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Tag Archives | David Mancuso

22 Songs Of Struggle

By on June 21, 2020 in Black Culture, General, The Eighties, The Seventies, The Sixties

Given the widespread outrage at the killing of George Floyd and the resulting Black Lives Matter protests on both sides of the Atlantic, I thought it might be timely to post up on Facebook some important songs of the past that brought the struggle of black people into the popular arena, especially during the Civil Rights era. All are classics, loved by millions, but hopefully this will offer some context with regards to the times in which they were made and the weight of their subsequent cultural significance. Continue Reading →

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Tony Williams

By on May 4, 2018 in Radio, RIP, The Eighties, The Seventies

Tony Williams Radio London

Tony Williams, the accidental UK catalyst for the fusion of Jamiacan Dub and New York dance music during the early-‘80s, sadly died on April 30th. Tony has received scant acknowledgement for this, and it wasn’t until I interviewed him in 2004 that he became aware of this legacy, resulting from the underground popularity of the self-released ‘(Money) No Love’ (artist credit Bo Kool, and arguably the first UK rap recording) and its instrumental flip side ‘Love Money’ (artist credit Funk Masters) pressed up in 1980 on a label named after his daughter, Tania – his production debut. When I commenced my Discotheque Archives series for DJ Magazine, the first edition featured ‘Love Money’ as the Classic Single:
https://djmag.com/features/greg-wilsons-discotheque-archives

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50 Years Of Colin Curtis – The UK’s Mancuso?

By on May 8, 2017 in Black Culture, DJ / Club Culture, The Eighties, The Seventies

Colin Curtis

This weekend Colin Curtis celebrates his 50th anniversary as a DJ with a special event at The Exchange in his home city of Stoke-On-Trent. Colin started out in his mid-teens at Newcastle-Under-Lyme’s Crystal Ballroom, before making his all-nighter debut at Stoke’s hallowed Golden Torch, one of Northern Soul’s foundation venues, eventually becoming one of the scene’s leading figures as a result of his legendary ‘70’s partnership with Ian Levine at the Blackpool Mecca. Info about the anniversary date here:
https://www.skiddle.com/whats-on/Stoke-On-Trent/The-Exchange/50-years-of-DJing-with-Legend-Colin-Curtis–Guest-Pete-Bromley/12932290/

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6 Seminal DJs

By on October 9, 2016 in DJ / Club Culture, Magazines

6 Seminal DJs by Pete Fowler for Greg Wilson's Discotheque Archives @ DJ Mag

Just uploaded the 6th digital edition of the Discotheque Archives series I’ve been putting together for DJ Mag with the help of Josh Ray. Each month it focuses on a classic DJ, a classic club, a classic record and a classic record label – these are generally a combination of US and UK, with the odd European inclusion, each concerned with aspects of pre-Rave club culture.

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Life And Death On The New York Dance Floor 1980-1983

By on August 30, 2016 in Books, Dance, Disco, DJ / Club Culture, The Eighties

Life And Death On The New York Dancefloor

Back in the early 2000s, when I began to explore the internet properly, discovering a number of DJ forums discussing dance culture and its history, it was clear that the early ’80s had been largely obscured. This was the period that followed the supposed death of Disco in 1979 (prompted by the vitriolic racist / homophobic ‘’Disco Sucks’ campaign fronted by WLUP Chicago shock jock Steve Dahl), and preceded the emergence of House music during the mid-’80s.

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Greg Wilson’s Discotheque Archives

By on April 21, 2016 in Articles, DJ / Club Culture, Magazines

Discotheque Archives

Last December, whilst I was in London to collect the DJ Mag Industry Icon award at their Best Of British event at Heaven, editor Carl Loben and digital editor Charlotte Lucy Cijffers approached me with the idea of writing a regular column for the magazine focusing on various aspects of the history of dance culture during the pre-Rave era, taking in the ’60s, ’70s and ’80s.

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Low Life / The Demise Of The DJ Forum

By on November 26, 2015 in Dance, DJ / Club Culture

DJHistory

One of London’s longest running, and most influential underground club nights, Low Life, bowed out with a bang on Halloween. The party originally started in New York back in the early ’90s (before transferring to London in 1997), its driving force being Bill Brewster and Frank Broughton, who were later to publish the book ‘Last Night A DJ Saved My Life’ (1999), charting the history of the DJ, as well as subsequently setting up the DJ History website. A Ransom Note interview with Bill outlines the reasons behind the decision to call it a day, not only with Low Life, but also with djhistory.com:
http://www.theransomnote.co.uk/music/interviews/farewell-to-lowlife-bill-brewster-talks

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