Greg Wilson has wowed the crowds at the last two Big Chill Festivals, as well as more recently reducing the dance floor at The Big Chill House into a mass of sweaty bodies, lapping up his reel-to-reel madness.

If you missed Greg’s closing set at this year’s festival (or simply want to relive a bit of Eastnor magic), he very kindly recorded it and sent it to us to share with you - just click here to download, then turn it up nice and loud!

With Greg earning himself a more and more fans (especially since his incredible Essential Mix for Radio 1 in January 2009), we asked Linda Spence to find out more about this original Haçienda DJ…

What was the first record you ever bought and how old were you?

I already owned a fair few records before I bought one. In the pub where I lived during my formative years we had a couple of jukeboxes and, every few weeks, the ‘jukebox man’ used to come round and change some of the singles. If I knew he was about I’d hang around and he’d sometimes let me pick one or two of the records he was taking out. I also ‘inherited’ my older brother and sister’s’ singles, which formed the basis of my collection. These were mainly Soul and Reggae, on labels like Tamla Motown, Stax, Atlantic and Trojan, and very much my first love with regards to music.

As for actually going into a shop and physically buying a single, it was the novelty hit, ‘Ernie (The Fastest Milkman In The West)’ by Benny Hill, when I was 11. It turns out that this was also the first record bought by ‘Last Night A DJ Saved My Life’ co-author, Bill Brewster, who’s a few months older than me.

How did you get into ‘the business’ and again, how old were you?

I started deejaying in the clubs when I was 15. My schoolfriend, Derek Kelsey (aka Derek Kaye) already had his own mobile disco, and when he updated his console I bought the old one from him with another schoolfriend, and we set up ‘Dancin’ Machine’ mobile disco (named after the Jackson 5 hit). However, just a few months later, in December ‘75, I landed my first club night at a local venue called the Chelsea Reach, where I deejayed every Saturday. By the time I left school, the following summer, I was deejaying most nights of the week, at the Chelsea Reach along with another local nightspot, the Penny Farthing.

Is DJing/production your ‘proper’ job? Has this always been the case or have you inhabited any other vocations we should know about?

I was a professional DJ from the time I left school at 16, and remained so until I ‘retired’ at the end of 1983. I’ve never done anything other than music related work, be it production and remixing, band management, running a record label etc. 1983-2003 was a bit of a rollercoaster ride - sometimes things were going well, but often it was pretty bleak as I struggled to make ends meet. Fortunately I’m now able to make a living from deejaying once more.

Can you tell us about Electrofunk. When did it really start to grab hold and how did it influence the dance music scene? There are so many genres but Electrofunk seems recent - tell us more…

Electro-Funk was a term used on the black scene in the early 80’s to describe the new wave of dance music that was emerging at the time. This utilized drum machines, synths and samplers, paving the way for the oncoming Hip Hop, House and Techno directions. Most of the tracks were produced in New York, on labels including Tommy Boy, Streetwise, Prelude, West End, Profile, Emergency, Sugarhill etc. It was very much a specialist scene in the UK and the main venues I deejayed at, Legend in Manchester and Wigan Pier, were right at the forefront of things. The audience I played to was mainly black - including many incredible dancers, who went on to form some of the early UK breakdance crews in 1983.

For many years the Electro-Funk period was brushed over by the dance historians. The fact it was a black scene, at a time when black people in this country were still very much marginalized, probably had a lot to do with this - most of the people who documented British dance culture started out in the late 80’s with Acid House, so were generally unaware that it was the black scene that had underpinned things, mistakenly perpetuating the myth that the now legendary Ibiza DJ trip of ‘87 marked some sort of year zero for the dance scene in this country.

Fortunately people are now becoming more aware of the true lineage of things, which can be traced right back to the 60’s (even the 50’s if you want to pinpoint the origins of the British obsession with black music). Electro-Funk, as I’ve previously explained, was something of a catalyst - providing the crossroads between the previous UK scenes (Jazz-Funk, Disco, Northern Soul) and the following ones (Hip Hop, House, Techno).

How on earth do you manage to weave reel-to-reel stuff into your sets (technically)?

I record sounds and textures (samples, if you like) onto tape and spin them over the top of the tracks I play, to pepper things up a bit. I work from a random principle, listening to the tape over headphones and spinning a sound in when it goes well with the track I’m playing. I also use the reel-to-reel for dub / echo fx, by recording what I’m playing and feeding it back through itself.

Is it just me or is there a bit of Greg Wilson renaissance happening at the moment? It seems to me that your names ‘out there’ more, that you’re a bit less ‘underground’?

I think that January’s ‘Essential Mix’ was certainly a landmark in terms of bringing my name to the attention of a whole new group of people, mainly younger, who weren’t previously aware of me. I was pretty stunned by the response, which I hadn’t expected to be so overwhelmingly positive. Within hours of the mix being played on Radio One it was uploaded onto various blogs all over the world - I just hadn’t considered that it would have this level of impact, reaching so many people so quickly. It just goes to show how powerful the internet is.

Re-edit has been de rigueur for a while now, what does it mean in your case? Can you de-mystify it for us a bit?

For me, a re-edit is a means to an end. I initially put them together purely for my own purposes, so I can play out. There’s no set way of doing things - it can be extremely simple, maybe a basic extension, or pretty involved, adding other elements and radically re-structuring the track. It’s purely down to what works for me, and if this also works for other DJ’s, then great.

Re-editing has been a crucial part of the current underground ‘Disco’ movement, enabling DJ’s to put a new spin on older tracks, which has served to keep things fresh. Played alongside contemporary recordings that share the same spirit / vibe, the melting pot of music the DJ’s on the scene are drawing from is wide and varied, rather than being purely revivalist and nostalgic, which would be the case if it was just a matter of old tunes being played in the old way.

I’ve got one of your mixes which has some tracks which is described as having been ‘re-touched by GW what did you do to them?

This would be when I add something to an existing track, or someone else’s edit, but wouldn’t go as far as saying I’ve re-edited it. For example, on Adrian Blunt’s edit of ‘Shut Up And Let Me Go’ by the Ting Tings, I added the Chic vocals from ‘Good Times’ at the end of the track. The edit is very much Adrian’s, but the Chic bits are my own addition, hence ‘re-touched’.

What’s the most significant thing you have learned from life so far?

That’s a big question!

To be open to the connectedness of things. To try not to take yourself too seriously. Certainly not to fall into the trap of believing your own myth.

When I listen to your sets I’m aware of a real synchronization and unity happening - it’s all about the arrangement. Do you plan sets at all or just go with what comes up at the time?

I obviously have a palette of music to select from, but it’s a wide one. For me, it’s all about being open to the audience you’re playing for and going with the flow on the night. I don’t think that things should be set in stone when you’re in a live environment - this can stifle things, as there’s no room for spontaneity when you take that approach. Often, the best things happen on the spur of the moment .

Who would play you in a film of your life?

Given the amount of people who’ve told me, at various points in my life, that I look like Jeff Bridges, I suppose it’d have to be him.

Are you working on anything right now production wise?

Nothing specific at the moment, but I’m hoping to find the time to finally do some tracks of my own, as opposed to edits and remixes. However, I’ve been saying this for the past couple of years, but it’s been way too busy for me to put my head to. It’ll just have to happen when it happens.

Your knowledge is awesome! Do you think you’re a geek?

I’m certainly not a geek in the orthodox technical sense of the term. I’m nowhere near as technically minded as people might imagine me to be (given the equipment I use when I DJ). I actually need idiot proof step by step lessons from real geeks before I know what I’m doing.

I suppose that I’m driven in a way that continually stokes the passion for deeper knowledge and understanding of the things that resonate with me, including music and popular culture. I’m intrigued by the connections, often between seemingly unconnected elements, so there’s always something new to discover. If this is geekdom, then a geek am I.

Have you ever needed to compromise your ideals much in order to get work?

To the contrary, by not compromising my ideals I spent long stretches absolutely skint and struggling to keep afloat. I’m glad I never succumbed to the temptations in most cases, but with hindsight I can see that there were instances when it was more to do with my foolish pride than meaningful ideals.

What’s your favorite gig or venue past or present and why?

Legend / Manchester - every Wednesday from May ‘82 to the end of ‘83. Absolute DJ heaven for me - crowd, venue, music. Everything I wished for - it doesn’t get better than this for a DJ like myself, who aspired to be at the cusp of the black music scene.

The music/DJ industry can be unforgiving and hard to survive in yet you are very generous in giving your mixes away free. How does that work then?

I earn my money from live appearances, so I’m more than happy to give away copies of mixes I’ve recorded and, further to this, I’ve no problem with the people I give them to sharing with others. Apart from anything else, it serves to promote what I do, maybe bringing my name to the attention of people who haven’t previously heard of me. I think it’s important to reach out in whatever way you can - charging people for mixes can a bit mercenary in my eyes. Goodwill far outweighs financial motivation in many instances.

Greg Wilson  interviewed by Linda Spence, October ‘09.

www.myspace.com/djgregwilson

www.electrofunkroots.co.uk

Greg Wilson - Biography

With a DJ pedigree stretching back to the original disco era, Greg Wilson first came to national prominence in the early 1980’s as the first to champion New York’s emerging Electro-Funk sound.

From day one, his support for this radical new electronic dance music caused deep divisions within the jazz-funk fraternity.

To many ears, the new Electro-Funk sound had ‘no soul’… to some it didn’t even qualify as ‘real music’…

Over 20 years on, how is the music viewed today? Greg Wilson is in no doubt:

‘Electro-Funk’s legacy is huge. It announced the computer age and seduced a generation with its drum machines, synthesizers, sequencers, dub mixes, bonus beats and samples… Its influences lay not only with Kraftwerk, and British Futurist acts like the Human League and Gary Numan, but with pioneering black artists, including Miles Davis, Sly Stone, Herbie Hancock, Stevie Wonder, Norman Whitfield and George Clinton (Greg Wilson)

Electro-Funk is unquestionably the source from which much of today’s house, techno, and breakbeat-oriented club music originated.

Essential labels releasing Electro-Funk tracks included West End, Prelude, Sugarhill, Emergency, Profile, Tommy Boy, Streetwise and many others.

1982-84
Braving outright hostility from jazz-funk and soul purists, Greg Wilson’s brave new world of electronic funk could be experienced at largely black dance nights, in clubs such as Legend in Manchester, the Wigan Pier, the Stars Bar in Huddersfield, and at numerous all-dayers in places like Preston, Manchester, Birmingham, Leeds, Nottingham, Derby, Blackpool, Wigan and Sheffield.

‘I had fantastic support, Legend was always packed to the rafters on a Wednesday and it was the norm for about 450 people to head up to Wigan on a Tuesday from all over the North and Midlands… and double that on a special occasion!’ (Greg Wilson)

Electro-Funk heralded the arrival of New York’s ‘Hip Hop’ culture in the UK, and Greg was among its earliest and most enthusiastic ambassadors…He cites Malcolm McLaren’s ‘Buffalo Gals’ video (1982) as a defining moment for the arrival of Hip Hop in the UK:

‘For here, before our very eyes, was scratch mixing, graffiti art, and the most amazing sight anyone could remember - a man spinning on his head! The age of the breakdancer had arrived.’ (Greg Wilson)

He recalls showing it one night at the Stars Bar in Huddersfield. The effect on his dancefloor was immediate and devastating: Dancers ground to a complete halt and actually sat down, transfixed, as the enormity of what they were seeing slowly dawned. The video had to be rewound and shown again and again to satisfy the astonished audience.

As the buzz grew about Hip Hop in the North, Greg was at its epicentre, not only DJ’ing, but managing and recording with Broken Glass, the best-known UK breakdance crew of the era.

Then, in 1983, Greg became the first dance music DJ to become resident at Manchester’s Hacienda, then very much an indie and ‘alternative’ music venue.

It would be no exaggeration to say that the future of UK Club Culture began here…. Nothing would be quite the same again.

As its fame spread, in December 1983 the Hacienda headed south for a series of live dates, showcasing the scratch-mixing talents of Greg Wilson and the breakdancing of Broken Glass. For many, this was their first ‘live’ experience of Hip Hop, and it was to prove a defining moment.

Norman Cook caught the ‘Hacienda Review’ tour in Brighton, and, in an interview with Greg twenty years later, vividly recalled the impact of seeing scratching and breakdancing at close quarters for the first time:

‘It was a bit of a cultural mission cos Hip Hop culture hadn’t really got as far as Brighton… The whole B Boy scene in Brighton started that night.’ (Norman Cook)

The future Fatboy Slim travelled along with ‘The Hacienda Review’ to their next date, and the very next night, during the soundcheck in Hickstead, Greg taught Norman Cook the rudiments of scratching. Norman Cook cited Greg alongside Grandmaster Flash as his early DJ influences.

Piccadilly Radio
Important though Greg’s tireless club appearances were, it was his Piccadilly Radio mixes that really cemented his status as a pioneer and dance music legend. Beginning in 1982, these were the first radio mixes of their type in the UK, initially put together via a Revox B77 reel-to-reel on Legend’s three turntables, before Greg set up his own home DJ studio to record what became known and loved on the black music scene as ‘The Greg Wilson Mix’.

There is no doubt whatsoever that the Piccadilly Radio mixes had a profound and direct influence on the dance artists of the future. It was truly groundbreaking stuff… and everyone, it seemed, was listening:

‘Greg Wilson is the best DJ for me and always will be’ (Andy Meecham, Chicken Lips)

‘These were some of the most taped programmes in Manchester radio history’ (Dave Haslam, Hacienda DJ and author)

What did it all mean?
What made this relatively brief era in dance music history so vital and influential? Greg is clear on this point, too:

‘The diversity of records released during this period was what made it so magical; you never knew what was coming next. The tempo ranged from under 100 bpm to over 130, covering an entire rhythmic spectrum along the way’ (Greg Wilson)

1982-84 was a time of intense musical creativity, an ‘anything goes’ era, before house and techno standardised both the tempo and rhythm of club music.

1984 - 94
Greg retired from DJ’ing in 1984, but his involvement with music continued.
That same year he co-produced the landmark Street Sounds ‘UK Electro’ album. Later in the decade, he returned with the cult Manchester Ruthless Rap Assassins, who he managed and produced.

In 1994, his role as ‘Electro-Funk Pioneer’ was acknowledged when he compiled the best-selling ‘Classic Electro Mastercuts’ album, which reached the Top 20 of the UK album chart.

‘Please welcome the Arch-Deacon of SUPERIOR Electro…Mr Greg Wilson!’ (Ian Dewhirst, Mastercuts originator)

The 1990’s saw numerous books and articles, which raised awareness of Greg’s pivotal role in the history and development of UK club culture.

2003-4
As the importance of Electro-Funk’s musical legacy has become increasingly apparent, more attention than ever is being focussed on the crucial 1982-84 period, which apparently shaped so much of what followed. Now, through his website (www.electrofunkroots.co.uk), Greg is once again acting as an ambassador for Electro-Funk.

However, despite a handful of one-off appearances in the 1990’s, he has resisted any ideas of a ‘DJ comeback’… until now! Why the change of heart?

The Music Is Better gig in Manchester (December 20th, 2003) was a real turning point for Greg… The feedback from the gig was so overwhelmingly positive, it set the wheels in motion for a renewed assault on clubland:

‘I feel like part of an emerging new underground movement, which is both retrospective and contemporary at the same time, providing the ideal conditions for me to be able to properly approach deejaying once more, without compromising my beliefs.’

…Taking nothing for granted, Greg Wilson is once again utilising new music and new technology in unique juxtaposition with the old.

In 2004, armed with a laptop, turntables and, of course, his trusty Revox B77 reel-to-reel, Greg’s alchemic mixing and customised re-edits takes the whole club DJ experience two steps beyond.

Tags: electro-funk works, greg wilson, linda spence
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