Great to get my first gig of 2022 under my belt last Saturday at Ministry Of Sound. I’ve played at this legendary club a number of times down the years, but this certainly ranked amongst my favourite appearances.

In light of my Essential Mix being chosen for BBC Radio 1's classic series earlier in the month, I decided to kick off the year with a selection of some of the tracks included, a few of which are different edits/mixes to those featured back in 2009 when the mix first aired.

MINISTRY OF SOUND LONDON 29.01.22 (greg wilson live mix)

I’m going to get some more edits/reworks uploaded in the coming months, starting off with one I did in conjunction with Henry Greenwood, a rework that was getting a major response until the pandemic went and spoilt the party. 

Recorded by Brooklyn’s Linda Clifford for Curtis Mayfield's Curtom label and mixed by Jim Burgess, ‘Runaway Love’ was somewhat overshadowed by her Disco take on ‘If My Friends Could See Me Now’, from the ‘60s Broadway musical/film, ‘Sweet Charity’. Although ‘Runaway Love’ and ‘Gypsy Lady’ were also listed when the album of the same name topped the US Disco chart, ‘If My Friends Could See Me Now’ was very much the lead track. ‘Runaway Love’ however was the choice cut in the R&B realm where, having been issued as a single, it reached #3.

As big as it was in the Stateside clubs I can’t ever remember ever hearing a DJ in this country playing ‘If My Friends Could See Me Now’ – it was all about ‘Runaway Love’ here, which, from the moment the LP came in on import in ’78 the specialist DJs seized upon. It could have been a UK hit, but was only issued on the flip side of ‘If My Friends Could See Me Now’. Besides, it was all about the full-length 12” version, the truncated 7” compromising its wonderful flow and build. The single stalled at #50 – the fact it got as high as that was all to do with the B Side.

To my ears it’s a track that should be as familiar as Rufus & Chaka Khan’s ‘Ain’t Nobody’, but ‘Runaway Love’ is a hidden classic far too rarely heard. This prompted me to team up with Henry Greenwood to put together a DJ friendly rework that retained the song in all its glory, whilst providing a mix in and out and adding contemporary weight to its already infectious groove. I couldn’t have wished for a better outcome, the audience response the proof in the pudding.

The third in a trio of late-‘70s reworks I’ve collaborated on with Henry, following on from Marshall Hain ‘Dancing In The City’ & El Coco ‘Mondo Disco’, which were pressed back to back on limited vinyl as part of the A&R Edits series.

Linda Clifford 'Runaway Love' (greg wilson & henry greenwood rework)

I played a hugely enjoyable 8 hour marathon at Kantine am Berghain in Berlin last Thursday, and although I wasn’t able to record the whole night, I did manage to get the first 3 hours and the final hour and a half. So this is a mix in 2 parts – the first 185 minutes a downtempo groove fest, whilst from 3.05.26 onwards we’re into the final furlongs of the party with proceedings much more upbeat.

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

EINE NACHT MIT...KANTINE AM BERGHAIN  BERLIN 12.12.13 (greg wilson live mix)

Live recording from the Stonebridge tent at Glastonbury Festival 2022.

GLASTONBURY STONEBRIDGE 23.06.22 (greg wilson live mix)

From my final festival appearance of 2022, a summer highlight from the Roller Rink at We Out Here providing a fitting conclusion to a full-on summer schedule.

ROLLER RINK @ WE OUT HERE FESTIVAL ABBOTS RIPTON 27.08.22 (greg wilson live mix)

ESSENTIAL MIX - JAN 2009
Uploaded on 17.01.10 and exclusive to SoundCloud. Available for the first time without voiceovers and jingles,12 months on from original Radio 1broadcast on 17.01.09.


EMAILSHOT A FEW DAYS AHEAD OF MIX BEING AIRED:
2009 kicks in for me this weekend with my first gig of the year for Udio (1st birthday) at The Gramaphone Club in Shoreditch, London on Friday night, which coincides with the airing of my only just completed in the nick of time Essential Mix on Radio 1, made up of 43 tracks in just under 2 hours.

Given that the 5th anniversary of my DJ comeback has only just passed, I decided to take the opportunity to make the mix totally representative of this period, with all the selections being amongst the biggest tracks I’ve played since I made my second debut at Music Is Better in Manchester.

Five years represents a significant package of time, a fixed point from where I can reflect on what’s been a continually snowballing sequence of events, set in motion when Danny Webb asked me to appear in Manchester on that December night back in 2003.

There were less than 100 people there that night, but they were the right people, and I was taken aback by the response to my return, both on the night itself and during subsequent days, when people who were there began to post on the forums. I’d never expected all the feedback be so totally positive!

I’d figured that I’d play that night, using the combination of laptop and reel-to-reel for the first time, then go away and think about what worked and what didn’t before I made my next move. I would never have believed that things could come together so immediately, it was as if I’d hit a completely unexpected hole in one, especially when two of the people who were there, Ralph Lawson, DJ from Back To Basics in Leeds, and one of my fellow DJ’s that night, Richard Hardcastle (Solid State) from Society in Sheffield, both asked me to play at their nights no sooner had I finished my spot.

One thing kept leading to another and, in Sheffield, I was approached by Tony Daly to play at the now legendary Tyneside Cinema party in Newcastle, a bespoke event where he took on the substantial risk of presenting me in a city I’d never DJ’d in previously (unless you count the 1983 TV appearance on The Tube, which was filmed in the Tyne Tees studio). Then, of course, there was London, where Steve Kotey and Bill Brewster booked me for their parties, bringing me to the capital within the first few months of my return for Ouch and Low Life.

The bookings kept coming, and I found myself driving up and down the country on an increasingly regular basis. Later in 2004 I was approached by Sav Remzi, from Tirk / Nuphonic, with the idea of putting together an edits album, which would be issued the following year as ‘Credit To The Edit’. This would help bring my name to the attention of people outside the UK. There was soon a need to step things up further, now that I was receiving enquiries from Europe, and so began a fruitful relationship with my agent, Matt Johnson (Matty J), who’s done a wonderful job of representing me during recent years.

The last few months have been, to say the least, manic for me, with 25 flights, including 6 long haul, taking me to gigs in the US, Japan, Australia, Brazil and Europe. From a personal perspective I still find it remarkable the way everything has developed, pretty much organically, since I made the decision that I was going to be a DJ once again – had I concocted some sort of comeback masterplan, it could never have worked out anything like as well as it has. It’s definitely been a case of ‘from small acorns’.

It still never ceases to amaze me that people from another continent are interested in my DJ past. Back in the early 80’s, before I went into retirement for 20 years, the furthest I travelled (with the exception of the appearances I made in the South of England as part of The Hacienda Review in late ’83) was to places like Birmingham and Nottingham, when I played at All-Dayers, so to find myself in clubs on the other side of the world is pretty nuts!

Anyhow, I’d like to wish everyone all the best for 09. Big thanks to all the promoters who booked me and everyone who danced to the tunes I played during ’08 in Adelaide, Barcelona, Belfast, Berlin, Birmingham, Blackburn, Brighton, Bristol, Dublin, Dundee, Edinburgh, Fukuoka, Glasgow, Hamburg, Leeds, Lisbon, Liverpool, London, Los Angeles, Manchester, Melbourne, Milan, New York, Newcastle, Nottingham, Paris, Porto Alegre, San Francisco, Sao Paulo, Sheffield, Sydney, Tokyo and Warsaw. Also the festivals and special events that I appeared at - Bestival (Isle Of Wight), Big Chill (England), Camp Bestival (England), Garden Festival (Croatia), Ibiza, Lovebox (England), Notting Hill Carnival (England), Rockness Festival (Scotland), Sonar (Spain) and the Southport Weekender (England).

Hope to see you soon.

Greg


FORUM POST DURING FOLLOWING DAYS:                                                        
Thanks for all the positive words. The feedback has been pretty phenomenal, far exceeding what I’d hoped for, especially on the BBC page, where I’d expected that some people would criticize the amount of older music included - the Radio 1 audience is used to current stuff ('in new music we trust'), so I’d anticipated a more mixed reaction. What’s particularly pleasing is that they were all made without the people seeing what each other wrote (they all came online at once, having been checked first by whoever moderates the BBC pages, I presume for swearing etc following the Ross / Brand controversy).

You always hope something you've done will be well received, but the response to this has blown me away.

Greg


ANSWER TO POST RE MIXING PROCESS:                                                      
It was quite a laborious process. Before I could start the actual mixing part I had to edit every track to a coherent length of around two and a half minutes average, inclusive of in and out points. I had a pool of about 90 tracks that fitted the criteria I'd set (a representative selection of the biggest tunes I've been playing during the past 5 years). It wasn't as straightforward as just editing the 43 tracks I ended up featuring - in order to have the necessary options once I started to piece the mix together I needed to have all the tracks at my disposal, just as I would have if I was out deejaying in a club, so the only thing to do was edit all 90 to the required length, even though I knew that only half would make the cut .

Once that was finally done they were all taken across into my laptop, enabling me to vari-speed them via PCDJ whilst I recorded across to my home computer into Cool Edit Pro, where I put the mix together track by track, before adding overdubs (fx, samples, textures) in a similar way to what I do live using the Revox (reel to reel).

I could quite easily have spent another day, tweaking bits here and there and adding more overdubs (the older I get the more finicky I become), but I had a deadline to work to, so, as it moved ever nearer, it became a race against time, with me doing as much as I could before the cut off point arrived.

Greg
                       

Greg Wilson - 2009


ESSENTIAL MIX (by greg wilson for bbc radio 1 2009)

Accompanying blog post: http://www.gregwilson.co.uk/2014/03/greg-wilson-versions-2005-2013/

Discogs: http://www.discogs.com/Grace-Jones-Williams-Blood/release/1558656

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

Grace Jones 'Williams Blood' (greg wilson version 2008)

Accompanying blog post: http://www.gregwilson.co.uk/2014/03/greg-wilson-versions-2005-2013/

Discogs: http://www.discogs.com/Escort-Cocaine-Blues/release/2511209

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

Escort 'Cocaine Blues' (greg wilson version 2010)

Accompanying blog post: http://www.gregwilson.co.uk/2014/03/greg-wilson-versions-2005-2013/

Discogs: http://www.discogs.com/Greg-Wilson-Credit-To-The-Edit-Volume-2-Vinyl-2/release/2238238

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

40 Thieves Feat Qzen 'Don't Turn It Off' (greg wilson version 2009)

Accompanying blog post: http://www.gregwilson.co.uk/2014/03/greg-wilson-versions-2005-2013/

Discogs: http://www.discogs.com/1Gnition-Secret-Sunday-Lover/release/1014257

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

1gnition 'Secret Sunday Lover' (greg wilson version 2007)

Recording from my final London appearance on 2022 at Night Tales in Hackney 25.11.22.

NIGHT TALES LONDON 25.11.22 (greg wilson live mix)

Annual selection from Greg Wilson, returning after two year break due to covid restrictions, listing 20 of the edits and reworks that have featured in his DJ sets during the combined period 2020-2022.


1. The Temptations – Papa Was A Rollin’ Stone (Ian Ossia Rework)
2. Cerrone – Supernature (Dr Packer Rework)
3. Crown Heights Affair – Dreaming A Dream (ID Edit/Crypic Retouch)
4. PDM Vs The Sugarhill Gang - Rappers Delight/Move Or Not (Mikeandtess Rework)
5. Rose Royce - Is It Love You’re After (Redux MST Edit)
6. Maze - Joy and Pain (Dr Packer Rework)
7. The Emotions - I Don’t Wanna Lose Your Love (Derek Kaye Rework)
8. Freeez – Southern Freeez (Dr Packer Rework)
9. Winners - Get Ready For The Future (Chewy Rubs & North Laine Rework)
10. Claudja Barry - Sweet Dynamite (Dr Packer Rework – Retouched) 
11. Gene Chandler – Get Down (Dr Packer Rework)
12. Yazoo - Situation (Greg Wilson Edit of François Kevorkian Dub)
13. Garfield Fleming – Don’t Send Me Away (Mikeandtess Edit)
14. B.B.C.S. & A Band - Rock Shock (Dr Packer Rework – Retouched)
15. Rodney Franklin – The Groove (DJ S Rework)
16. The Fatback Band - (Are You Ready) Do the Bus Stop (Sauco & Manuel Costela Rework)
17. Prince Charles & The City Beat Band – Bush Beat (Alkalino Edit)
18. Don Ray – Got To Have Loving (Mighty Mouse Edit)
19. Tantra – Hills Of Katmandu (Greg Wilson Edit)
20. Gary’s Gang - Makin’ Music (Machine Disco Rework)

Full Choice Edits & Reworks tracklists 2012-2022 here: https://blog.gregwilson.co.uk/choice-edits

GREG WILSON'S 20 CHOICE EDITS & REWORKS 2020-2022

Recorded at a trio of events in April 2023, in support of my book, Discotheque Archives, this mix is an amalgamation of these three nights – Sidney&Matilda in Sheffield (1st), Golden Lion Todmorden  (7th) and World Headquarters in Newcastle (8th). I had issues with my recording device throughout the weekend, but managed to capture enough to be able to patch between them, resulting in close on three hours of music highlighted within the pages of the book – all original versions, rather than edits/reworks.

The mix features 33 tracks, which span the years 1963-1983 and is packed with classics and cult-classics, providing a snapshot of dance music, in its many facets, during the pre-rave decades..

Book info/orders: https://superweirdsubstance.com/product/greg-wilson-discotheque-archive-extended/

DISCOTHEQUE ARCHIVES ON THE ROAD - APRIL 2023 (greg wilson live mix)

Definitely a highlight of my year so far, my 90 minute mix from the Supreme Standards stage, at Love Supreme Festival in East Sussex.

Taking place within a huge big top, which held a couple of thousand or so people, I started from a blank canvas, the crowd dispersing when the day’s programme of live acts came to a close at 10.30, with a half hour wait before I started.

There’s always a bit of trepidation in this moment, looking out at a great big empty space and trusting it will soon fill up again. I needn’t have worried, as it was bulging with party people in no time, and the whole thing ignited perfectly.

LOVE SUPREME FESTIVAL EAST SUSSEX 01.07.23 (greg wilson live mix)

The full two-hour recording of my closing slot in the Mini Moo tent on August 26th 2023 at Moovin Festival in Stockport, culminating at midnight.

MOOVIN FESTIVAL STOCKPORT 26.08.23 (greg wilson live mix)

Recorded on my debut at Freddie’s in Pikes, Ibiza 26.09.23.

PIKES IBIZA 26.09.23 (greg wilson live mix)

Recorded at Downtown Disco at Wire in Leeds on 18.11.23.

DOWNTOWN DISCO @ WIRE LEEDS 18.11.23 (greg wilson live mix)

Recorded on 10.02.24 in London’s fabled Ministry Of Sound.

MINISTRY OF SOUND LONDON 10.02.24 (greg wilson live mix)

Recorded on 12.04.24 at Koko in Camden, London.

KOKO CAMDEN 12.04.24 (greg wilson live mix)

The Bassheads ‘Is There Anybody Out There?’ (greg wilson edit)

124 bpm

Never previously shared.

‘Is There Anybody Out There?’ was one of the all-time Rave classics. It was particularly interesting for me to witness its runaway success given that I knew its creators, Desa and Nick Murphy, who lived on the Wirral. Desa used to come to some of the local clubs I deejayed at as far back as 1977, before he started out as a club DJ himself (he remembered me switching between the Harold Melvin & The Bluenotes and Thelma Houston versions of ‘Don’t Leave Me This Way’ at the Golden Guinea in New Brighton), whilst I’d done some recording with Nick, who had a home studio, a few years before The Bassheads formed.

The name, The Bassheads, had come from The Bassment, a night Desa started in Birkenhead in 1988 (in a room where I’d deejayed myself 12 years previous, when the club opened as The Deerstalker). Initially pressing up their own white labels, The Bassheads blew up big time with ‘Is There Anybody Out There?’ – exactly the right tune at the right time. They worked on the track with Shaun Imre, who I also knew from my time living in London during the late 80’s, which took its title from the Pink Floyd recording it sampled, whilst other well-known acts sampled included Talking Heads, The Osmonds and Afrika Bambaataa. Having seen me use mine, Desa bought himself a Revox B77 reel-to-reel, utilizing it in fine style to help bring his ideas to life (as fate would have it, I bought this very machine from Desa a few years back, and it’s one of two I currently rotate for my DJ appearances).

Having been huge on white label during 1991, DeConstruction Records signed 'Is There Anybody Out There?' up and scored a top 5 hit before the end of the year. Prior to issuing the single they had to remove the Floyd sample though, and although the overall track still sounded brilliant and was now somewhat cleaner (Bam was still there, and the other key samples had been replayed to great effect), it was a shame the Floyd was missing for all those who knew the original.

Moving forward to 2009 and I thought it’d be the perfect track to kick off with at the Big Chill Festival, opening up with the atmospheric Floyd ambience. I dug around for the white label 12”, but couldn’t find it, so I got in touch with Desa to ask if he could burn me off a copy. His turntable was broken, so he was unable to do this in time, so he sent me a wav of the DeCon mix instead. I decided to see if I could re-create the original intro myself, so I pulled out my CD of ‘The Wall’ and set about reconstructing the beginning of the DeConstruction version. However, unlike the original, I also added the acoustic guitar section, which provides a great mellow prelude before the in-your-face ‘Crazy Horses’ guitar enters. Suffice to say that it worked a treat at the Big Chill and brought the house down.

I subsequently went back to it and did some further tinkering, most notably extending the aforementioned acoustic guitar section, whilst doubling the length of the euphoric piano breakdown, and building the tension before Bambaataa’s rap to add extra impact.

This year marks the 20th anniversary of this bona fide dancefloor anthem, so it presents the perfect moment to make this edit public as we move deeper into the summer months, whilst acknowledging how Desa, Nick and Shaun stamped their indelible mark on Rave culture.

Greg Wilson – June 2011

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

The Bassheads 'Is There Anybody Out There?' (greg wilson edit)

808 State ‘Pacific State’ (greg wilson electric chair edit)

130 bpm

Never previously shared.

Madchester anthem from 1989, which, along with ‘WFL’ by the Happy Mondays, ‘Voodoo Ray’ by A Guy Called Gerald and ‘Fools Gold’ by the Stone Roses, encapsulates the time when the rainy city was at the epicentre of the dance universe.

Twenty years later I included it as the closing track on my Essential Mix (http://soundcloud.com/gregwilson/essential-mix-greg-wilson-mix-for-bbc-radio-1), and, as with the opening track, the Dimitri From Paris edit of ‘Down To Love Town’ by The Originals, it features Jesse Jackson’s invocation from the 1972 Wattstax festival (which had previously been used to such great effect by Andrew Weatherall in his remix of ‘Come Together’ by Primal Scream).

However, I originally put this together not for the Essential Mix, but to open my appearance at the Electric Chair Last Supper on December 29th 2007. A number of previous guests had been invited to play for half an hour each, as the decision had been made to close this Manchester institution whilst it was still at the height of its popularity. As things worked out, I was the final guest to deejay at this cherished club night - only the residents played after me. I wanted to pay my respects in a proper manner, evoking the spirit of Manchester past, back through the halcyon late 80’s days of The Haçienda to my own time there in ’83, and at Legend beforehand, via a handful of track selections that reflected the spirit of this great music city, for which the Electric Chair, soon to be no more, had written a further chapter. You can stream / download the mix here: http://soundcloud.com/gregwilson/electric-chair-last-supper-29

The purpose of this edit was purely to extend the intro of the ‘Pacific 707’ version to suitably build into Jesse Jackson's poignant words before the beats kick in, whilst adding some subtle ambience to add to the overall atmospheric of this wonderful track, which always struck me as a ‘Stranger On The Shore’ for the Rave generation (the evocative 1961 single by clarinettist Acker Bilk, the first British recording to reach #1 in the USA).

Greg Wilson – July 2011

808 State 'Pacific State' (greg wilson electric chair edit)

Edit The Edit ‘Two Sides Of Sympathy’ (greg wilson edit of pta mash-ups)

112 bpm

Previously limited vinyl only in 2007 & 2009.

Of all the tracks I’ve played since my DJ return at the end of ’03, this has been undoubtedly the most requested. It was very much a signature track for a number of years, and still makes an appearance from time to time nowadays.

It all stems from when I picked up a 12” from Piccadilly Records in Manchester during the summer of 2005. It was by The P.T.A (Paul Martin and Tyrrell) on Throw Away Records, and included two mash-ups, both of which used the vocal from Amerie’s ‘1 Thing’, which had been a big R&B hit earlier that year. On one side of the 12” it had been mashed with Massive Attack’s ‘Unfinished Sympathy’ (this was titled ‘Unfinished Thing’), whilst on the other, ‘Sympathy For The Devil’ by the Rolling Stones (‘One For The Devil’). Not only had each of these combinations melded brilliantly, but both had ‘Sympathy’ in the title. This impressed me no end – some genius juxtaposition going on there.

Listening closer it was clear that there’d been some tampering, but it wasn’t until much later that I realised that, apart from the Amerie acappella, everything had been re-created by Canadian producer / DJ Tyrrell, including Keith Richard’s iconic guitar solo, which sounded better than ever - I’d presumed that the version of ‘Sympathy For The Devil’ he’d used had come from some Andrew Loog Oldham type instrumental (as was the case when The Verve famously sampled Oldham’s orchestral arrangement of the Stones’ ‘The Last Time’, on their 90’s classic ‘Bitter Sweet Symphony’), so this only added to my awe at what Tyrrell and Paul had somehow managed to magic up.

Brilliance on vinyl is all good and well, but I’d bought the track with the dancefloor in mind, so it was now a case of how it walked the walk. Straight away I had a problem – which side to play? They were both really strong and I couldn’t make my mind up at first, but then I went between the horns of this dilemma and decided to mix one straight into the other, as though it was a single continuous track. I originally did this live (they appear together this way on a recording from Birmingham’s much lamented Jigsaw night, where I played in August ’05), but then I decided to put together an edit so I could take the combined length down by about three minutes and tighten the idea up. I called this version ‘Two Sides Of Sympathy’ – I utilized the percussion from ‘One For The Devil’ for the intro, before moving into the main body of ‘Unfinished Thing’, which then mixes back into ‘One for The Devil’ during the breakdown, reaching its climax with the guitar solo. To round things off I gave it a customary peppering of samples and spins.

The edit went Big with a capital B for me, and everywhere I went people were asking for it – it was one of those tracks you couldn’t stop playing because you knew that people would be disappointed not to hear it. When I came to put together my Essential Mix for Radio 1 in January ‘09, ‘Two Sides Of Sympathy’ was probably the first track on my list (the mix focusing on the tunes that had served me best since my comeback five years previous).

A limited 12” on the Edit The Edit inprint was made available in 2007 – as the name suggests, this was for my edits of other peoples edits (or mash-ups, as in this case). The original P.T.A release was fully credited on the label – I’d made contact with Tyrrell via email and he’d given his blessing for the 12” to be pressed. We got to meet for the first time when I was in London appearing at Plastic People in April ’07, where he’d hear me play ‘Two Sides’ over that killer system.

In 2009 it would re-appear on vinyl, this time as the second release in the Reactivate series (following on from ‘I Was A Teenage DJ’ / ‘Gotta Keep Workin’ It’), a new wave of DJ demand resulting from its Essential Mix inclusion.

Given that I can’t list the artists as Amerie, Massive Attack & the Rolling Stones (because two thirds of that trio are Tyrrell in disguise), I’ll stick to Edit The Edit ‘Two Sides Of Sympathy', which is how it’s been listed most often, Essential Mix included.

When I asked Tyrrell if he was happy for me to upload it here he told me to ‘go ahead, spread the love’. So here it is, maintaining the bi-yearly sequence – 2005 original P.T.A 12”, 2007 Edit The Edit 12”, 2009 Reactivate 12”, and now 2011 SoundCloud download.

Greg Wilson – August 2011


Edit The Edit 'Two Sides Of Sympathy' (greg wilson edit of pta mash-ups)

Psychemagik ‘Mink & Shoes’ (greg wilson edit)

*now available to download via Bandcamp: https://psychemagik.bandcamp.com/track/mink-shoes-ft-navid-izadi-greg-wilson-edit-psychemagik

115 bpm

Never previously shared.

I’m really into the latest Psychemagik single, ‘Milk & Shoes’, which features vocalist Navid Izadi over a solid mid-tempo acid groove – a section of the track originally surfacing on an ‘anti-hipster’ Smirnoff Vodka advert last year. It’s an impressive production and would certainly get my vote as one of the best dance tracks of 2015.

I put together my own edit to play out, as is my wont, which Dan & Tom from Psychemagik were happy for me to share on SoundCloud. It’s just a combination of vocal and dub versions really, plus some additional ambience via a scattering of samples I’ve introduced – that’s pretty much it, a less is more approach.

More at the blog: www.gregwilson.co.uk

The original versions are available via iTunes:
https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/mink-shoes-ep/id1033546667 

Greg Wilson – November 2015

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

Psychemagik 'Mink & Shoes' (greg wilson edit)

Full recording from the Freeze promoted party at The Garage in Liverpool on 05.12.15 to mark the 40th anniversary of my first club appearance on December 6th 1975. For further info: http://www.gregwilson.co.uk/2015/12/40th-anniversary-weekend-recorded/

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

5 HOUR 40TH ANNIVERSARY @ THE GARAGE LIVERPOOL 05.12.15 (greg wilson live mix)

Boz Scaggs ‘Lowdown’ (greg wilson edit)

115 bpm

Previously limited vinyl only 2008.

This is a straightforward, no added elements extension of ‘Lowdown’ that I knocked together back in 2004, and which would later be shared on limited vinyl in 2008 as ‘Blue Eyed Boz’, issued on the same 12” as ‘Adriano Italiano’ to launch the GW Ruff Edits series. It’s popped up in a few of my live mixes down the years, and features in the East Village London mix on here from last December.

'Lowdown' was released in the UK 35 years ago, in September 1976. Between January 2006 and September 2007 I compiled a series called Time Capsule for Samurai FM, where, month by month, I revisited the tracks I used to play in the clubs exactly 30 years earlier. It was a real labour of love, for not only did I have to research and often re-source the music included (I had a load of records stolen in 1985, so there were big holes in my collection), I also wrote an accompanying piece every month looking at the records featured, and how my fledgling DJ career was shaping up. 'Lowdown' was a single I used to play at the time in my New Brighton residencies, the Chelsea Reach and the Penny Farthing. Time Capsule covered the period I was at the Chelsea and the Penny, leading up to when I took over at the Golden Guinea, where I’d spend 3 memorable years before embarking on my Wigan / Manchester adventure in the early 80’s. 

I’d hoped to take Time Capsule all the way through 1977, but the workload became too much and I found myself unable to meet the monthly deadlines, so I reluctantly had to stop at Sept 77, with the intention of getting back to it in the future if I ever have sufficient time on my hands. Even if this turns out to be all I ever manage to do, Time Capsule, as I left it 4 years ago, still stands as a snapshot archive from a key moment in dance culture, as the Disco era gained full momentum and the 12” gradually began to take over from the 7” in the affections of British DJ’s.

All the programmes, plus ‘First Impressions’, which inspired the series, can be accessed here:
https://www.mixcloud.com/gregwilson/playlists/greg-wilson-time-capsule/

Here’s what I wrote about ‘Lowdown’ for the Sept 76 Time Capsule:
“Regarded as one of the classic Blue-Eyed Soul singles, 'Lowdown' by Boz Scaggs, despite its popularity on the UK club scene, peaked at a somewhat disappointing position of number 28 on the British chart. By contrast, the single had reached number 3 stateside, with the album it was taken from, 'Silk Degrees', becoming an American classic, which sold more than 5 million copies and spent over 2 years on the chart! Picking up a Grammy for Best Rhythm & Blues song, 'Lowdown' was recorded with a team of session musicians, who would later form the nucleus of the hit band Toto. In the early 60's, Scaggs, who was Ohio born, had left his Texas home to briefly join London's burgeoning R&B scene, returning to record his debut solo album, 'Boz' in 1965. He'd later appear on the first 2 Steve Miller Band LP's, 'Children Of The Future' (1968) and 'Sailor' (1969), before continuing his solo career with a series of albums for Atlantic Records. However, it wasn't until he signed to Columbia that the commercial acclaim, which had previously eluded him, finally came thanks to 'Silk Degrees'.”

Greg Wilson – September 2011

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

Boz Scaggs 'Lowdown' (greg wilson edit)

Captain Rapp ‘Bad Times (I Can’t Stand It)’ (greg wilson edit)

120 bpm

Previously limited vinyl only 2009.

With all the talk of recession during late 2008 through 2009, Captain Rapp’s ‘Bad Times’ kept running through my head, prompting the idea to put together this edit, which would be pressed  to limited vinyl as part of the Ruff Edits series, appearing as ‘Ruff Rapp’ on Ruff Edits #3. Now, with the news reporters back to warning us of a rocky road ahead, with all the social problems this might entail, it provides a topical opportunity to share it here.

Taking its lyrical cue from 1982’s seminal recording, ‘The Message’ by Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five, ‘Bad Times (I Can’t Stand It)’ was a socially conscious rap that explored the issues of the day, topped off with the raw pleas of singer Kimberley Ball. Just as important though was the killer Electro-Funk groove that set the more discerning of dancefloors alight. A proper underground tune that was huge for me during the latter part of ’83 , topping my floorfillers list not long before I called time on my DJ career:
http://www.electrofunkroots.co.uk/lists/no1_floorfillers.html

This was very much a track you’d only hear if you were tuned into what was going on in the black clubs over here. Like the majority of tracks I played, I’d picked it up on import from Spin Inn, the essential shop in the North for Soul, Funk, Disco, Electro-Funk and Jazz (the elements that made up a specialist night circa ‘83). As I've said before, if you didn't buy your records at an import stockist like Spin Inn, you couldn't seriously aspire to be a black music specialist, and Spin Inn was right up there, along with an elite of shops, like Groove and City Sounds in London, shaping the course of UK club culture via the constant stream of dance music, great, good and not so good, they brought into this country.

Whereas New York was the centre of the dance universe at this time, its hybrid groove and technological experimentation pushing the music ever forward, ‘Bad Times’ was a West Coast, not East Coast  track, released on a small label out of Los Angeles called Saturn, with unknowns, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis (along with Rich Cason), credited as arranging and performing (Jam & Lewis would, of course, become the most successful dance / R&B producers of the mid-late 80’s). Captain Rapp himself was Larry Earl Glenn, whose 1981 ‘Gigalo Rapp’ (by Disco Daddy & Captain Rapp) has its place in history as the first West Coast Rap 12”. 

‘Bad Times’ would be issued in the UK on the Becket label, but failed to make any real impact beyond the black scene. As such, it’s always retained its underground credentials, and a place in the hearts of black music enthusiasts with a fond ear for the early 80’s. 

Greg Wilson – October 2011

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

Captain Rapp 'Bad Times (I Can't Stand It)' (greg wilson edit)

Raw Silk 'Do It To The Music' (greg wilson edit)

114bpm

Never previously shared

I know there are quite a few edits of ‘Do It To The Music’ knocking about, a couple of which I’ve played out myself (Frico & Kid Color), but here’s the one I put together back in 2006 that’s popped up in a couple of my mixes, just a ruff from the vinyl incorporating both the main vocal mix and the dub, with no added elements. I only ever intended it to be for my own personal use, rather than something I considered pressing up (otherwise I’d have tried to get hold of a slightly cleaner copy to work from). The reason I’d discounted it for inclusion on a limited run 12” was because I’d thought about the track as a potential candidate for the first Credit To The Edit album the previous year, but I’d already used the acappella from the beginning of the dub over DMX Krew’s ‘Who Got The Funk’, the combination becoming Raw DMX ‘Do It To The Funk’ – the first track I played on my DJ comeback at Music Is Better (see: http://www.gregwilson.co.uk/2011/09/music-is-better-re-edited-highlights), and subsequently a key C2theE track. I figured an additional Raw Silk edit would be overkill, so the idea was shelved. But now we’re at a different point in time and I’m sharing edits here on SoundCloud, so here it is.

Mixed by Nick Martinelli & David Todd and released in the US on Mel Cheren’s West End label, ‘Do It To The Music’ was picked up on import by specialist DJ's in the UK, but following its release here on KR it’d crossover to the more mainstream clubs, and eventually enter the Top 20 of the charts here. West End was the source for so many classic underground cuts during my time at Legend and Wigan Pier (Peech Boys, Brenda Taylor, Stone, Shirley Lites, Barbara Mason, Forrrce, DJ Divine etc), and it was right up there with the likes of Prelude and Tommy Boy and as one of the most essential labels of the era as far as the black scene here in the UK was concerned.

So, without further adieu; no time for criticising, music's hypnotising, everybody's temperature's rising, so get down.

Greg Wilson – October 2011

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

Raw Silk 'Do It To The Music' (greg wilson edit)

2020 Update: Now available on limited 12" vinyl for the first time. Released 17th January on A&R Edits, coupled with Moplen's edit of Tavares' 'It Only Takes A Minute Girl', which you can check out here: https://hearthis.at/ar-edits/123-the-tavares-it-only-takes-a-minute-girl-moplen-edit

Buy the vinyl here: https://a-and-r-edits.bandcamp.com/

David Joseph’s ‘You Can’t Hide (Your Love From Me)' is a track I’ll forever have a strong personal association with, given that it was with 2 copies of this 12" that I made my claim to fame as the 1st UK DJ to mix live on TV – on February 25th 1983 at Newcastle’s Tyne Tees TV studio, on the classic British music show, ‘The Tube’. Full story and YouTube clip here at Electrofunkroots:
 http://www.electrofunkroots.co.uk/articles/on_the_tube.html 

Last April I was sent a link to an edit by Italian DJ Moplen™ and was, as you can imagine, intrigued when I saw what it was - David Joseph – ‘You Can't Hide (Your DUB From Me)’. Utilizing the Larry Levan mix (I’d used original UK twelves on The Tube, the Levan mix wouldn’t come until later, when the track went big in the NYC clubs), Moplen had done a fine job, but unfortunately I couldn’t play it. 

I replied to his mail, explaining that because of my connection to the track I would need the vocal in there at some point, otherwise the dancefloor might feel short changed. The whole dub vibe teases things up a treat, but the money shot of the song is a must for my own purposes. Moplen was getting a great reaction to the edit as it was, and rightly so – check it out here:
http://soundcloud.com/moplen/david-joseph-you-cant-hide-moplen-edit  

So, for my own personal use, I edited Moplen’s edit to incorporate the full vocal, and the resulting version became one of my big festival tracks of 2011, and something that’s appeared in a number of my live mixes.

This track has come a long way with me since I was first sent a UK promo by Island Records 29 years ago.  

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

David Joseph 'You Can't Hide (Your Love From Me)' (greg wilson edit of moplen edit of levan mix)

Here’s the second of the reworks I’ve recently put together with Henry Greenwood. This time it’s a brooding Balearic treasure from the late-‘70s, recorded by a group who experienced a fleeting moment of fame with this pop/rock treat and its addictive downtempo dance beat. It’s these qualities we’ve tried to enhance, making the track more contemporary for DJs to play out now, whilst retaining the distinctive essence of the original.

Before we set about the rework, I played it last year as my final track when I appeared at Glitterbox in Hi! Ibiza (I’m back this year for the closing party on Sept 28th). It was after hearing how well this worked as my Glitterbox finale (mix here: https://soundcloud.com/glitterboxibiza/greg-wilson-glitterbox-hi-ibiza-150917) that I approached Henry, who has a wonderful feel for downtempo grooves, to work on an update with me. Anyhow, I think it’s definitely mission accomplished, feedback since I’ve been playing it extremely positive.

Released on EMI’s progressive label, Harvest, in 1978, Marshall Hain’s ‘Dancing In The City’ was a huge UK hit, reaching #3 on the singles chart, as well as scoring big in Europe, Australia and South Africa, and just missing out on the US top 40. 

The duo behind the track, keyboardist Julian Marshall and vocalist/bassist Kit Hain had met as pupils at Dartington Hall School in Totnes, Devon, just a few years beforehand, but their success would be short-lived. A follow-up, ‘Coming Home’, was less memorable, just about scraping into the top 40 before, as with the band itself, completely vanishing from the pop realm, indifference to their album, ‘Free Ride’, the final nail in the coffin.

Marshall would become a member of The Flying Lizards, whose oddball post-punk/avant-garde cover of the R&B classic, ‘Money (That’s What I Want)’, released on Virgin, went top 5 in 1979, before forming Eye To Eye, who released 2 albums for Warner Bros. in the early-‘80s. Hain pursued a solo career, recording the albums ‘Spirits Walking Out’ for Deram (1981) and ‘School For Spies’ for Mercury (1983), before subsequently moving to the US and turning her attention to songwriting.

Available to pre-order on 12" here: https://www.juno.co.uk/products/gw-henry-disco-mondo/739367-01/

Pre-Order

Marshall Hain 'Dancing In The City' (greg wilson & henry greenwood rework)

Talking Heads ‘Psycho Killer’ (greg wilson edit)

118 bpm

Previously limited DJ only vinyl / CD 2007.

Pressed in 2007 as ‘Gotta Tape I Wanna Play', I originally put this together for my US debut in October 2005, at APT in NYC – recording here:
http://soundcloud.com/gregwilson/first-time-in-nyc-apt-21-10-05 

I was a big fan of ‘Stop Making Sense’, the Talking Heads concert from 1984, which was released as both a film and an album. It starts with David Byrne on an empty stage with just a ghetto blaster and acoustic guitar, performing one of the band’s best-known tracks, ‘Psycho Killer, which was originally released in 1977. The beats, courtesy of a Roland TR-808 drum machine, re-appear in extended form over the closing credits. The idea of an edit was there from the moment I bought ‘Stop Making Sense’ on VHS back in the 80’s, but the sound quality from the video wouldn’t have been up to scratch. However, when it was released on DVD later down the line, this was no longer a problem, and I was able to let the beats run on their own for a couple of minutes before the guitar enters and the track really kicks in.

The edit took off in a big way for me, and later with DJ’s including Andrew Weatherall and Optimo. It subsequently became a major festival tune for me and featured in my Essential Mix in 2009 (http://soundcloud.com/gregwilson/essential-mix-greg-wilson-mix-for-bbc-radio-1). More recently it appeared on my Festival Anthems mix (http://soundcloud.com/gregwilson/greg-wilson-festival-anthems), and given this, I thought it was a good time to share here.

There’s more info about ‘Stop Making Sense’ on the blog, as this was last month’s featured album:
http://www.gregwilson.co.uk/2012/05/living-to-music-talking-heads-stop-making-sense/ 

Greg Wilson – July 2012

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

Talking Heads 'Psycho Killer' (greg wilson edit)

Ahead of our Credit To The Edit appearances together in Australia  in November 2018, I've selected 24 reworks by Late Nite Tuff Guy and Dr Packer, alternating between them so that there are 12 inclusions a piece.

Full info at the blog: http://blog.gregwilson.co.uk/2018/11/aussie-rules-late-nite-tuff-guy-dr-packer/

AUSSIE RULES - LATE NITE TUFF GUY B2B DR PACKER (by greg wilson 2018)

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.

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