The Incomplete Early 80's Floorfillers

Content hosted for Greg Wilson's www.electrofunkroots.co.uk website.

Check out my label's music at: https://superweirdsubstance.bandcamp.com

www.electrofunkroots.co.uk

Some of these episodes have now unfortunately been removed due to the copyright policy on SoundCloud. The series is now available to stream on Mixcloud in its entirity:
https://www.mixcloud.com/gregwilson/playlists/greg-wilson-early-80s-floorfillers/

Accompanying blog post:
http://www.gregwilson.co.uk/2014/01/the-complete-early-80s-floorfillers/

1982 Floorfillers Review (Top 100 Records Of The Year):
http://www.electrofunkroots.co.uk/1982-floorfillers-review
1983 Floorfillers Review (Top 100 Records Of The Year):
http://www.electrofunkroots.co.uk/1983-floorfillers-review/

GREG WILSON’S EARLY 80’S FLOORFILLERS: 
A fascinating insight on how the fading Jazz-Funk scene gave way to the emerging Electro-Funk movement in the early 80’s, ‘Greg Wilson’s Early 80’s Floorfillers’, marks the 30th anniversary of when these tracks first appeared. Compiled from his record lists of the time, and unfolding month by month, Greg Wilson counts down the Top 10 Floorfillers played at his venues during the key years of ’82 and ’83. Featured, most notably, on his Tuesday sessions at Wigan Pier and Wednesday gatherings at Legend in Manchester, the most cutting-edge weekly black music nights of the era, these were the clubs most associated with the evolving Electro-Funk sound.

The majority of music played on the black scene in the UK was initially only available on import, mainly out of New York during this period, with the club nights described as ‘upfront’, meaning that the DJ’s were way ahead of the curve – what they played now, others played later, or not at all. Without these DJ’s, many now classic dance tracks would never have become UK hits (many without enjoying similar crossover success in the US) – the reason they were released here in the first place was because these specialist DJ’s were breaking them via the underground.

Things would change in a big way during those 2 years; we were entering the hybrid age for dance music, and the oncoming House and Techno and Hip Hop directions would all owe a huge debt to this era of dance alchemy and groove experimentation.

You can see each monthly Top 10, complete with label or record sleeve scans and individual track credits in the Record Lists section at electrofunkroots: 
http://www.electrofunkroots.co.uk/category/record-lists/

Check out my label's music at: https://superweirdsubstance.bandcamp.com

GREGGGGGGG WILSONNNNNN

80's

house

Edition #20 of Early 80’s Floorfillers takes a look back to August 83. 
You can see the Top 10, complete with label or record sleeve scans and individual track credits, here: 
http://www.electrofunkroots.co.uk/greg-wilsons-top-10-floorfillers-august-83/ 
Greg Wilson – August 2013

GREG WILSON’S EARLY 80’S FLOORFILLERS: 
A fascinating insight on how the fading Jazz-Funk scene gave way to the emerging Electro-Funk movement in the early 80’s, ‘Greg Wilson’s Early 80’s Floorfillers’, marks the 30th anniversary of when these tracks first appeared. Compiled from his record lists of the time, and unfolding month by month, Greg Wilson counts down the Top 10 Floorfillers played at his venues during the key years of ’82 and ’83. Featured, most notably, on his Tuesday sessions at Wigan Pier and Wednesday gatherings at Legend in Manchester, the most cutting-edge weekly black music nights of the era, these were the clubs most associated with the evolving Electro-Funk sound.

The majority of music played on the black scene in the UK was initially only available on import, mainly out of New York during this period, with the club nights described as ‘upfront’, meaning that the DJ’s were way ahead of the curve – what they played now, others played later, or not at all. Without these DJ’s, many now classic dance tracks would never have become UK hits (many without enjoying similar crossover success in the US) – the reason they were released here in the first place was because these specialist DJ’s were breaking them via the underground.

Things would change in a big way during those 2 years; we were entering the hybrid age for dance music, and the oncoming House and Techno and Hip Hop directions would all owe a huge debt to this era of dance alchemy and groove experimentation.

This podcast is also available on iPhone, iPod touch and iPad via the Radio ditto app, which is downloadable for free from iTunes: http://itunes.apple.com/app/id464200632?mt=8

Check out my label's music at: https://superweirdsubstance.bandcamp.com

GREG WILSON'S EARLY 80's  FLOORFILLERS - AUGUST 1983

Edition #21 of Early 80’s Floorfillers takes a look back to September 83. 
You can see the Top 10, complete with label or record sleeve scans and individual track credits, here: 
http://www.electrofunkroots.co.uk/greg-wilsons-top-10-floorfillers-september-83/
Greg Wilson – September 2013

GREG WILSON’S EARLY 80’S FLOORFILLERS: 
A fascinating insight on how the fading Jazz-Funk scene gave way to the emerging Electro-Funk movement in the early 80’s, ‘Greg Wilson’s Early 80’s Floorfillers’, marks the 30th anniversary of when these tracks first appeared. Compiled from his record lists of the time, and unfolding month by month, Greg Wilson counts down the Top 10 Floorfillers played at his venues during the key years of ’82 and ’83. Featured, most notably, on his Tuesday sessions at Wigan Pier and Wednesday gatherings at Legend in Manchester, the most cutting-edge weekly black music nights of the era, these were the clubs most associated with the evolving Electro-Funk sound.

The majority of music played on the black scene in the UK was initially only available on import, mainly out of New York during this period, with the club nights described as ‘upfront’, meaning that the DJ’s were way ahead of the curve – what they played now, others played later, or not at all. Without these DJ’s, many now classic dance tracks would never have become UK hits (many without enjoying similar crossover success in the US) – the reason they were released here in the first place was because these specialist DJ’s were breaking them via the underground.

Things would change in a big way during those 2 years; we were entering the hybrid age for dance music, and the oncoming House and Techno and Hip Hop directions would all owe a huge debt to this era of dance alchemy and groove experimentation.

This podcast is also available on iPhone, iPod touch and iPad via the Radio ditto app, which is downloadable for free from iTunes: http://itunes.apple.com/app/id464200632?mt=8

Check out my label's music at: https://superweirdsubstance.bandcamp.com

GREG WILSON'S EARLY 80's FLOORFILLERS - SEPTEMBER 1983

Edition #22 of Early 80’s Floorfillers takes a look back to October 83. 
You can see the Top 10, complete with label or record sleeve scans and individual track credits, here: 
http://www.electrofunkroots.co.uk/greg-wilsons-top-10-floorfillers-october-83/
Greg Wilson – October 2013

GREG WILSON’S EARLY 80’S FLOORFILLERS: 
A fascinating insight on how the fading Jazz-Funk scene gave way to the emerging Electro-Funk movement in the early 80’s, ‘Greg Wilson’s Early 80’s Floorfillers’, marks the 30th anniversary of when these tracks first appeared. Compiled from his record lists of the time, and unfolding month by month, Greg Wilson counts down the Top 10 Floorfillers played at his venues during the key years of ’82 and ’83. Featured, most notably, on his Tuesday sessions at Wigan Pier and Wednesday gatherings at Legend in Manchester, the most cutting-edge weekly black music nights of the era, these were the clubs most associated with the evolving Electro-Funk sound.

The majority of music played on the black scene in the UK was initially only available on import, mainly out of New York during this period, with the club nights described as ‘upfront’, meaning that the DJ’s were way ahead of the curve – what they played now, others played later, or not at all. Without these DJ’s, many now classic dance tracks would never have become UK hits (many without enjoying similar crossover success in the US) – the reason they were released here in the first place was because these specialist DJ’s were breaking them via the underground.

Things would change in a big way during those 2 years; we were entering the hybrid age for dance music, and the oncoming House and Techno and Hip Hop directions would all owe a huge debt to this era of dance alchemy and groove experimentation.

This podcast is also available on iPhone, iPod touch and iPad via the Radio ditto app, which is downloadable for free from iTunes: http://itunes.apple.com/app/id464200632?mt=8

Check out my label's music at: https://superweirdsubstance.bandcamp.com

GREG WILSON'S EARLY 80's FLOORFILLERS - OCTOBER 1983

Edition #23 of Early 80’s Floorfillers takes a look back to November 83. 
You can see the Top 10, complete with label or record sleeve scans and individual track credits, here: 
http://www.electrofunkroots.co.uk/greg-wilsons-top-10-floorfillers-november-83/ 
Greg Wilson – November 2013

GREG WILSON’S EARLY 80’S FLOORFILLERS: 
A fascinating insight on how the fading Jazz-Funk scene gave way to the emerging Electro-Funk movement in the early 80’s, ‘Greg Wilson’s Early 80’s Floorfillers’, marks the 30th anniversary of when these tracks first appeared. Compiled from his record lists of the time, and unfolding month by month, Greg Wilson counts down the Top 10 Floorfillers played at his venues during the key years of ’82 and ’83. Featured, most notably, on his Tuesday sessions at Wigan Pier and Wednesday gatherings at Legend in Manchester, the most cutting-edge weekly black music nights of the era, these were the clubs most associated with the evolving Electro-Funk sound.

The majority of music played on the black scene in the UK was initially only available on import, mainly out of New York during this period, with the club nights described as ‘upfront’, meaning that the DJ’s were way ahead of the curve – what they played now, others played later, or not at all. Without these DJ’s, many now classic dance tracks would never have become UK hits (many without enjoying similar crossover success in the US) – the reason they were released here in the first place was because these specialist DJ’s were breaking them via the underground.

Things would change in a big way during those 2 years; we were entering the hybrid age for dance music, and the oncoming House and Techno and Hip Hop directions would all owe a huge debt to this era of dance alchemy and groove experimentation.

This podcast is also available on iPhone, iPod touch and iPad via the Radio ditto app, which is downloadable for free from iTunes: http://itunes.apple.com/app/id464200632?mt=8

Check out my label's music at: https://superweirdsubstance.bandcamp.com

GREG WILSON'S EARLY 80's FLOORFILLERS - NOVEMBER 1983

Edition #24 of Early 80’s Floorfillers takes a look back to December 83. 
You can see the Top 10, complete with label or record sleeve scans and individual track credits, here: 
http://www.electrofunkroots.co.uk/greg-wilsons-top-10-floorfillers-december-83/ 
Greg Wilson – December 2013

GREG WILSON’S EARLY 80’S FLOORFILLERS: 
A fascinating insight on how the fading Jazz-Funk scene gave way to the emerging Electro-Funk movement in the early 80’s, ‘Greg Wilson’s Early 80’s Floorfillers’, marks the 30th anniversary of when these tracks first appeared. Compiled from his record lists of the time, and unfolding month by month, Greg Wilson counts down the Top 10 Floorfillers played at his venues during the key years of ’82 and ’83. Featured, most notably, on his Tuesday sessions at Wigan Pier and Wednesday gatherings at Legend in Manchester, the most cutting-edge weekly black music nights of the era, these were the clubs most associated with the evolving Electro-Funk sound.

The majority of music played on the black scene in the UK was initially only available on import, mainly out of New York during this period, with the club nights described as ‘upfront’, meaning that the DJ’s were way ahead of the curve – what they played now, others played later, or not at all. Without these DJ’s, many now classic dance tracks would never have become UK hits (many without enjoying similar crossover success in the US) – the reason they were released here in the first place was because these specialist DJ’s were breaking them via the underground.

Things would change in a big way during those 2 years; we were entering the hybrid age for dance music, and the oncoming House and Techno and Hip Hop directions would all owe a huge debt to this era of dance alchemy and groove experimentation.

This podcast is also available on iPhone, iPod touch and iPad via the Radio ditto app, which is downloadable for free from iTunes: http://itunes.apple.com/app/id464200632?mt=8

Check out my label's music at: https://superweirdsubstance.bandcamp.com

GREG WILSON'S EARLY 80's FLOORFILLERS - DECEMBER 1983

The track everyones requesting right now!!!

CANT GET ENOUGH - Sam Supplier - Feat: Jamie Lewis

ADELE vs SAM SUPPLIER 'We Cld Of Had It' (N17 Refix)

Whole show here.. XL Recordings special including interview with Nick Halkes >> https://soundcloud.com/rinsefm/uncledugs060215

INTERVIEW: Uncle Dugs - Rinse FM 6 Feb 15

Rinse FM Podcast - Sam Supplier w/Deejay S, Shenin Amara & AR - 20th February 2015

To tie-in with the re-launch of my Electrofunkroots resource I'm going to be uploading some audio content that was either recorded in the early 80's, or looks back on the era.

I hope you check out the To tie-in with the re-launch of my Electrofunkroots resource I'm going to be uploading some audio content that was either recorded in the early 80's, or looks back on the era.

I hope you check out the redesigned revitalized website, we've added loads of new stuff, and will continue to do so on a regular basis - your feedback would be very much appreciated: 
http://www.electrofunkroots.co.uk website, we've added loads of new stuff, and will continue to do so on a regular basis - your feedback would be very much appreciated: 
http://www.electrofunkroots.co.uk/mixes/the_best_of_82.html 

There's also a blog post, which gives you the full lowdown - Redesigned Revitalized: 
http://www.gregwilson.co.uk/2012/01/redesigned-revitalized/ 

Greg Wilson - January 2012

THE BEST OF 82: THE YEAR'S BIGGEST UNDERGROUND CLUB TUNES
In May 1982 I began putting together regular mixes for Mike Shaft’s Piccadilly Radio Soul Show, ‘T.C.O.B’ (Taking Care Of Business). The original mixes were as live, but as the year went on I began to utilise edits to a greater extent, using the station’s editing booths to try out some basic ideas. By the end of the year I’d bought my own equipment, so I could make the mixes from home, including two Technics SL1200 turntables and a Revox B77 reel-to-reel. Apart from allowing me to master the mixes and, of course, experiment further with editing, the simple dub effects on the mix were done via the Revox (which, as I’ve previously said elsewhere, was the best piece of equipment I ever bought).

Listening back to ‘The Best Of 82’, the first end of year mix broadcast by the station, I can’t help but cringe at the naivety of it, not to mention the general sloppiness! However, when this went out over the airwaves in December 1982 it would become part of local radio folklore. At the time you’d have thought I’d created a masterpiece judging from all the acclaim it received! It probably took me about 2-3 hours to put together, which, at that point, would have been the longest amount of time I’d ever spent on a mix, and it included 52 different tracks, some of which were just brief snippets. 

All of the tracks, as the title suggests, were major floorfillers at my venues during 1982. Apart from Wigan Pier and Legend in Manchester, which hosted the North’s top black music nights of the period, I also had two other successful weekly sessions during the second half of ’82 – Thursday nights at The Stars Bar in Huddersfield and Fridays at The Exit in Manchester. Apart from this I made guest appearances at the top All-Dayer events in the North and Midlands.

Copied from the original ¼” master, ‘The Best Of ‘82’ was one of the few mixes I managed to salvage from Piccadilly. However, due to damage at the end of the tape I had to fade-out before the final track, which was the US mix of 'Ease Your Mind' by Touchdown.

Also see The Best Of 83: http://soundcloud.com/gregwilson/the-best-of-83-by-greg-wilson

Check out my label's music at: https://superweirdsubstance.bandcamp.com

THE BEST OF 82 (by greg wilson for piccadilly radio manchester 1982)

To tie-in with the re-launch of my Electrofunkroots resource I'm going to be uploading some audio content that was either recorded in the early 80's, or looks back on the era.

I hope you check out the To tie-in with the re-launch of my Electrofunkroots resource I'm going to be uploading some audio content that was either recorded in the early 80's, or looks back on the era.

I hope you check out the redesigned revitalized website, we've added loads of new stuff, and will continue to do so on a regular basis - your feedback would be very much appreciated: 
http://www.electrofunkroots.co.uk/mixes/the_best_of_83.html 

There's also a blog post, which gives you the full lowdown - Redesigned Revitalized: 
http://www.gregwilson.co.uk/2012/01/redesigned-revitalized/

Greg Wilson - January 2012

THE BEST OF 83: THE YEAR'S BIGGEST UNDERGROUND CLUB TUNES
Although it may sound pretty rough around the edges by today’s standards, Greg Wilson’s “Best of 83” mix was viewed as groundbreaking back in the day (as was the previous year’s “Best of 82”), and revered as inspirational by a new generation of DJs who’d take up where he left off. These end of year mixes would become something of a tradition on Piccadilly Radio (later Key 103), which broadcast throughout the North-West of England, with the series continuing on into the next decade. Courtesy of Chad Jackson (84/85) and Stu Allan (86-92), including DJKA’s mix in '87.

The mixes focused on the biggest tracks played on the black music scene during the previous year, “Best of 83” cramming in as many floorfillers as possible (even if it only be a brief snippet) from the main clubs of the time, Wigan Pier and Legend in Manchester.

Also see The Best Of 82: http://soundcloud.com/gregwilson/the-best-of-82-by-greg-wilson

Check out my label's music at: https://superweirdsubstance.bandcamp.com

THE BEST OF 83 (by greg wilson for piccadilly radio manchester 1983)

NO SELL OUT - ELECTRO RETROSPECTIVE
LEGEND / WIGAN PIER MAY 1982 – DEC 1983
MIXED BY GREG WILSON FOR A GUY CALLED GERALD - SAMURAI FM 2005

This is the most involved mix I’ve ever put together, even more so than my Essential Mix in 2009, for which ‘No Sell Out’ very much provided the prototype. I intended it as a definitive document to the period May 82 – Dec 83, when Legend and Wigan Pier were at their most influential, the new Electro-Funk sound turning the black scene on its head as the old gradually gave way to the new.

As I wrote at the time:
“The tracks on this mix represent this now distant time of both musical and cultural change. I’ve selected the records that were regarded as controversial at the time within black music circles, the ones that the traditionalists were up in arms about. I’d originally chosen 50 of the biggest tracks played at Legend and the Pier, but this was upped to 60, all of which needed to be edited down to an average of a minute and a half in length, which was no small task in itself! Realising that there were still other tracks I wanted to include, I decided to keep it to the main 60, but drop in snippets of additional records from the period, not only Electro, but also other big floorfillers from my nights. I never played purely Electro, but mixed it in alongside Soul, Funk and Disco (or as people refer to it nowadays, Boogie), and this is reflected by the numerous ‘references’ sprinkled throughout the mix.

It’s good to be able to place some of these tracks back into their original context. Tracks like ‘The Message’, ‘Rockit’ and ‘Buffalo Gals’ would become big hits in the UK, but they were completely unknown when first played at Legend and the Pier. A perfect example would be ‘White Lines’, which was an underground favourite for many months before the penny finally dropped with the mainstream audience and they came to appreciate it as the wonderful record it is, resulting in a chart stay of over a year! Nowadays, ‘White Lines’ can be played pretty much anywhere to a great response. It’s a sure-fire floorfiller, regarded as a dance standard, but it wasn’t always that way - without the initial specialist support it could quite easily have ended up as just a minor hit.

The title of the mix, ‘No Sell Out’, comes from the opening track. It seemed an appropriate name, given the fact these records were very much regarded by the purists as the selling out of black music, rather than its salvation (something which pretty much everyone can now, with hindsight, clearly see). Listening back to these tracks you can trace the evolution of Hip Hop, Techno and House. This was the point in time when black music fully embraced the available technology and took dance to new dimensions. Hearing these records for the very first time, we knew that the future was upon us and that dance music had entered a whole new phase of its development.”

The ‘No Sell Out – Electro Retrospective’ page at Electrofunkroots gives the full lowdown and complete tracklisting. It includes an introduction by Gerald Simpson (aka A Guy Called Gerald), for whose Samurai FM podcast this mix was originally put together.

http://www.electrofunkroots.co.uk/mixes/no_sell_out.html 

Greg Wilson – February 2012

Check out my label's music at: https://superweirdsubstance.bandcamp.com

NO SELL OUT ELECTRO RETROSPECTIVE (by greg wilson for a guy called gerald - samurai fm 2005)

Taken from blog post:
http://www.gregwilson.co.uk/2012/05/it-was-back-in-82/

IT WAS BACK IN ’82:
One of the defining moments of my DJ career took place exactly 30 years ago, on Monday May 10th 1982, when my first radio mix was broadcast on Mike Shaft’s show, ‘T.C.O.B’ (Taking Care Of Business), on Manchester’s hugely influential Piccadilly Radio, which played a major part in bringing black / dance music to wider attention during the 70’s and ‘80’s - from Soul, Funk and Disco, through Jazz-Funk and Electro, and on into Hip Hop, House and Techno. I go into its rich legacy in greater depth here:
http://www.electrofunkroots.co.uk/articles/dont_touch_that_dial.html   

The mix had been recorded a few days earlier, as live, one afternoon at Legend in Manchester (the club closed at the time). Mike Shaft had brought along a Revox B77 reel-to-reel to record onto, the machine being the portable unit of choice throughout the radio industry in this country back then. This was the first time the Revox, which has since played a constant role in my work, entered my life. At the time I had no means to record at home, but by the end of the year, following the runaway success of the mixes, which would subsequently become a regular feature on Piccadilly, I’d purchase a couple of Technics SL1200’s and a Matamp Super Nova mixer (this was at a time when, with the exception of London DJ, Froggy, who used them for his Roadshow, no UK DJ’s had such equipment at home). To top things off I bought my first B77, so I could put together my mixes at home, which would serve to lead me ever-deeper into my obsession with editing. So glory be to Mike Shaft and to Piccadilly Radio for facilitating this life-defining arc of continued discovery.

The reel of ¼ tape onto which that first mix was recorded onto was, as with most of my radio mixes (the final one, ‘The Best Of ‘83’, being aired in December 1983), lost – probably copied over at some point or other, having been stored at the station. I managed to salvage a few of these mastertapes, most importantly ‘The Best Of ’82, but the original mix wasn’t amongst these, and I only had it on an extremely lo-fi cassette recorded from the radio at the time.

As the author / DJ Dave Haslam once said, the mixes “were probably some of the most taped programmes in Manchester radio history”. These tapes would also spread further afield than the Greater Manchester region that Piccadilly broadcasted to, with copies, and copies of copies, finding their way into cassette players and ghetto blasters in all corners of the country, often without people having a clue about their source – this was the ‘mixtape’ in its earliest form from a British perspective. One such recipient of my mixes was Stafford based Pezz, then a 14 year old lad discovering his musical influences, and later of the fabled Nottingham-based soundsystem and DJ collective, DiY, who were amongst the pioneers of the UK free party scene, having formed in 1989.

I’d meet Pezz at the Liverpool offices of 3Beat, the record shop / label he worked for – this was in 2002, 20 years on from when my radio mixes first aired. My DJ comeback was still in the future, and I was very much an obscure name from the past at best, most people of Pezz’s age brought up on a later generation of DJ’s. So his excitement at meeting me was unexpected – he was talking about this tape from back in my Piccadilly days that had made a big impact on him and his friends at the time, as they set off on their own personal dance music odysseys, and asked me if I could identify a couple of the tracks featured (these id’s having eluded them for 2 decades). It turned out that one of his big mates back then was Dean Meredith, later of Bizarre Inc, who enjoyed chart success in the early 90’s, and more recently  Chicken Lips (whose ‘He Not In’ I edited on my first ‘Credit To The Edit’ compilation in 2005), and that this tape had been a major influence on the sound of his latter project, which, along with Bizarre Inc, was produced in collaboration with partner Andy Meecham.

Pezz takes up the story in the sleevenotes of a limited run CD (300 copies only) from 2007, to mark the 25th anniversary, which he called ‘It Was Back In ‘82’:

“As soon as I’d met Greg, an excited call was made to Dean. ‘…. Hey kid, guess what! I just met Greg Wilson – No way – I need you to send me a copy of the tape up as soon as possible….’ Then came the months of waiting more phone call’s hassling to get a copy before eventually with the bribe of digitally remastering it onto CD it finally arrived!

In the meantime I’d had many conversations with Greg and e-mail’s were exchanged, one of which contained a list of essential Electro-Funk releases. This list was full of records I, and anyone I showed it to, had never heard of, apart from some obvious classic’s such as the Peech Boy’s ‘Don’t Make Me Wait’, and Afrika Bambaataa’s ‘Planet Rock’. When I finally sent him a copy of the tape I’d got from Dean he identified mysterious artists and titles like The Gunchback Boogie Band’s ‘Funn’ and Jimmy Spicer’s ‘The Bubble Bunch’. I began hunting down these tracks on the internet, the first to arrive was Larry Graham’s ‘Sooner Or Later’, and the excitement of finally getting my hands on these tunes was unreal, mindblowing! I hadn’t had such a buzz from buying records in years. A goal was then set to collect every track on the tape. Gradually over the coming weeks all but a handful were found. In the meantime, Greg found the old tracklistings for his first ever mixes for Mike Shaft, which just happened to be the two mixes contained on the legendary tape. I was then able to find all but two tracks, or rather two small drum sections he used in the first of the mixes. Not even Greg can recall where these came from!

Before long it seemed obvious that listening to this 20-year-old tape was not enough. After collecting these, and a host of other early 80’s Electro-Funk releases, I decided that the only thing left to do was to re-create the mixes myself! Rather than just re-do them as Greg did back in ‘82 on the decks at Legends. I decided to use the computer to ensure the tightest of mixes and present them in today’s highly polished manner (I also lifted and cleaned the missing drum parts direct from the tape). The whole concept of taking someone else’s work and re-creating it is quite strange, and actually completing it and then re-presenting it to Greg felt even more bizarre. Thankfully he was really into what I’d done, especially as the original ¼” masters have been lost and, like myself, the only copy of these mixes that Greg had was recorded onto cassette from the radio.”

Pezz’s full sleevenotes can be read at:
http://www.electrofunkroots.co.uk/it-was-back-in-82/

So, to mark its 30th anniversary, this reconstructed version of my first ever radio mix, which was painstakingly pieced together by Pezz, has now been uploaded onto my SoundCloud.

The mix would be the first of its type on British radio, and following the fantastic response to mix 1, Mike Shaft decided to make it a regular feature, with new mixes every 3-4 weeks. It would have an instant impact in the clubs, with Legend’s attendance, which was already on the up, going through the roof in a matter of weeks. It was a momentous month, which also saw the release of the seminal Electro track, ‘Planet Rock’ (see: www.electrofunkroots.co.uk/articles/when_the_planet_rocked.html) and the opening of a new Manchester club, which I’d DJ at later down the line, called The Haçienda.

My career was about to go into overdrive, and ‘The Greg Wilson Mix’, as Mike, in his distinctive mid-Atlantic drawl, would introduce it, was a major part of this process.

Greg Wilson May 2012

IT WAS BACK IN '82 (by greg wilson for piccadilly radio manchester 1982 reconstructed by pezz 2004)

One of the world’s most celebrated clubs, The Haçienda, opened 30 years ago today, on Friday May 21st 1982. I’ll be heading over to Manchester tonight for the anniversary celebrations, joining other DJ’s from the club’s history to play a few tunes at a ticket only event (proceeds to charity) in the car park where the club once stood.

To mark the occasion I’ll put some related stuff up on the blog later today, under the heading ‘The Haçienda – 30 Years On’:
http://www.gregwilson.co.uk/2012/05/the-hacienda-30-years-on/

I also thought it would provide the perfect opportunity to upload my ‘Walking On Confusion’ mash-up here, which combines 2 Arthur Baker productions from New Order and Rockers Revenge – it’s origin was outlined by Peter Hook in his 2009 book ‘The Haçienda – How Not To Run A Club’, where the New Order bassist recalled the time I asked him if I could remix ‘Blue Monday’ back in 1983, when I was the club’s Friday night resident DJ. 

He wrote; “I remember him coming up to me, asking if he could remix ‘Blue Monday’. I told him to fuck off, thinking it was the most disgusting thing anyone had ever suggested – why should we let someone tamper with our work? How times change. Nowadays the remixes are often better than the originals. I don’t remember much of Greg beyond that episode, although I know he mixed ‘Walking On Sunshine’ by Rockers Revenge into New Order’s ‘Confusion’, which was ingenious. The first mash-up.”

A more comprehensive piece about ‘Walking On Confusion’ (via Nuphonic / Turk Records in 2005), called ‘Confused Beats For Electro Freaks’, can be read here:
http://www.electrofunkroots.co.uk/confused-beats-for-electro-freaks/ 

Greg Wilson 21.05.12

Check out my label's music at: https://superweirdsubstance.bandcamp.com

New Order & Rockers Revenge 'Walking On Confusion' (greg wilson mash-up)

Edition #6 of Early 80’s Floorfillers takes a look back to June 82. 
You can see the Top 10, complete with label or record sleeve scans and individual track credits, here: 
http://www.electrofunkroots.co.uk/greg-wilsons-top-10-floorfillers-june-82/

Greg Wilson – June 2012

GREG WILSON’S EARLY 80’S FLOORFILLERS: 
A fascinating insight on how the fading Jazz-Funk scene gave way to the emerging Electro-Funk movement in the early 80’s, ‘Greg Wilson’s Early 80’s Floorfillers’, marks the 30th anniversary of when these tracks first appeared. Compiled from his record lists of the time, and unfolding month by month, Greg Wilson counts down the Top 10 Floorfillers played at his venues during the key years of ’82 and ’83. Featured, most notably, on his Tuesday sessions at Wigan Pier and Wednesday gatherings at Legend in Manchester, the most cutting-edge weekly black music nights of the era, these were the clubs most associated with the evolving Electro-Funk sound.

The majority of music played on the black scene in the UK was initially only available on import, mainly out of New York during this period, with the club nights described as ‘upfront’, meaning that the DJ’s were way ahead of the curve – what they played now, others played later, or not at all. Without these DJ’s, many now classic dance tracks would never have become UK hits (many without enjoying similar crossover success in the US) – the reason they were released here in the first place was because these specialist DJ’s were breaking them via the underground.

Things would change in a big way during those 2 years; we were entering the hybrid age for dance music, and the oncoming House and Techno and Hip Hop directions would all owe a huge debt to this era of dance alchemy and groove experimentation.

This podcast is also available on iPhone, iPod touch and iPad via the Radio ditto app, which is downloadable for free from iTunes: http://itunes.apple.com/app/id464200632?mt=8 

Check out my label's music at: https://superweirdsubstance.bandcamp.com

GREG WILSON'S EARLY 80's FLOORFILLERS - JUNE 1982

Edition #9 of Early 80’s Floorfillers takes a look back to September 82. 
You can see the Top 10, complete with label or record sleeve scans and individual track credits, here: 
http://www.electrofunkroots.co.uk/greg-wilsons-top-10-floorfillers-sept-82/ 

Greg Wilson – September 2012

GREG WILSON’S EARLY 80’S FLOORFILLERS: 
A fascinating insight on how the fading Jazz-Funk scene gave way to the emerging Electro-Funk movement in the early 80’s, ‘Greg Wilson’s Early 80’s Floorfillers’, marks the 30th anniversary of when these tracks first appeared. Compiled from his record lists of the time, and unfolding month by month, Greg Wilson counts down the Top 10 Floorfillers played at his venues during the key years of ’82 and ’83. Featured, most notably, on his Tuesday sessions at Wigan Pier and Wednesday gatherings at Legend in Manchester, the most cutting-edge weekly black music nights of the era, these were the clubs most associated with the evolving Electro-Funk sound.

The majority of music played on the black scene in the UK was initially only available on import, mainly out of New York during this period, with the club nights described as ‘upfront’, meaning that the DJ’s were way ahead of the curve – what they played now, others played later, or not at all. Without these DJ’s, many now classic dance tracks would never have become UK hits (many without enjoying similar crossover success in the US) – the reason they were released here in the first place was because these specialist DJ’s were breaking them via the underground.

Things would change in a big way during those 2 years; we were entering the hybrid age for dance music, and the oncoming House and Techno and Hip Hop directions would all owe a huge debt to this era of dance alchemy and groove experimentation.

This podcast is also available on iPhone, iPod touch and iPad via the Radio ditto app, which is downloadable for free from iTunes: http://itunes.apple.com/app/id464200632?mt=8

Check out my label's music at: https://superweirdsubstance.bandcamp.com

GREG WILSON'S EARLY 80's FLOORFILLERS - SEPTEMBER 1982

Full lowdown on the marathon 8 hour ‘A Night With…’ session, outlining a recording disaster, and how the first 4 hours can now be shared here, having been reassembled post-event:
http://www.gregwilson.co.uk/2012/10/the-reward-for-work-is-more-work/ 

Check out my label's music at: https://superweirdsubstance.bandcamp.com

A NIGHT WITH...LOFT STUDIOS LONDON 13.10.12 (greg wilson live selection)

Edition #10 of Early 80’s Floorfillers takes a look back to October 82. 
You can see the Top 10, complete with label or record sleeve scans and individual track credits, here: 
http://www.electrofunkroots.co.uk/greg-wilsons-top-10-floorfillers-oct-82/

There’s also a blog piece to accompany this edition:
http://www.gregwilson.co.uk/2012/10/the-edm-from-way-back-when/

Greg Wilson – October 2012

GREG WILSON’S EARLY 80’S FLOORFILLERS: 
A fascinating insight on how the fading Jazz-Funk scene gave way to the emerging Electro-Funk movement in the early 80’s, ‘Greg Wilson’s Early 80’s Floorfillers’, marks the 30th anniversary of when these tracks first appeared. Compiled from his record lists of the time, and unfolding month by month, Greg Wilson counts down the Top 10 Floorfillers played at his venues during the key years of ’82 and ’83. Featured, most notably, on his Tuesday sessions at Wigan Pier and Wednesday gatherings at Legend in Manchester, the most cutting-edge weekly black music nights of the era, these were the clubs most associated with the evolving Electro-Funk sound.

The majority of music played on the black scene in the UK was initially only available on import, mainly out of New York during this period, with the club nights described as ‘upfront’, meaning that the DJ’s were way ahead of the curve – what they played now, others played later, or not at all. Without these DJ’s, many now classic dance tracks would never have become UK hits (many without enjoying similar crossover success in the US) – the reason they were released here in the first place was because these specialist DJ’s were breaking them via the underground.

Things would change in a big way during those 2 years; we were entering the hybrid age for dance music, and the oncoming House and Techno and Hip Hop directions would all owe a huge debt to this era of dance alchemy and groove experimentation.

This podcast is also available on iPhone, iPod touch and iPad via the Radio ditto app, which is downloadable for free from iTunes: http://itunes.apple.com/app/id464200632?mt=8

Check out my label's music at: https://superweirdsubstance.bandcamp.com

GREG WILSON'S EARLY 80'S FLOORFILLERS - OCTOBER 1982

Edition #11 of Early 80’s Floorfillers takes a look back to November  82. 
You can see the Top 10, complete with label or record sleeve scans and individual track credits, here: 
http://www.electrofunkroots.co.uk/greg-wilsons-top-10-floorfillers-Nov-82/ 

Greg Wilson – November 2012

GREG WILSON’S EARLY 80’S FLOORFILLERS: 
A fascinating insight on how the fading Jazz-Funk scene gave way to the emerging Electro-Funk movement in the early 80’s, ‘Greg Wilson’s Early 80’s Floorfillers’, marks the 30th anniversary of when these tracks first appeared. Compiled from his record lists of the time, and unfolding month by month, Greg Wilson counts down the Top 10 Floorfillers played at his venues during the key years of ’82 and ’83. Featured, most notably, on his Tuesday sessions at Wigan Pier and Wednesday gatherings at Legend in Manchester, the most cutting-edge weekly black music nights of the era, these were the clubs most associated with the evolving Electro-Funk sound.

The majority of music played on the black scene in the UK was initially only available on import, mainly out of New York during this period, with the club nights described as ‘upfront’, meaning that the DJ’s were way ahead of the curve – what they played now, others played later, or not at all. Without these DJ’s, many now classic dance tracks would never have become UK hits (many without enjoying similar crossover success in the US) – the reason they were released here in the first place was because these specialist DJ’s were breaking them via the underground.

Things would change in a big way during those 2 years; we were entering the hybrid age for dance music, and the oncoming House and Techno and Hip Hop directions would all owe a huge debt to this era of dance alchemy and groove experimentation.

This podcast is also available on iPhone, iPod touch and iPad via the Radio ditto app, which is downloadable for free from iTunes: http://itunes.apple.com/app/id464200632?mt=8 

Check out my label's music at: https://superweirdsubstance.bandcamp.com

GREG WILSON'S EARLY 80'S FLOORFILLERS - NOVEMBER 1982

Sam Supplier House Mix

Edition #14 of Early 80’s Floorfillers takes a look back to February 83. 
You can see the Top 10, complete with label or record sleeve scans and individual track credits, here: 
http://www.electrofunkroots.co.uk/greg-wilsons-top-10-floorfillers-feb-83/

Greg Wilson – February 2013

GREG WILSON’S EARLY 80’S FLOORFILLERS: 
A fascinating insight on how the fading Jazz-Funk scene gave way to the emerging Electro-Funk movement in the early 80’s, ‘Greg Wilson’s Early 80’s Floorfillers’, marks the 30th anniversary of when these tracks first appeared. Compiled from his record lists of the time, and unfolding month by month, Greg Wilson counts down the Top 10 Floorfillers played at his venues during the key years of ’82 and ’83. Featured, most notably, on his Tuesday sessions at Wigan Pier and Wednesday gatherings at Legend in Manchester, the most cutting-edge weekly black music nights of the era, these were the clubs most associated with the evolving Electro-Funk sound.

The majority of music played on the black scene in the UK was initially only available on import, mainly out of New York during this period, with the club nights described as ‘upfront’, meaning that the DJ’s were way ahead of the curve – what they played now, others played later, or not at all. Without these DJ’s, many now classic dance tracks would never have become UK hits (many without enjoying similar crossover success in the US) – the reason they were released here in the first place was because these specialist DJ’s were breaking them via the underground.

Things would change in a big way during those 2 years; we were entering the hybrid age for dance music, and the oncoming House and Techno and Hip Hop directions would all owe a huge debt to this era of dance alchemy and groove experimentation.

This podcast is also available on iPhone, iPod touch and iPad via the Radio ditto app, which is downloadable for free from iTunes: http://itunes.apple.com/app/id464200632?mt=8

Check out my label's music at: https://superweirdsubstance.bandcamp.com

GREG WILSON'S EARLY 80's FLOORFILLERS - FEBRUARY 1983

Bookings: matt@thepool-london.com 
Promos: promo@gregwilson.co.uk 
DJ Dates: https://blog.gregwilson.co.uk/upcoming-dj-dates/
Greg began DJing in 1975 and is regarded as one of the most important figures on the UK dance scene. He enjoyed hugely popular residencies in the early eighties at Wigan Pier and Manchester’s majorly influential Legend, having originally started out in his hometown, New Brighton. A pioneer of mixing in the UK, he became the first ‘dance music’ specialist hired for a regular weekly session at Manchester’s now legendary Haçienda club in 1983. Greg was instrumental in breaking the new electronic, post-disco records coming out of New York, a sound he has dubbed ‘Electro-Funk’.

In 2003 he set up electrofunkroots, a website documenting this crucial era in the evolution of dance culture. After a two decade hiatus from the booth, he returned to DJing and soon welcomed bookings throughout Europe and, subsequently, worldwide.

Greg was the first DJ to mix live on British TV, putting together the first UK radio mixes of their type for Piccadilly 261 in Manchester and showing a certain Norman Cook (later Fatboy Slim) how to scratch.

Nominated by DJ Magazine for outstanding contribution, and also named amongst their top twenty remixers of all-time, Greg’s remix credits include Grace Jones, The XX, Groove Armada, Bryan Ferry, Confidence Man, Gilberto Gil and Simian Mobile Disco, whilst he’s edited tracks by A Guy Called Gerald, Talking Heads, O.M.D., Electronic, Imagination and Missy Elliot.

In January 2009 Greg’s reputation was further enhanced when his Essential Mix on BBC Radio 1 received almost universal acclaim and was selected as one of 10 classics that spanned the show’s near 17 year history.

Greg’s Blog, ‘Being A DJ’, was launched in June 2010 for observations on various aspects of club culture now an online touchstone for an ever-increasing amount of dance enthusiasts and aficionados.

In August 2010 he co-curated areas at the inaugural Vintage Festival at Goodwood, which was named ‘Best New Festival’ at the UK Festival Awards.

He has produced a series of documentary podcasts, Time Capsule, Random Influences and Early 80’s Floorfillers, as well as the long-running blog series, Living To Music.

Greg has given talks on music and DJ culture at a number events at venues The Tate Gallery in Liverpool and London's Southbank and Institute Of Contemporary Arts, whilst in 2013 he was invited onto a panel alongside legendary figures Nile Rodgers and Giorgio Moroder @ ADE in Amsterdam. 

In 2014 he unveiled the multi-media label Super Weird Substance, focusing on recording and live events. In 2015, the label released 8 vinyl singles, brought together in the 2 CD comp, 'Greg Wilson Presents Super Weird Substance'. September 2015 saw a memorable Festival No.6 Happening in Portmeirion and Greg rounded off the year with the Liverpool-based celebration of the 40th anniversary of his first club date in 1975 as well as being presented with DJ Magazine's Industry Icon award.

Greg launched his Credit To The Edit club collective at 2016's Festival No.6 and since then has taken it to Liverpool, Berlin, Brixton, Bethnal Green and finally back to Portmeirion for Festival No.6 2017.

2017 saw his label host the epic 14 Hour Super Weird Happening at Liverpool's Florrie, following a mixtape collaboration with Alan Moore, who also appeared at the Happening, whilst it also saw the digital release of The Super Weird Society's 'Gone With The Vibe', released the following year on the first Substance Select 12" vinyl alongside 'The Ghosts Of Watling Street', 'The Best Is Yet To Come' and 'Summer Came My Way'. 2018 also saw the release of Vol.3 in Greg's long-running Credit To The Edit compilation series.

After a handful of further releases, the label was put into hibernation with the onset of covid. Diversifying, ‘Greg Wilson’s Discotheque Archives’ was issued during 2020 lockdown as a limited run paperback, with more books, both Wilson’s own projects and by other authors, now planned.