Back in Plymouth England, when I heard my mum play the Detroit Spinners "Working my way back to you" on our Amstrad Music Centre way back in 1979, I instantly became hooked on the infectious rhythms of Disco, Boogie, Funk & Soul records she used to play. She loved the Disco sound and loved to dance!
During the early 80's, I would also listen to the Electro Synth sounds of Gary Numan, Cerrone and Jean Michel Jarre.
Over the years, I spent good times with my Sister in London and experienced many Reggae and Blues parties at her house. I'm a fan of the Lovers Rock, along with Dub and Roots. My sister was married to a man from Grenada so I was influenced heavily by West Indian culture, food, and music.
When I went to Comprehensive (High) school there, the mid 80's Disco Funk sound was exploding and I would listen to London Pirate radio stations; Jeff Young and Steve Walsh on JFM and Kiss FM before it became commercial. Tracks such as Amii Stewart "Friends", First Light "Explain The Reasons" and Yarborough & Peoples "Don't Stop The Music" were memorable Soul & Boogie classics.
Progressing into the Electro sounds of 1983, I bought the 12" of Africa Bambaataa & The Soulsonic Force's "Looking for the Perfect Beat" on Tommy Boy Records. We'd record off all our Vinyl on to a Maxell Gold Cassette tape and ride the underground trains with our huge Akai and Crown Ghetto Blasters which were awesome at the time.
Returning to Plymouth in the late 80s', I naturally wanted to play these records and play out as DJ. Unfortunately, Plymouth was a wilderness in terms of Black Music. People in the area would only want to hear the commercial pop music in the Top 40 charts. However, we had an amazing club called "Rockafellas" which purely played Black Music. I was lucky to frequent several times.
In addition to Rockafellas, The Academy Nightclub was another "big night out" club I went to and where I first heard House Music. My friend and the DJ there John Marlow along with his colleague Marty Ross were the residents from 1984-1989 and the club won "UK Discotheque of the Year" in 1984.
Into the 90's, I purchased my still owned Technics 1200MK2's turntables, perfected my skills and landed several residencies at some of the top nightclubs in the South West of England. The best times were at The Malthouse where I was on many of the premier UK record label DJ mailing lists.
Labels: Sony Music Entertainment UK, Columbia, Def Jam, East West Records, Power Promotions (UK).
Registered Club DJ for Promotional Vinyl Records 1991 - 1995
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Residencies: Avis's, Barts, The Tube, The Malthouse.
Also Played: The Academy, Sound Factory (Plymouth, England).
MY
HOUSE HISTORY
