Photography

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

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

Detroit Hustles Harder

I feel fully in the throes of festival season following last weekend's Movement Detroit - it was a great way to make my debut in the city, with a Saturday main stage appearance in an impressive amphitheatre location. The previous 2 overseas festivals I’ve been booked to play, Playground in Australia (March) and Rainbow Disco Club in Japan (early May), were both frustratingly cancelled due to flooding. This time, despite a spot of rain early in the afternoon, the sun decided to smile on Detroit and it was a glorious day, made all the more satisfying via the feedback from both the audience and those backstage.

By Greg Wilson|2025-04-07T10:37:54+00:00June 1, 2012|Articles, Black Culture, DJ Appearances, Documentaries, Photography, The Seventies, The Sixties|15 Comments

The Haçienda – 30 Years On

One of the world’s most celebrated clubs, The Haçienda in Manchester, opened 30 years ago today, on Friday May 21st 1982. In June 2007, a little after the 25th anniversary, the inimitable Manchester-based writer / musician, John Robb, author of books including ‘The North Will Rise Again: Manchester Music City 1976-1996’ (2009), ‘The Stone Roses And The Resurrection Of British Pop’ (1996) and ‘Punk Rock: An Oral History’ (2006), did a short interview with me about the club’s legacy:

By Greg Wilson|2025-04-07T10:37:54+00:00May 21, 2012|Articles, Black Culture, Books, DJ / Club Culture, DJ Appearances, Manchester, Photography, Read, Records, Remixes / Edits, The Eighties, The Nineties|8 Comments

Eve Arnold

The acclaimed American photographer, Eve Arnold, died last week at the grand old age of 99. Best known for her photographs of Marilyn Monroe (taken over a 10 year period), especially those on the set of her final film, ‘The Misfits’ (1961), she had unrivalled access to the movie icon with her shots, often candid, capturing the human side of the Hollywood legend.

By Greg Wilson|2025-04-07T10:37:56+00:00January 10, 2012|Black Culture, Fashion, Photography, RIP, The Fifties, The Sixties|2 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

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

Living To Music – Nirvana ‘Nevermind’

This Sunday (Oct 2nd), at 9pm, you’re invited to share a listening session with some likeminded souls, wherever you might be. This can be experienced either alone or communally, and you don’t need to leave the comfort of your own home to participate. Full lowdown here: https://blog.gregwilson.co.uk/2010/06/living-to-music/

By Greg Wilson|2025-04-07T10:37:58+00:00September 26, 2011|CD’s / Digital, Hear, Living To Music, Photography, Records, The Nineties|11 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

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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