As we go back… way back… back to 1989… in a certain field… NO it was not an acid rave on the outskirts of London but a summer garden party for an old people home in Wimbledon!! My dad was managing it at the time. So naturally I got my first gig. As you can imagine the music didn’t go down too well with the older and what we called the "mentally infirm" crowd. My brand new vinyl got warped in the sun. But twas all good fun using my uncles gleaming silver Technics 1200s in flight case. It was the dogs...Before long, I was living in Bournemouth. Yes! I am aware of the stigma attached to this town; blue rinse, incontinence, stena stairlift, steradent etc etc ad finitum.. We all know the list is endless. Ha ha. Arriving in sunny Bournemouth was a bit of a culture shock and being the only family of colour living in the street! Once night, mincing at the Showbar, Pier Approach, I bumped into DJ Paul Brady. What an entertainer! With his vast musical knowledge and mixing ability, one needed to get involved. Years later “Father Paul†from the dark side took on this young apprentice to one side and schooled him on being a confident DJ. This all took place at the Madisons Nightclub. This is now known ‘Miss Selfridge’ retail store for young ladies.Mike Artwell and Bob Povey were promoting their soul night at the Valentinos which is now known as Dusk till Dawn club situated in Christchurch Road Bournemouth. Fabulous choice of Soul toons were spun by these two jokers who later I became friends with. Mike was a town legend and complete with his outrageous drink-induced antics his love of the music always shone through. After plying him with enough drink one night, his arm was twisted and he invited me to dj at Zig Zags, the Venue, Zoo & Cage.Later on Bob Povey introduced Soulful House to the massive, in the famous Artful Dodger Public House. Even Radio 1 Pete Tong popped his head through a couple of times. It was here that everyone used to congregate before heading down like pilgrims to the famous Madison Nightclub in the town centre. Only the best DJs could work there. And I was lucky to be part of the clique.Mad Flava in da house. The good old days. We played every bar, club, skool disco, you name it we played there. Massive crowds followed us everywhere we went. Fusing old and new skool Soul RnB HipHop, Acid Jazz, Street Soul, Funk to soulful house music. Basically anything with a soulful groove!Bump n Hustle. Bob Povey and Jon Coomer combined their love for the music and their business minds to form the country’s best night out “BUMP n HUSTLE. Here the Mad flava crew slammed the tunes on room 2. Top Banana night. This event ran for years. Definitely a benchmark in club land. Djs from all over the world came to the sands of Bournemouth and dropped their soulful vibes. Big up to Aydin the funkie chile (ATFC) who took the whole acid jazz scene to another level. Hey Aydin lovin your beats these days. keep spreading the love.‘Confessions’ at the Showbar was also fantastic night headed up by promoter Kunle ‘Oli’ Olafare. It was here that I met and dj with likes of Boogie Bunch, Rampage to name a few. Mike Lewars and Lady K were also resident Djs. Mike Lewars love dropping accapellas over beats. Lady K, lots of attitude and her spirit in this male dominated industry was admired..Soulheaven in da House. A golden opportunity came up to promote the world famous brand. Oli White had approached me to collaborate with Soulheaven in event promotion. We brought soulful house music best DJs from Masters at Work, Terry Hunter, Jazzy Jeff to the massive. Later on becoming exclusive UK representative for MAW records and their other label imprints. What fun I had and this opened the doors accessing many top Djs who I remain friends with today.To date. I currently hold down several dj residencies and have two radio shows on the local radio station FIRE 107.6FM Regularly on BBC RADIO 1Xtra. Head of streeteam (south) for Atlantic Records.Formed in 2006 ACCESS ALL AREAS MUSIC. Music Workshops and Seminars with leading industry people.
I have more to say!!!! come back soon
