ELECTRO FUNK - GREG WILSON ARTICLE

[Greg Wilson]

Jazz Pilgrim: it's refreshing to hear your views on the Electro-Funk tunes that, at the time, you must have thought were polluting the scene you undoubtedly loved . People nowadays must assume that records like 'Rockit' and 'Walking On Sunshine' were released to universal approval, but as you've explained it wasn't quite as simple as that.

The Soul Mafia were so powerful in the South, and able to stage massive events like Caister. It was like a Jazz-Funk army with Chris Hill as the General and the other DJ's filling the various ranks, with the 'tribes' providing them with a seemingly endless supply of foot-soldiers. Whereas the Southern scene was highly organized, it was much more spontanious in the North, although when I first came onto the All-Dayer circuit as an up-and-coming Jazz-Funk DJ in the pre-Electro days, I felt that the Northern promoters were trying to model the events too much on what was happening in the South, and often failing miserably in the process. The North's big DJ of the time, John Grant, knew his music, but couldn't hope to compete with Chris Hill in terms of outrageous personality.

Being a Jazz Pilgrim back then, it would be interesting to hear some of your memories of the period, of how the whole tribe thing worked, and how it all came to an end?

[Greg Wilson]

Back in 1982 Blues & Soul, issued fortnightly, was the essential publication if you were involved with the black music scene (or had aspirations to be involved, as many DJ's did). It was referred to as 'the DJ's bible', and although it was Soul Mafia orientated, it had a fairly large section on the club scene in the North & Midlands (Frank Elson's 'Checkin' It Out'), which covered both the Northern Soul and Jazz-Funk scenes. Bob Killbourne would also plug events in the North in his 'Jock's Rapp' pages, which included charts from DJ's throughout the country.

Black Echoes, a weekly publication, included Lindsay Wesker's club page 'Funk Finder', which would be re-named 'Hip Hop - Nightclubbing' the following year. During 82, Lindsay was the first Southern writer to regularly head up North to check out the emerging Electro-Funk scene. While Frank Elson in B&S went on an anti-Electro campaign, Lindsay embraced the changes he could see taking place in the North, and was as active as anyone in helping the subsequent London Electro movement take shape.

Record Mirror, another weekly publication, was a Pop magazine that included the official UK singles and albums chart. James Hamilton's long-running 'Discos' pages, were essential DJ reading (both specialist and mainstream), including a news section, reviews of all the new UK dancefloor releases (plus selected imports), and a club chart. James religiously listed the BPM's of the tracks he reviewed, and was undoubtedly one of the UK's mixing pioneers.

In 1983 a new monthly magazine appeared. This was Mixmag (originally called Disco Mix Mag), which was aimed exclusively at DJ's and originally sold by subscription only, complete with its free 'mega mix' cassettes (these 'mega mixes' being medleys of popular artists of the time, like Shalamar, Kool & The Gang and Human League). The early copies of Mixmag were nothing like the full colour glossy we came to know, looking more like a fanzine and appealing largely to mainstream tastes.

[K-Bee]

Thanks for the info about these british publications, Greg.

I agree with you about B&S. The level of information has been outstanding throughout the years. I'd even go as far as saying that it stands as the ultimate source for the documentation of the history of black music from the 60's up untill today. Dealing with music librarianship, B&S has always been my first choice for references about otherwise long forgotten releases.

Concerning Mix Mag, the availability of back issues has always been scarce over here. Suppose I missed out on something. These mix tapes sounds like a lot of fun.

[Greg Wilson]

K-Bee: Slightly off the subject. Before I returned to the UK to take over at Wigan Pier in 1980 I'd been deejaying in Europe for the past couple of months, in Germany (near Essen) and the previous month in Vordingborg, Denmark (in 78 I'd worked in Fredrickshavn, on the other side of the country). Anyway, the reason I'm telling you this is because had I not landed the job at Wigan Pier I was due (after a stint in the Canary Islands) to work at 'Daddy's Dancehall' in Copenhagen.

From all accounts 'Daddy's' was a favourite venue with the DJ's who were on the books of the agency I worked for. I was told me that the people there were well into their music, and although I was obviously deliriously happy to get the Pier (which was a highly prestigious venue with the best sound and lighting in the UK at the time), there was always a slight disappointment that I never got to experience 'Daddy's'. I'm sure I would have enjoyed myself there.

Quinny: I was surprised to hear that when you deejayed in Spain you didn't use the microphone. Around Scandanavia and Germany, where I worked, an English voice was seen as essential. In Sweden, where English DJ's couldn't get work permits, Swedish guys would talk over the mic in English (only reverting to Swedish if they needed to make some kind of announcement).

[K-Bee]

Greg:
I remember Daddy's Dancehall very well. It was located as part of the "Palads" (meaning Palace) cinema in central Copenhagen. They closed down Daddy's in the mid eighties.Since then, they've tried opening other discos there but they never really succeeded in terms of attracting the bigger crowds.
Can't believe you were supposed to work there :lol: - Damn! this really is a small world.

Unfortunately, I was too young to ever go there but I remember my sister attending various partys at Daddy's dancehall back in the day. it was probably the hottest disco in Denmark at the time.
You're right - english speaking DJ's were highly popular in Denmark back then. I even recall they used to have one at the disco in the small town, Farum, where I grew up even though it was a town populated by about 12.000 people back then. The disco was called Mainstreet and everybody went there...literally, mostly because the music the DJ played was so different from what people was used to hearing.
The hottest disco in Copenhagen today is probably the Vega nightclub....I was fortunate enough to see Francois K there a few weeks ago, but sometimes I wish I was a bit older so I really would have been able to take part in some of all these classic disco night that many of the older board members always talk about.....well, I guess you can't have everything. :-?

[jazz_pilgrim]

Originally Posted by Greg Wilson

Being a Jazz Pilgrim back then, it would be interesting to hear some of your memories of the period, of how the whole tribe thing worked, and how it all came to an end?

It's gonna be a long post but here goes: here is a summary of what the scene was like. :)

It was a white suburban mix that made up the Soul Mafia crowd mainly from London and the Home Counties. It was a very hedonistic scene - the idea was to have a good time. I would say that at the time it was a way of life. Our group of friends (we later grouped into the Jazz Pilgrims) used to do everything together - shopping for clothes and records, going to the cinema, going ten-pin bowling ; oh yes, and going clubbing. A lot of us even had weekend jobs together. We all had identical sweatshirts made up with Jazz Pilgrims on, and we all used to wear them ... along with the good old wedge hair cuts! And yes - my friend Mark even had the ultimate soulboy car - a Ford Cortina Mk2!! We had a leaderwho was the JP's DJ - he was a friend of Pete Tong.

The influence of the Soul Mafia jocks was enormous at the time - a good example being Robbie Vincent's Saturday lunchtime show on Radio London. One mention of an upcoming tour, and all of Maze's concerts , (Maze had never had a chart success) sold out within hours. That nearly woke the pop music press up! I still have on cassette somewhere the moment Robbie Vincent played a demo from an unknown British band in the summer of 1980 - the listeners loved it, and it became a hit record and started a whole new Brit funk movement. That demo was Lynx and You're Lying.

In terms of the clubs we used to go to, they were mainly based in Kent, Sussex and South London. There were a few clubs in Tunbridge Wells, the town in which I grew up, including a very good one in the summer of 80 which the owner decided to burn down for insurance purposes. Our main hang-outs were on the A20 around Brands Hatch - Greenways, the Spring Tavern (our home club) and a great little Monday night club that played really hot driving jazz funk - the Hilltop. We also used to go to the all-dayers/nighters in Brighton, to Flicks in Dartford and to the club at Leysdown on the Isle of Sheppey (I have forgotten its name). We also used to run the odd coach up to south London - exotic places like Streatham (Cats' Whiskers) and Peckham!

But the ultimate experience for us a weekend away at a holiday camp in Caister (for other members - this is a small holiday town on the East Coast of England) for the Caister Soul Weekender - they were legendary. I remember there were loads of fights with other soul tribes - but these usually involved shaving foam or saucepans of water!! The atmosphere at these weekenders was something special.
I remember we were driving up the A12 - the main road from London to Caister. If our car stopped at traffic lights, four doors would open and we would all get out, dance in the street to the music playing on the car stereo, hurriedly getting back in when the lights changed! :lol: You would be sitting in a roadside café, when another tribe would come in to the restaurant with a ghetto blaster playing the latest jazz funk sounds - within seconds we would all be up from our tables and dancin'!! And that was before we had even arrived! Like I said, it was something special. When we got there it was a weekend of dancin' and drinking and whatever else went on. Yes there were some drugs but not much. Our lead DJ got high on speed, I recall, and he went off wondering around the camp on the Saturday night - totally out of his head!! At about 3am, to our horror and amusement, he turned up on the Caister radio station in the camp!! Still out of his head!!

There was the Caister sign - you made a -"C" with your thumb and forefinger and waved your arm in the air along with the throng to the Soul Anthems. There were Miss Wet T Shirt competitions etc etc as well. Hmm.

But what about the Caister music - the real anthems? The top track was, without a doubt:
MAZE - Joy and Pain (live in New Orleans) That was the Caister record to end all Caister records - everytime I play that record it still hurts - the emotion from that record!! That was the Caister record to end all records.

Other Caister classics over the years:
CANDI STATON - Young Hearts Run Free - that's what we did
BILLY PAUL - Bring The Family Back - we were all one big FAMILY and this record was MASSIVE
WHISPERS - It's A Love Thing - coz that's exactly what it was
McFADDEN AND WHITEHEAD - Ain't No Stoppin Us Now - there certainly wasn't!
O'JAYS - I Love Music - a perennial classic

Some of the jazz tunes I have already mentioned often in my previous posts, but to take three or four:
DONALD BYRD - Dominoes (live)
LONNIE LISTON SMITH - Expansions
WILLIE BOBO Always There

Well, Greg -I hope that gives you a flavour of what it was like being a Jazz Pilgrim. Incidentally, we met ANOTHER tribe from Bedford who also called themselves the Jazz Pilgrims! We were not unique!!

So how did it come to fizzle out, and how did the electro sound and also the urban sound come to prevail?
Our soul tribe was in its real heyday from around 1980 -1982 - but things were already changing for me as I was away at Uni from 79-'83 including one year in Germany. I remember that when I came back from Germany we went to an all-dayer in Maidstone, but that was the last of it. When I graduated in the summer of 83 I spent one more year in T Wells before moving up to London. But by then things in Tunbridge Wells were already changing - the ripples of change in London were already spreading south - I was able to pick up the Soul pirate stations in T Wells, club DJs were coming from London and were playing in the Wells. I think the emergence of the soul pirates (Horizon, JFM, Kiss) was instrumental in the demise of the real influence of the Soul Mafia DJ's as influence swung over to the urban London soul scene - maybe less white middle-class suburban and more a 50:50 mix of urban black and white suburban. It was the first time for us that whites and blacks actually mixed in the clubs !! I made a new set of friends in Tonbridge and we started going up to the Old Kent Road in South London (the Dun Cow) on a regular basis - my friend was a personal friend of Greg Edwards and I got to know Greg quite well at one point! :D So things were already changing, then ... I moved up to London - Tooting in fact.

And then it all changed for me - I was exposed to the varying music scene that was London -totally different to suburban Kent! I made a lot of friends in London and used to go to all sorts of clubs like:
Soul/funk - Central and south London including the big Soul Pirates -functions at the Lyceum, back down the Old Kent Road, Leicester Square

Jazz -Gilles Peterson and Jaz Nelson (I got to know them really well), the Blue Note club and loadsa live jazz gigs, the best being Morrisey-Mullen on their regular Tuesday nights. The best night was when Georgie Fame was a guest - knock out! .. And they used to have a black guy singing, Noel McCalla, who should have been massive, a British Al Jarreau, but nothing ever happened. He released a single but it bombed. What might have been!!

Latin- including the Sol Y Sombre (what a Sloanie crowd there was in there!!) and Night In Havana. Also African nights.

Northern Soul - 100 Club, Phoenix (Oxford Circus), Alexandra (Clapham Common - my favourite)

Indie Soul - I used to buy a lot of indie soul at record Corner in Balham (just up the road) and go to the indie clubs.
Seventies disco in central London - I used to go to one club where Tom Holland and George Power used to play.... Brilliant!!

Warehouse parties

Camden Town - a real eclectic mix from funk, rock'n'roll, ska to punk

And tons of parties!!

Hmm, Greg - a long post, that's why it took so long for me to write it! But I think that gives you a taste of life as a JP and how it all came to change!! :)

[billywho]

Originally Posted by Greg Wilson

Bernie: It was only after the event that I realised just how much of an innovator Eric Matthew was. Electrik Funk's 'On A Journey', Sinnamon's 'Thanks To You' and Sharon Redd's 'Beat The Street', were all major landmarks before Radar was launched. Apart from 'Reach Up' and Status IV's 'You Ain't Really Down' (which was a big track that didn't quite make it onto my 'Essential Beats' list), the other huge Radar releases during 83 were Toney Lee's follow-up, 'Love So Deep', and Gary's Gang's 'Makin' Music'.

I also love "Reach Up", which I often heard mixed with D-Train's "Keep On", another inspirational tune.

On the subject of D-Train, one dark secret I don't often reveal is that "You're The One For Me" comes pretty low down in my list of D-Train favourites. It is by far his most well-known UK hit, yet when I heard some of his other tracks (eg "Keep On", "Keep Giving Me Love", "Walk On By") several of them easily surpassed "You're The One For Me" in my view.

As for Status IV, I have another dark secret: I prefer "Lovin' You" to "You Ain't Really Down".

"Knock Me Out" from 1982 would be my preferred Gary's Gang Radar tune, though I do enjoy "Makin' Music".

A couple of other good Radar songs are Key-Matic's "Breakin' In Space", and Barbra Fowler's [the lead vocalist on Sinnamon's "Thanks To You"] "Come And Get My Lovin'".

[Greg Wilson]

Billywho: To each his own. All I can say is that 'You're The One For Me' was one of the biggest dancefloor tracks of the entire era. Absolutely huge (and also highly groundbreaking and influential). The only other D Train 12" to make a real impact in the specialist clubs up-North was 83's 'Music', although 'Walk On By' picked up radio support.

CBS, who released 'You're The One For Me' in the UK (on the Epic label), never managed to translate the tracks popularity into record sales, with it peaking at #30 on the UK charts. Not content with blowing the opportunity of a major hit with D Train, CBS did it again just a few months later when they inexplicably issued Sharon Redd's 'Beat The Street' as the b-side to 'Never Give You Up', with the single, this time on Prelude, peaking at #20. Had they received the proper support, both these records would and should have been Top 5 British Pop hits. By comparison, Phonogram records, who had an excellent club promotions department (headed up by future Radio 1 DJ and Soul Mafia member, Jeff Young) made sure that they didn't make the same mistake with Rockers Revenge 'Walking On Sunshine' (London), which they pushed all the way to #4.

BTW as you pointed out, 'Knock Me Out' by Gary's Gang was indeed a fairly big club tune in 82 (and also a minor hit in the UK).

[billywho]

Originally Posted by Greg Wilson

Billywho: To each his own. All I can say is that 'You're The One For Me' was one of the biggest dancefloor tracks of the entire era. Absolutely huge (and also highly groundbreaking and influential). The only other D Train 12" to make a real impact in the specialist clubs up-North was 83's 'Music', although 'Walk On By' picked up radio support.

I actually did (and still do) like "You're The One For Me" at the time it was in the UK charts. At that point I hadn't come across anything else by D-Train. But once I'd heard "Keep On" it instantly replaced "You're The One For Me" as my favourite D-Train track, and when I play my "Best Of D-Train" CD I sometimes find myself skipping over the latter. Maybe I just heard it too much and overdosed on it at an impressionable age... I also have a large soft spot for a much slower D-Train track from 1986: "Oh, How I Love You (Girl)".

By comparison, Phonogram records, who had an excellent club promotions department (headed up by future Radio 1 DJ and Soul Mafia member, Jeff Young) made sure that they didn't make the same mistake with Rockers Revenge 'Walking On Sunshine' (London), which they pushed all the way to #4.

I'd forgotten "Walking On Sunshine" climbed so high.

BTW as you pointed out, 'Knock Me Out' by Gary's Gang was indeed a fairly big club tune in 82 (and also a minor hit in the UK).

How was the other Gary's Gang Radar single, "Runaway" (from 84 I believe) received?

[Greg Wilson]

Billywho: A further point to make with regards to 'You're The One For Me' is that it was the instrumental mix (as with many of the tracks during this period) that got the specialist plays.

Sorry, I can't help with info on Gary's Gang 'Runaway'. I was no longer deejaying when this came out, and can only really comment about records played in the clubs pre-84.

I know from another thread that Manchester DJ, Stu Allen, was someone you greatly admired. Stu was hugely influenced by the music from the Electro-Funk era, which, as you've already told me, he featured on his radio show as oldies. Living in Manchester at the time, what tracks from this period do you remember him reviving on air?

[Greg Wilson]

Jazz Pilgrim: Thanks for the insight into what being part of a 'tribe' was like. How many of you were there in the Jazz Pilgrims and were there other 'tribes' in the area you came from, or did just the one tribe normally represent the one area? Have you any idea how many of these 'tribes' there were?

As I said, it was different in the North, never as involved as it was in the South. People would travel to club nights and All-Dayers from near and far, but their only identity would be via the area they came from (Manchester, Birmingham, Huddersfield, Liverpool, Leeds, Bradford, Wolverhampton etc etc).

The reason why the Electro-Funk scene was able to develop so quickly in the North was as a result of the vacuum left by John Grant when he stopped deejaying in 81. Had he continued, it would have undoubtedly taken longer for the changes to take place, but his departure left a space for something new to happen, whereas in the South anybody straying from the music policy of the Soul Mafia would have been instantly outcast, and as a result marginalized to the extent that it would have been almost impossible to make a living on the Southern scene. The only DJ to challenge the Mafia guys at that time was Steve Walsh, who in essence was doing a similar kind of thing but with a different crew of DJ's.

Like you said, it wasn't until London's pirate radio boom that the monopoly was broken, and the Mafia gradually begun to lose their grip on the scene (although some of the individuals went on to enjoy highly successful careers afterwards).

[jazz_pilgrim]

There were about 10 -15 of us in the Jazz Pilgrims - and we all came from West Kent - primarily Tunbridge Wells and one of two from Sevenoaks. I can't recall any other tribes in our area - I probably knew everybody who was in on the music scene in T Wells.

As far as numbers - there seemed to be a helluva lot! When I used to go to the All-Dayers there
were many different tribes to be seen...

[billywho]

Originally Posted by Greg Wilson

I know from another thread that Manchester DJ, Stu Allen, was someone you greatly admired. Stu was hugely influenced by the music from the Electro-Funk era, which, as you've already told me, he featured on his radio show as oldies. Living in Manchester at the time, what tracks from this period do you remember him reviving on air?

Yes, Stu was a huge influence on me, as you appeared to be on him. He often mentioned you on his radio shows. I started listening to him in 86, when the "classic" Electro period was well over, though Stu kept the flag flying through his shows on Piccadilly and played many Electro and other disco-funk tunes from the 82-84 period. Piccadilly also gave him a few special shows, often during Bank Holidays, on which he played tracks from the 81-84 period exclusively. Stu shaped my taste in music, not only in Electro; I also received an education in the classier bands of the early 80s such as Change, The BB&Q Band, and High Fashion (in fact just about everything produced by Jacques Fred Petrus).

I probably heard about two thirds of the tracks on the Electro Top 100 list on these shows. I developed a massive affection for Sandy Kerr's "Thug Rock", which was a favourite of Stu's and was featured many times, often mixed with I-Level's "Give Me". Like yourself, Stu was a big fan of instrumentals and dub versions. The Streetsounds Electro albums were prominently featured, and Morgan Khan was interviewed on several occasions.

Stu later became a well known and influential DJ on the early 90s rave scene, but it was his 86-89 period radio shows that hold such fond memories for me. At that time he also DJed at Legend.

Some songs which are on the list that Stu played extensively, and which became big favourites of mine, are:

Stone - "Time" and "Girl I Like The Way That You Move"
Visual - "The Music Got Me"
Electrik Funk - "On A Journey (I Sing The Funk Electric)"
Raw Silk - "DO It To The Music"
Warp 9 - "Nunk"
Sharon Redd - "Beat The Street"
Tyrone Brunson - "The Smurf"
Toney Lee - "Reach Up"
Reggie Griffin - "Mirda Rock"
Midnight Star - "Freak-A-Zoid"
Cybotron - "Clear"
Captain Rapp - "Bad Times (I Can't Stand It)"
Sinnamon - "Thanks To You"

Some songs I remember Stu playing which didn't make it onto the Top 100 list are:

Newcleus - "Jam On It" (this was the only Newcleus track I remember him playing - never remember hearing "Jam On Revenge")
LA Dream Team - "Rockberry Jam"
Egyptian Lover - "Egypt Egypt" and "My House (On The Nile)"
Key-Matic - "Breakin' In Space"
Man Parrish - "Boogie Down Bronx" (got played much more than "Hip Hop, Be Bop, (Don't Stop)")
C-Bank - "One More Shot" (instrumental)
Visage - "Pleasure Boys Remix" (Always wondered if this is *the* Visage? - it sounds so unlike their other stuff)
Connie - "Funky Little Beat"
Debbie Deb - "When I Hear Music" (Debbie Deb also did "Funky Little Beat")
Double Dee and Steinski - "Lesson 1 (The Payoff Mix)"
World Class Wrecking Cru - "Surgery"

[billywho]

Originally Posted by billywho

Some songs I remember Stu playing which didn't make it onto the Top 100 list are:

Newcleus - "Jam On It" (this was the only Newcleus track I remember him playing - never remember hearing "Jam On Revenge")
LA Dream Team - "Rockberry Jam"
Egyptian Lover - "Egypt Egypt" and "My House (On The Nile)"
Key-Matic - "Breakin' In Space"
Man Parrish - "Boogie Down Bronx" (got played much more than "Hip Hop, Be Bop, (Don't Stop)")
C-Bank - "One More Shot" (instrumental)
Visage - "Pleasure Boys Remix" (Always wondered if this is *the* Visage? - it sounds so unlike their other stuff)
Connie - "Funky Little Beat"
Debbie Deb - "When I Hear Music" (Debbie Deb also did "Funky Little Beat")
Double Dee and Steinski - "Lesson 1 (The Payoff Mix)"
World Class Wrecking Cru - "Surgery"

Forgot to add Fatback's "Is This The Future" to this list, which also received a lot of airtime. Would this song be considered Electro, or an influence on Electro?

[Greg Wilson]

Billywho: Thanks for the info on Stu Allen's radio show. The tracks you mentioned that didn't make it into the 100 were all later releases (with the exception of C Bank). The list only goes up to the end of 83, when I stopped deejaying. Some good stuff on there though.

Special mention to 'Lesson 1 (The Payoff Mix)' by Double Dee & Steinski. This originally came into the UK in early 84 as the 'Play That Beat Mr DJ Medley' - the winner of Disconet's mix competition (based around G.L.O.B.E & Whiz-Kid's Electro monster). This mix was truly mindblowing! I can remember listening to it for the first time, it was a total revelation! It would inspire a whole new generation of UK DJ/Producers, not least Coldcut. A majorly influential moment in the history of Dance music.

'Is This The Future' was, as with C Bank, a popular track that didn't make the 100 list. I started playing it as an album cut in March 83, and it fell in with The Rake's 'Street Justice' and, of course, 'The Message' as examples of a new and more thoughtful type of Rap. Rap had previously been regarded as little more than a fad by most people, but during the Electro-Funk period it began to acquire a conscience, with the lyrics now beginning to explore the social issues of the time.