Books

Cosmic Trigger Weekend

First up I have to say that fortune favours the brave, and Daisy Eris Campbell and her brilliant cast and production crew are destined, I’ve no doubt, to really make their mark via ‘Cosmic Trigger’, a bold adaptation of the Robert Anton Wilson book. Hugely ambitious in its scope, the 4 hour play now moves to London where there’ll be performances at LOST Theatre in SW8, kicking off tonight and running through until Saturday – needless to say that it’s highly recommended. The backstory to all this can be accessed via ‘The Gateway Drug’, which you can read here: https://blog.gregwilson.co.uk/2014/11/the-gateway-drug/ [...]

By Greg Wilson|2025-04-07T10:37:44+00:00November 26, 2014|Books, DJ Appearances, Merseyside, Misc, Psychedelia, Super Weird Substance|3 Comments

The Gateway Drug

I’m all about connections. What really turns me on is when two previously separate areas of interest suddenly collide head on thanks to the discovery of a new piece of information. The connections are already there, it’s just that we’re blind to them much of the time, so when John Higgs, the author of ‘The KLF: Chaos, Magic And The Band Who Burned A Million Pounds’, does the detective work and pieces of the jigsaw fall together in a way that reveals a different picture to what we may previously have envisaged, that’s a deeply nourishing feast for me. [...]

By Greg Wilson|2025-04-07T10:37:44+00:00November 18, 2014|Books, Psychedelia, Super Weird Substance, The Nineties, The Seventies|16 Comments

Sounds Like London

Just finished a captivating and, to my mind, long overdue book, which covers the history of black music in the capital spanning (almost) 100 years, the recently published ‘Sounds Like London’. By bringing all the threads together, its author, Lloyd Bradley has made a telling contribution to our understanding of how British black music evolved, following the lineage of its direct influences in the Caribbean and Africa, in juxtaposition with the impact of African-American innovation throughout the 20th century. […]

By Greg Wilson|2025-04-07T10:37:47+00:00October 10, 2013|Black Culture, Books, Read|4 Comments

Love Saves The Day

Given the current fascination with Disco, and a fresh wave of interest in its history, I thought it would be good time to flag up what many would regard as the must read book on the subject, outlining the development of the movement in downtown New York during the ’70s. Here’s my review for Grandslam magazine back in 2003, when Tim Lawrence’s epic ‘Love Saves The Day – A History Of American Dance Music Culture, 1970-1979’ was first published: […]

By Greg Wilson|2025-04-07T10:37:48+00:00May 9, 2013|Black Culture, Books, Disco, DJ / Club Culture, The Seventies|1 Comment

Masters Of The Airwaves

I want to give you a heads up on a new book that focuses on the evolution of black music radio in London during the ’80s. ‘Masters Of The Airwaves – The Rise And Rise Of Underground Radio’ is the labour of love of 2 influential figures from the period, Dave VJ and Lindsay Wesker. The book is presented as a series of interviews with the great and the good of London’s pirate and specialist radio back in the day (plus a few Northern exceptions) . […]

By Greg Wilson|2025-04-07T10:37:49+00:00March 27, 2013|Black Culture, Books, DJ / Club Culture, Radio|3 Comments

Henry Miller Asleep & Awake

Last weekend, just before I set off to the airport, and back to the UK, following my tour dates in Australia and on the US West Coast, I spent a highly enjoyable lazy Sunday afternoon sat in the home of Abe Alvarez-Tostado & Sarah Nocktonick, friends of my Los Angeles promoter, Leonard ‘Mozza’ Donjuan, passing the time in interesting and insightful conversation before I headed homewards. […]

By Greg Wilson|2025-04-07T10:37:49+00:00March 22, 2013|Books, Film, TV|3 Comments

Northern Soul – A Photographic Journey

I’ve mentioned Brian Cannon here a few times, we used to work closely together way back when, between the mid-80’s and early 90’s when he did the artwork for pretty much all of the records I produced, including those by the Ruthless Rap Assassins and Kiss AMC, whom I also managed, securing deals for them with EMI. Brian subsequently went on to become the best-known record sleeve designer of the Britpop era, working in-house for both Oasis and The Verve under his Microdot moniker.

By Greg Wilson|2025-04-07T10:37:50+00:00December 6, 2012|Books, Dance, DJ / Club Culture, Hear, Manchester, Photography, Records, See, The Eighties, The Seventies, The Sixties|4 Comments

Jimmy Savile – DJ Originator Or More Smoke And Mirrors?

Just over 12 months ago, on October 29th 2011, the TV and radio personality Sir Jimmy Savile died 2 days before his 85th birthday (he was born on Halloween 1926). He was regarded as one of the great British eccentrics, but there were always rumours about deviant behaviour, although nothing proven. Apart from his contribution to broadcasting, Savile was also said to be the first DJ, not only in Britain, but the World, to use twin-turntables, back in the 1940’s, making him an unlikely icon to DJ’s of the modern era.

By Greg Wilson|2025-04-07T10:37:51+00:00November 21, 2012|Books, DJ / Club Culture, Documentaries, Misc, Radio, Read, The Fifties, The Seventies, The Sixties, TV|29 Comments

Living To Music – Arctic Monkeys ‘Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not’

Arctic Monkeys make a great noise, vital and vibrant with hooks galore, but what really sets ‘Whatever People Say I Am, That’s What I’m Not’ apart is the lyrical excellence of their then 20 year old frontman Alex Turner. He brilliantly articulates the experience of city centre nightlife / street life, warts and all, telling it as it is, in his own language and his own endearing broad South Yorkshire accent.

By Greg Wilson|2025-04-07T10:37:52+00:00October 1, 2012|Books, CD’s / Digital, Film, Hear, Living To Music, Read, Records, See|9 Comments

How Clubbing Changed The World

Last month I was over in Chicago chilling out in my hotel room ahead of my first gig in the city, at Smart Bar, a venue with a rich tradition, which opened back in 1982. Chicago is, of course, along with Detroit, Philadelphia and New York, revered as a key US city when it comes to the evolution of dance culture (and, indeed, black culture, with, way before House, a deep heritage in Rhythm & Blues, Blues and Jazz, dating right back to the ‘great migration’ of black workers from the southern states, beginning just over 100 years ago).

By Greg Wilson|2025-04-07T10:37:52+00:00September 14, 2012|Black Culture, Books, Disco, DJ / Club Culture, Documentaries, Read, The Eighties, The Nineties, The Seventies, The Sixties, TV|70 Comments

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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

15.08 Newcastle- E-Soul Cultura @ Freight Island

15.08 Warrington- Brickhaus

18.08 Ibiza- 528

23.08 Dorset- We Out Here Festival

04.09 Lindisfarne Festival

05.09 Battle – Crafted @ Powdermills

10.09 Winchester – Mucky Weekender

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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