Film – Greg Wilson

Northern Renaissance

The Northern Soul movement has marked 2 significant anniversaries this year – the launch of the weekly All-Nighters at the scene’s most famous venue, Wigan Casino, in 1973, as well as the opening of its foundation club, Manchester’s Twisted Wheel, 10 years earlier. A new book, ‘Northern Soul – An Illustrated History’ was recently published by Virgin Books, its co-author, Bury-born Elaine Constantine, also the director of the upcoming film ‘Northern Soul’. The book has been well received by Northern aficionados, Constantine (and Gareth Sweeney) congratulated for their insightful overview of the movement, which is enhanced by the anecdotal offerings [...]

By Greg Wilson|2025-04-07T10:37:46+00:00November 21, 2013|Dance, DJ / Club Culture, Film, General, Records, The Seventies, The Sixties|21 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

Video Blog – Wild Style At The Amphitheatre

‘Wild Style’ is the quintessential Hip Hop movie – a docudrama, produced and directed by Charlie Ahern, that captures the movement just before it explodes on an unsuspecting world, subsequently providing the most influential cultural palette of the late 20th century via its 4 elements, emceeing, DJing, b-boying and graffiti.

By Greg Wilson|2025-04-07T10:37:51+00:00November 16, 2012|DJ / Club Culture, Film, Live Performance, The Eighties, TV, Video, Video Blog|3 Comments

Sylvia Kristel

The Dutch actress, Sylvia Kristel, known to a generation for her iconic role in the softcore blockbuster, ‘Emmanuelle’ (1974), died last Friday, aged 60. […]

By Greg Wilson|2025-04-07T10:37:51+00:00October 21, 2012|Film, RIP, The Seventies|1 Comment

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

Video Blog – Judy Garland Sings ‘The Trolley Song’

Judy Garland ‘The Trolley Song’ From ‘Meet Me In St Louis’ 1944 And also CBS TV Special 1962 […]

By Greg Wilson|2025-04-07T10:37:52+00:00September 19, 2012|Film, The Forties, The Sixties, TV, Video Blog|0 Comments

Video Blog – ‘Mein Herr’ From Cabaret

Following on from the previous Video Blog post, which focused in on the Bob Fosse choreographed number, ‘The Rich Man’s Frug’ from the film Sweet Charity in 1969, this is another Fosse routine from his next, and most famous film, ‘Cabaret’ (1972) – Liza Minnelli, in the lead role of Sally Bowles, performing ‘Mein Herr’.

By Greg Wilson|2025-04-07T10:37:52+00:00September 4, 2012|Dance, Film, The Seventies, Video, Video Blog|0 Comments

Beware The Moon

Tonight something happens that only happens every blue moon – a blue moon. This provides the perfect excuse for me to watch a favourite film of the early 80’s, the John Landis comedy horror, ‘An American Werewolf In London’ (1981). David Naughton’s famous metamorphosis from man to werewolf made a major impression on Michael Jackson, who’d subsequently work with Landis on what’s now regarded as the greatest music video of all ‘Thriller’ (1983), complete with Jackson’s own werewolf transformation. He even referenced the disclaimer from the closing credits – ‘any similarity to actual events or persons, living, dead, or undead, is purely coincidental’.

By Greg Wilson|2025-04-07T10:37:52+00:00August 31, 2012|Film, The Eighties, Video|0 Comments

Video Blog – ‘The Rich Man’s Frug’ From Sweet Charity

Bob Fosse was one of the most innovative choreographers of both Broadway’s and Hollywood’s post-war era, his best-known work being ‘Sweet Charity’ (director / choreographer - stage 1966, film 1969), ‘Cabaret’ (director / choreographer - film 1972), ‘Chicago’ (writer / director / choreographer – stage 1975), and ‘All That Jazz’ (writer / director / choreographer – film 1979).

By Greg Wilson|2025-04-07T10:37:53+00:00August 17, 2012|Dance, Film, The Sixties, Video, Video Blog|2 Comments

Video Blog – Whitey’s Lindy Hoppers In Hellzapoppin’

Whitey’s Lindy Hoppers were a group of black club kids who’d pioneered the highly athletic second wave of the lindy hop dance style, which would spawn the jitterbug and the jive, at Harlem’s legendary Savoy Ballroom in the 1930’s. Perfecting the ‘air steps’ / ‘ariels’, which described the motion of the female dancers, who’d be thrown around by their male partners, this was as wild a style of dancing as ever devised, and it’d be another 40 years, and the advent of breakdancing, before anything came close in terms of sheer power, strength and energy.

By Greg Wilson|2025-10-10T17:36:39+00:00August 8, 2012|Black Culture, Dance, Film, See, The Forties, The Thirties, Video, Video Blog|0 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

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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