Ok so it's just another blog, everybody's got one etc etc. Many a full moon ago electriks had a little fanzine type publication called Electric City so we thought we'd carry on the spirit of that on the information dual carrigeway called the internet (Ohh and no prizes for the spotters that have noted we started an Electric City blog about a year ago and posted a Jpeg of 2 pages of an old issue and then left it to get mouldy, this one will be different trust us...) This is a work in progress, we'll get the painters in soon, add plenty more stuff to our fave blogs n sites, more music, more videos, more madness and just more of more.
Anyway we're inviting all sorts of people to write for this blog and if you're interested then why not drop as a line too, in the meantime we'd better offer you some content. We've dug out a little interview we did with the our honuary southern unabomber and general chair boss hog Ashley Beedle for you to enjoy and we've found an old C90 Tape of Ashley and The Unabombers at the Roadhouse sometime in 97 for you to listen too..
See you later this week, with the first 250 tunes of a 1000 Top Electric Chair tunes type chart and an article on Cosmic Basshole.
x
Mid 1970s, North London, Harrow-paint a picture.
Growing up for me in Harrow there was a strong black reggae culture which drifted over from Wembley, Harlesdon, Neasden, Wilesden. But from a fashion and musical scene Harrow was up there.
How important was the whole sound system thing?
I wouldn’t be here to day with out the sound system even Judge Jules started out on a soundsystem. Notting hill carnival had a huge influence on the way house music was going to be because of the open air and a lot of the west London crowd had access to drugs we couldn’t get hold of.
Who are your seminal influences?
Tony Benn, Arthur Scargill but there is something a bit bent about him, Curtis Mayfield, Gill Scott-Heron and Lee Perry for production. Luke and Justin for reaffirming the faith.
The current obsession about the Paradise Garage and Larry Levan is irrelevant now-Discuss.
Paradise Garage was like any other club. Most of the time it was shit, Larry Levan had his nightmares in there. The number of people who say we were at the Paradise Garage or the Loft is ridiculous it's become like a sad cult. Crackers was our Paradise Garage it started on a Friday lunch time Paul Anderson was a dancer. Stacks was the same on a Saturday lunchtime on Oxford Street there with all these hip hop crews. I don’t fucking know about the Paradise Garage: I don’t really give a fuck. For his DJing he layed a certain groundwork down, but you ask anybody about what period was great and they will name you about 3 weeks.
Have gay clubs been influential?
The only clubs which would play decent black music in the mid 70’s and early 80’s were gay clubs. Kinky Gallinkey was an out and out gay club in London, I remember standing there with Ricky Morrison surrounded by gay people who were up to allsorts; Rachel Auburn DJing with strips of black tape across her nipples. That’s my Paradise Garage.
Do you reckon that there is still soul in militant jacking house music?
With out a doubt any one who is into music will understand that there is always soul in the back of anything be it hip hop, house reggae, punk as well. Back in the day we would listen to house music and someone would drop a soul tune and there was a connection. The common feeling is soul. The first record house record I ever heard was Adonis ‘No Way Back’ I was like what’s this bollocks. After about four or five minutes in I thought ‘Fuck! This is like reggae.’
House music- a northern phenomenon?
The north was ruling in terms of house. House started in the north. London was all rare groove. We all travelled up in a mini bus to see Winston Parrot play a different music where the emphasis was on the bass, it was like fucking reggae.
What do you think about musical snobs?
They’re idiots. I mean, my father's record collection was so amazing, if people play me anything I will listen to it. One person who taught me that was Weatherall by playing me Dusty Springfield and all this southern soul shit. If it sounds good, its sounds goods: I don’t give a fuck where it’s from.
Did your father’s influence help you keep an open mind?
With out him I would be a piece of shit. By just being in the same household as him and my mother and hearing all the mad shit; every day it would be something different. My old man bought the Stranglers’ first album and on it was a track called Ugly which broke down to an accapella where Hugh Cornwall went “its only the fucking wealthy that are good looking”. I put it forty times on a cassette and played it constantly with the windows open in my middle class neighbourhood.
How important is music in integrating people?
One thing it has done is to integrate people. In the southern soul seen, take the history of Stacks before it went pro black power: which was purely gangster politics. Before that it was a label run by white people. These were people in an area where slavery was the main thing at one time but it made a lot more scene to them to make music together than go up to New York where it was more segregated. It’s a lot easier to get a message across through pop music. ‘Karma Chameleon’ says a lot more about racism than the Last Poets.
How far has integration gone in this country?
White kids now speak more patwah than the Jamaicans and I think within five years we will see something amazing in this country.
Much of clubbing is about integration. What makes a good club?
It’s the crowd. All you need is a basement a red light and a feeling. The promoters, the space and the music always come third. People always go on about Wigan’s Casino: that’s bollocks! Nine times out of ten, the music was rubbish. It was pop, but what made it was the promoters and the DJs Russell Stanley and Richard Surley.
Do you think Manchester has improved?
Absolutely, its my favourite place to play when I play Electric Chair its like the best club on the planet I go back rejuvenated and my faith in soul music has grown. The vibe I get from Electric Chair I’ve never ever experienced. There’s a common thread running through Electric Chair: a real soul thing. You’ll never get an Electric Chair in London. I get really nervous: it’s almost like a test; I respect the crowd if you drop something right it’s going to go off, if you drop a bad thing the crowd know.
What about that Stevie Wonder track-‘If you Really Love Me’ that you always play at Electric Chair?
Lyrically its where that record stands out because it starts with a question, whereas a lot of love songs start with I've been done wrong. It’s a girl’s thing because they turn around to all the geezers and say “And if you really love me”. It doesn’t matter who the fuck plays it: it’s an Electric Chair record, it’s for people who understand soul music and I proposed to my bird to that record.
Are you a real Londoner?
Only by proxy but I would say now that I am a citizen of the world.
Would you ever move away from London?
Yeah, I would move to Manchester, Tibb Street. Manchester still holds a fascination; it’s the home of northern soul the last underground movement that is still going now. My theory is Manchester sits on a lay line; you had twisted wheel and the torch- the beginnings of northern soul; it sits on soul, the same as Glasgow. Why is it a shop like Beat and Rhythm exists?
What is perfect happiness?
You have finished a gig and you’ve got the perfect drugs, there’s a point usually at about eight in the morning when you’re all sat around grinning at each other; every body is tuned in on the conversation and you think ‘how fucking good is this?’
Is there one true Love?
Yeah the girl I am with at the moment Katie.
What depresses you?
Politics, general mainstream politics: Labour-Conservative politics because there’re all bastards. We spend so much time talking about what Mandelson is going to do for Hartlepool. If someone said to me “is soul music the sound track to your political life?” I would say yes. I was in the Southhall riot, the Anti- Nazi League. Music was a big part of what we did. Kids nowadays are so apolitical, they’re extremely right wing without even thinking about it. Terms of new Labour I couldn’t give a fuck, I would rather not vote: marketing is everything.
Is that because of a lack of rebel music?
Reggae is still the rebel music; you cannot sit around listening to that and thinking ‘I am right wing.’
What excites you?
There are all sorts of stimuli, good book, good film, changes in world politics.
Who has influenced you the most in music?
Norman Jay in how you would throw down a set, Paul Murphy who was a brilliant Jazz DJ. From up here Colin Curtis and Graeme Park, the first DJ who I heard play house music.
(Breaks off to swear at Jamie Oliver on the telly)
Any Regrets?
None what so ever the only ones I do have are drug situations doing too much at one time.
What’s Cool?
You want to know what’s cool? That’s fucking cool! (Excitedly points to the telly where the original promo of Dionne Warwick’s ‘Walk on By’ is being played). I didn’t know this even existed!
