in the cities, but now the music was accessible in small towns the length and breadth of the country, where countless young white kids (many of whom had had no real contact with black people) made their first connection with what would later evolve into both UK Hip Hop and dance culture.
Can you see any similarities between the current scene & the freedom to play eclectically and the scene from the 80's where you helped introduce this idea in to clubs around the country?
Following the Acid-House explosion, dance culture became increasingly mainstream, culminating in the whole superclub thing, but we've now, thankfully, entered a more underground era once more, linking back to what was happening in the time before House became so dominant. The music that was played on the black scene was never regarded as eclectic, it was just how it was, with DJ's playing the best of a variety of different styles and tempos. I just added Electro into a melting pot that already included Soul, Funk, Jazz and Disco (we didn't use the terms Boogie or Italo, although tracks now placed in these catagories also featured). In the 90's, dance music divided and sub-divided to a ridiculous level, with DJ's playing ever-narrower sub-genres, with all the tracks of a similar style and bpm. This was totally alien to me and I could never have gone back to deejaying in that type of environment. Things have changed somewhat during recent times, and this return to a more underground approach has enabled me to make my DJ comeback without totally compromising my beliefs
You were also famed for your Piccadilly Radio shows especially for your use of reel 2 reel edits & your best of '83 mix (which you can find on www.electrofunkroots.co.uk) when did you get offered the show & how do you think it raised awareness of the emerging scene?
Everything seemed to happen in May '82, including my first mix for Mike Shaft's Piccadilly Radio Soul Show (by coincidence, The Hacienda also opened this month, although it wasn't until Aug '83 that I launched the specialist Friday dance night there). Piccadilly was the most listened to commercial radio station outside London, so this was obviously a major factor in bringing what I was doing to a much wider audience, including lots of people who never came to the clubs in which I worked (especially those who were too young).
What are your thoughts on the recent revival (over the last couple of years) of the UK electro scene, has it come as a surprise? How & where do you think it will evolve from here? & Where would you like to see it go?
I believe it's only just beginning to gain momentum. The Electroclash scene, regardless of whether people love it or hate it, got a lot of younger people looking back to the early 80's, with its links to the Futurist / New Romantic / Punk Funk ethos, but it's only now that the black music of that time is being properly considered, with both a new generation of clubber, disillusioned with the current dance scene, and an older generation, who either missed it first time around or are enjoying it all over again, discovering and re-evaluating this crucially important and massively innovative era for dance music, which, having been overlooked for so long, now provides something of a missing link for those who are interested in learning more about the true evolution of dance music and club culture.
With regards to the future, I feel like we're in some ways looping the loop. Back in the early 80's when these wonderful new tunes, which were utilizing the available technology, were coming over on import, we were zooming-in on the more futuristic aspects of the production, as this was new to our ears. However, listening back, you become aware of just how strong these tracks were musically. In many cases it was a matter of mix and match, with live bass, percussion etc played over a drum machine and alongside the more synthetic sounds. As the years rolled on the technology would become so accessible that non-musicians became able to make records, without even having to enter a recording studio. This was the general direction that dance music subsequently followed, the only live element that continued to feature being vocals. However, I've a feeling that the musical aspect will come more into play once again, which has got to be a positive thing. Programming is a highly creative skill, but someone who can really play brings a different type of magic to the table.
What can we expect from you in the near future?
I'm not really thinking beyond what's happening now. I've been blown-away with just how quickly everything's been moving since I started deejaying again in December 2003 - I never expected people to be so receptive to what I'm doing. There's not enough hours in the day at the moment, it seems I've always got something to be getting on with. I haven't been able to do as much writing as I'd like to, so hopefully I can address that. I also need to update the electrofunkroots site, there's so much to add, it's just a matter of pulling it all together (which I've every intention of doing in the coming months). I've also got some records to put out and a few compilation / mix projects on the go, so, as you can see, I've got more than enough to be getting on with.