Art & Design

A Homage To A Vinyl Evangelist

This photo popped up on Facebook recently, taken by Mark McNulty, whose visual documentation of Liverpool’s club/music scene of the past 3 decades is now part of the city’s cultural legacy. It’s a photograph of a record cabinet Bill Drummond made following the death of Roger Eagle in 1999, which was displayed under the title ‘Dead White Man’ in the Jump Ship Rat, an alternative gallery space in Parr Street during Liverpool’s inaugural Biennial Festival that year, but not as part of the official programme, more an anarchic fringe event. […]

By Greg Wilson|2025-04-07T10:37:38+00:00October 23, 2017|Art & Design, Merseyside, Photography, The Nineties, The Seventies|6 Comments

Tracey Emin – Why I Never Became A Dancer

A few years ago I wanted to show a friend Tracey Emin’s 1995 short film, ‘Why I Never Became A Dancer’, but couldn’t find it anywhere online. The last time I’d seen it was perhaps a decade earlier, at The Tate Gallery in Liverpool, so I surmised that, given it’s part of the Tate Collection, it would only be possible to view in an arts space, and not on the internet. I looked to see if I could buy a copy, but no luck there either. Anyhow, it came up in conversation again a few nights ago so I had [...]

By Greg Wilson|2025-04-07T10:37:43+00:00February 12, 2015|Art & Design, Dance, Disco, The Nineties, The Seventies, TV|11 Comments

Moore Alan More

Alan Moore remains a constant source of inspiration, and since my last post referring to his work, 'The Masked Movement', I've read some more of his books, as well as listening to numerous interviews courtesy of the wonderful world of YouTube.

By Greg Wilson|2025-04-07T10:37:54+00:00April 26, 2012|Art & Design, Books, Comics, Film, Read, The Eighties, The Nineties|3 Comments

Living To Music – The Stone Roses ‘The Stone Roses’

As we enter 2012 I thought this would be the ideal Living To Music choice to kick off the year, especially given that the first Sunday in January is also the first day of a new year. This highly acclaimed and much-loved 1989 LP, which perfectly caught the mood of the times, provides us with the opportunity to re-visit the past, whilst looking ahead to the summer. When an announcement was made earlier this year, that The Stone Roses are to re-form for 2 shows at Manchester’s Heaton Park in June 2012 (with a 3rd later added), there was genuine intrigue and anticipation. This wasn’t a case of another comeback cash-in, but something more symbolic. If ever there was a band with unfinished business to accomplish, it’s The Stone Roses.

By Greg Wilson|2025-04-07T10:37:56+00:00December 21, 2011|Art & Design, CD’s / Digital, DJ / Club Culture, DJ Appearances, Hear, Living To Music, Manchester, Merseyside, Photography, Psychedelia, Records, The Beatles, The Eighties, The Nineties|20 Comments

The Masked Movement

Shout out to me mucka Meeko for linking me up to the recent interview in the Guardian with my main man Alan Moore, in relation to the symbolic use of V masks by participants in the ever growing global protest movement.

By Greg Wilson|2025-04-07T10:37:56+00:00December 3, 2011|Art & Design, Articles, Books, Comics, DVD, Film, Read, The Eighties|1 Comment

Shoutout

Just wanted to make you aware of a project my former Invisible Players colleague, Don Letts, has been commissioned to produce, focusing on the clothing brand, Fred Perry, and its cultural relevance in the UK from the Mods in the 60’s to Britpop in the 90’s, and right up to date via their association with Amy Winehouse, whose designs for the brand continue to be released, with the full blessing of her family, following her untimely death last July.

By Greg Wilson|2025-04-07T10:37:57+00:00October 13, 2011|Art & Design, Black Culture, DJ / Club Culture, Documentaries, Fashion, Film, Misc, The Nineties, The Seventies, The Sixties|0 Comments

Mr. Brainwash

LA based Mr. Brainwash has really got the art world in a whirl – some still believe he’s a lucky man who made the grade, whilst others suspect a puppet who can see the strings? Behind all the smoke and mirrors you’ll find the Bristolian street art enigma himself, Banksy, whose wonderful Academy Award nominated documentary ‘Exit Through The Gift Shop’ (2010), casts Thierry Guetta / Mr. Brainwash as an unexpected cause célèbre.

By Greg Wilson|2025-04-07T10:37:57+00:00October 6, 2011|Art & Design, Film, See, TV|2 Comments

Sex And Death – Nobuyoshi Araki

With the recent ‘Astrid And The Exis’ piece I came the realisation that this was, over 100 posts in, the first time I’d focused on a photographer. I thought I’d better begin to address this accidental omission, and pay more props to the still image, starting off with the controversial Tokyo photographer Nobuyoshi Araki, now in his seventies, whose medium ranges from global art galleries to the pages of readers wives type porno mags (which brings to mind what Alan Moore said about the difference between erotica and pornography being largely dependent on the income bracket of the buyer).

By Greg Wilson|2025-04-07T10:37:57+00:00October 4, 2011|Art & Design, Documentaries, DVD, Photography|3 Comments

Astrid And The Exis

Stayed in a mad hotel last Friday, the Karim Rashid designed Nhow in Berlin. If you like pink, then this is the place for you – it’s literally everywhere. Not really my cup of tea, all a bit garish and, as someone put it ‘Barbie girl in a Barbie world’, but certainly somewhere you’re not going to forget in a hurry. Described as a ‘music and lifestyle hotel’, you can have guitars and keyboards delivered to your room, and the upper section of the building houses two recording studios, which are run by the company that manage Berlin’s legendary Hansa studio (best known for David Bowie and Iggy Pop’s patronage in 1977 - ‘Heroes’ and ‘Lust For Life’, both recorded there, and ‘Low’ and ‘The Idiot’ partly recorded).

By Greg Wilson|2025-04-07T10:37:58+00:00September 22, 2011|Art & Design, Film, Merseyside, Photography, The Beatles, The Sixties|1 Comment

The Mindscape Of Alan Moore

It’s only three months since I blogged about ‘Getting My Dylan On’, setting the wheels in motion for a voyage of discovery that took a turn in a direction I hadn’t anticipated, into the world of ‘Watchmen’ and onto the author behind it, feeding me full of impressions and insights as a whole new vista opened up.

By Greg Wilson|2025-04-07T10:37:58+00:00September 6, 2011|Art & Design, Books, Comics, Documentaries, DVD, Film, Read, See, Video|4 Comments

12 Next

2026 DJ DATES:

31.12 Todmorden – NYE @ The Golden Lion

17.01 Belfast – The Deer’s Head

23.01 Bristol – Lost Horizon

05.02 New York – Jeans

07.02 Upstate New York – Disco Chalet

13.02 Los Angeles – Spotlight

14.02 San Francisco – Great Northern

21.02 London – Fac 51 Haçienda @ Drumsheds

06.03 Brussels – C12 Brussels

08.03 Bognor Regis – Bugged Out

21.03 Leeds – Downtown Disco @ Archive

03.04 Carlisle – The Brickyard

04.04 Dewsbury – The Terrace

05.04 Liverpool – Gloria’s

18.04 Margate – Margate Arts Club

19.04 London – Jazz Cafe

24.04 Manchester – Manchester Cathedral

02.05 London – Disco Disco @ Queens Yard

16.05 Bristol – Where We Belong Festival

23.05 Hastings – The Print Works

30.05 Steyning – Steyning Festival

12.06 Stockport – Moovin Festival

20.06 Newcastle – Frate

27.06 Penzance – Golowan Festival

11.07 London – Brixton Freight Island

26.07 Manchester Freight Island

26.07 Hertfordshire – Campo Sanchez

31.07 Oxfordshire – Wilderness Festival

I’m a DJ from Merseyside. I started out in 1975, but stopped for almost 20 years, between 1984 and the end of 2003, at which point I started again.

One night during the period I wasn’t deejaying, turning off my mind, relaxing, and floating downstream I had what might be termed a moment of clarity. Paradoxically, although I was no longer a DJ in the literal sense I suddenly became aware that I’d never actually stopped being a DJ, for even if I was in a room with just one person I couldn’t help but ask them ‘have you heard this?’, and not only ‘heard’, but ‘have you seen this / read this?’, for it goes beyond music. Already taken somewhat aback by this nugget of self-discovery, I realised, in true eureka style, that this all pre-dates my being a DJ and goes back as far as I can remember – I’ve always had an inherent need to share, it’s absolutely central to my nature. This was quite a revelation.

So it’s no wonder that I became a Disc Jockey, for once I fell in love with those circular pieces of magical plastic during my formative years, it wasn’t a matter of choosing this as a path, the path pretty much chose me.

I don’t intend this to be a DJ blog as such, but more a blog by someone who happens to be a DJ – a place where personal emphasis takes precedence over professional, although, as I’ve already explained, the two aspects are, of course, inescapably entwined.

If you want info about my DJ appearances, email greg@gregwilson.co.uk for regular updates.

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