Author archive: Greg Wilson

The acclaimed American photographer, Eve Arnold, died last week at the grand old age of 99. Continue reading →

 Yes this is the year To make your decision. Continue reading →

ARTIST: THE STONE ROSES ALBUM: THE STONE ROSES LABEL: SILVERTONE YEAR: 1989 On New Years Day at 9pm, you’re invited to share a listening session with some likeminded souls, wherever you might be. Continue reading →

12 months ago, in the post ‘A Christmas Gift For You’, I related one of my favourite aspects of Christmas – how it provides the opportunity for me to give an annual listen or two to the seasonal masterpiece, ‘A Christmas Gift For You’ (aka ‘Phil Spector’s Christmas Album’). http://www.gregwilson.co.uk/2010/12/a-christmas-gift-for-you/ By the same token, the festive season has its own special movies that are always good to watch again, no matter how often you’ve seen them before, because they embody the spirit of Christmas, connecting you right back to your younger self, when the magic shone brightest. Continue reading →

As I navigated the winding country lanes on my way to the M5 from Minehead, where I’d been playing the Sunday night 1.00am-3.00am closing slot / graveyard shift at the inaugural ‘House Of Fun’ weekender, I was pleased to discover that there was a programme on the radio about the JFK assassination 48 years ago in 1963. Always a subject of fascination, this would help me whittle away half an hour of journey time as I weaved onwards towards the motorway. Continue reading →

“I suppose when I was writing V For Vendetta I would in my secret heart of hearts have thought: wouldn’t it be great if these ideas actually made an impact? So when you start to see that idle fantasy intrude on the regular world… It’s peculiar. Continue reading →

ARTIST: MICHAEL JACKSON ALBUM: OFF THE WALL LABEL: EPIC YEAR: 1979 This Sunday (Dec 4th), 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. Continue reading →

Very pleased to inform you that all 12 episodes of Random Influences are now available on iPhone, iPod touch and iPad via the Radio ditto app, downloadable for free from iTunes: http://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/radio-ditto/id464200632?mt=8 There you’ll find the Random Influences series and be able access each 2 hour episode, or listen to the entire 24 hour stream on loop. Also featured on the Radio ditto app are shows from Ashley Beedle, Heaven 17 and Strictly Rhythm. Originally launched on my 50th birthday in February 2010, Random Influences is a celebratory selection of 7” singles from my formative years, embodying the soundtrack of my youth. Continue reading →

Congratulations to Northern dance institution Back To Basics, which is 20 years old this week! To commemorate this pretty momentous occasion for what is the longest running club night in the world, Ralph Lawson, resident there since day one, has launched a blog, Basic Vision, in which he’ll be sharing his memories, most notably via a series of lovingly constructed mixes that document the music he’s played there down the years, which will come complete with Ralph’s accompanying track-by-track text. Running for a whopping 150 minutes, the first mix in the series, which covers the clubs 91-94 tenure at its original home, The Music Factory, can be heard here: http://www.ralphlawson.co.uk/blog/2011/11/22/themusicfactory-years-1991-94.html Kicking off with the first tune ever played there (on Nov 23 rd 1991), Marshall Jefferson Presents Truth with the House anthem ‘Open Our Eyes’, you can read about each of the 28 tracks included and see label scans here: http://www.ralphlawson.co.uk/blog/category/sleevenotes For those of you who haven’t come across Back To Basics, it’s based in Leeds and was the brainchild of Dave Beer and the late Alistair Cooke, who brought a Punk attitude to the burgeoning early 90’s dance movement, creating one of its truly iconic club nights Continue reading →

In December 2005 I wanted to do something to mark the 30 th anniversary of when I made my club debut, on December 6 th 1975 at the Chelsea Reach in New Brighton, and I came up with the idea of compiling a selection of 25 singles that I was carrying in my record crates at the time (we used to use old wooden drinks crates, which were the perfect size for 7” singles – the 12” not making its appearance until the following year). I called this selection ‘First Impressions’ (named after one of the tracks included) and pressed up a limited run of CD’s (a 2 disc set of 100), whilst the Six Million Steps website also hosted it. I described it in the accompanying text as ‘something of a time capsule, providing a snapshot of what many would describe, with hindsight, as the Proto-Disco period’ Continue reading →

ARTIST: JANELLE MONÁE ALBUM: THE ARCHANDROID LABEL: BAD BOY ENTERTAINMENT YEAR: 2010 This Sunday (Nov 6th), 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: http://www.gregwilson.co.uk/2010/06/living-to-music/ I first came across Janelle Monáe in September 2010, having caught an interview with her on BBC Radio 4 as I was driving back from Bestival. Continue reading →

In many respects we’ve come a long way from the overt racism I remember in the 60’s and 70’s, but every now and again I feel a shudder that keeps me aware that it still resides not far beneath the surface. I don’t normally comment about football related issues, but this has a wider social context Continue reading →

Seminal British Disc Jockey Sir Jimmy Savile died today, two days before his 85 th birthday. Leeds born Savile claimed to be the first DJ to use two turntables, in 1947. Although this remains disputed, there’s no doubt that Savile was a pioneer when it came to playing records in dance halls, most notably in his home city and across the Pennines in Manchester Continue reading →

Earlier this month Leftside Wobble shared an edit of Man Friday’s ‘Love Honey, Love Heartache’ on his SoundCloud. Continue reading →

What was your favourite number 1? Full list from 1960’s: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_number-one_singles_from_the_1960s_(UK) Full list from 1970’s: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_number-one_singles_from_the_1970s_(UK) Full list from 1980’s: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_number-one_singles_from_the_1980s_(UK) Full list from 1990’s: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_number-one_singles_from_the_1990s_(UK) Full list from 2000’s: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_number-one_singles_from_the_2000s_(UK) Full list from 2010’s: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_number-one_singles_from_the_2010s_(UK) Without ever properly considering this question I’ve heard myself instinctively tell people, on more than one occasion, that mine is ‘Double  Barrel’ by Dave & Ansil Collins, which claimed the top spot on the UK chart for the first 2 weeks of May 1971, when I was 11. Like everyone else, I assumed Dave & Ansil were brothers, but Dave was Dave Barker, who’d had previous success in Jamaica as a solo artist working with the great producer Lee ‘Scratch’ Perry. Continue reading →

Just wanted to make you aware of a project my former Invisible Players colleague, Don Letts, has been commissioned to produce, focusing on the clothing brand, Fred Perry, and its cultural relevance in the UK from the Mods in the 60’s to Britpop in the 90’s, and right up to date via their association with Amy Winehouse, whose designs for the brand continue to be released, with the full blessing of her family, following her untimely death last July. Through the ‘Tell Us Your Story’ website, Don is currently asking for people to come forward with any Fred Perry related footage they may have recorded down the years, whilst you can also submit your photos and share your memories on the site. Continue reading →

As you’re no doubt aware, Manchester holds special significance for me, dating back to my fruitful association with Legend in the early 80’s. I talked about the return to my ‘spiritual home’ to reactivate my DJ career in the recent Music Is Better Re-Edited Highlights post: http://www.gregwilson.co.uk/2011/09/music-is-better-re-edited-highlights Last April the city was once again where I went to try out a new idea – Reels Of Steel, where a further visual element is introduced whilst I DJ , the chosen venue being the recently refurbished Band On The Wall Continue reading →

LA based Mr. Brainwash has really got the art world in a whirl – some still believe he’s a lucky man who made the grade, whilst others suspect a puppet who can see the strings? Behind all the smoke and mirrors you’ll find the Bristolian street art enigma himself, Banksy, whose wonderful Academy Award nominated documentary ‘Exit Through The Gift Shop’ (2010), casts Thierry Guetta / Mr Continue reading →

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). I first came across Araki via the 1995 Channel 4 documentary, ‘Fake Love’. Continue reading →

Sylvia Robinson, dubbed ‘the Mother Of Hip Hop’, died yesterday. Along with husband, Joe, she founded All Platinum, one of the leading black music labels of the proto-Disco era, before going on to carve their names in Hip Hop history via their Sugar Hill company, which, along with many other influential recordings,  would release a trio of truly seminal singles – ‘Rappers Delight’ by The Sugarhill Gang, the first rap hit in 1979, ‘The Adventures Of Grandmaster Flash On The Wheels Of Steel ‘ by Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five, the herald of turntablism in 1981, and another Flash & The Five track ‘The Message’, presenting rap with a social conscience in 1982 Continue reading →

Just dug out a copy of the Music Is Better CD, a limited edition of 500 that followed my DJ comeback on December 20 th 2003 at the Music Is Better night in The Attic, Manchester. It’s now been made available on my SoundCloud as exclusive content (which means you can’t see the waveform to stream/download unless you’re signed in) Continue reading →

ARTIST: NIRVANA ALBUM: NEVERMIND LABEL: DGC YEAR: 1991 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: http://www.gregwilson.co.uk/2010/06/living-to-music/ Apart from the obvious singles, ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’, ‘All Apologies’ and a few others, I must confess to having never really explored Nirvana beyond bits I’ve randomly caught on the TV and, of course, the controversial Nick Broomfield documentary film ‘Kurt & Courtney’ (1998), which was something I picked up on more via my interest in Broomfield’s work than any belated fascination with Nirvana. Continue reading →

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. Continue reading →

“In my work as an author, I traffic in fiction, I do not traffic in lies.” This is the opening line from the absorbing documentary / monologue, ‘The Mindscape Of Alan Moore’ (thanks to the Tietavainens for tuning me into it), which highlights the life, work and wisdom of who I now believe to be one of the greatest writers of our time. It’s only three months since I blogged about ‘Getting My Dylan On’, setting the wheels in motion for a voyage of discovery that took a turn in a direction I hadn’t anticipated,  into the world of ‘Watchmen’ and onto the author behind it, feeding me full of impressions and insights as a whole new vista opened up. Dez Vylenz’s documentary was issued in 2003, but is probably even more relevant now. Continue reading →

Something a bit different – Mixmag asked me to put together a ‘minimix’ of twenty minutes duration for their podcast. Given the limited length, I suppose I approached it more as an advert than a mix in the usual sense – a sixty truncated into twenty minute taster, providing the opportunity for me to highlight, to an audience that aren’t generally exposed to this approach, the type of stuff I play in the parties, clubs and festivals. No.45 Greg Wilson / Sean Brosnan by Mixmag Continue reading →