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The Chillout Room
Disco "scene" in the UK in the late 70's?
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<blockquote data-quote="greg wilson" data-source="post: 802800" data-attributes="member: 14835"><p>Is right adamw - it was pretty damn special, wasn't it.</p><p></p><p>Did you manage to make the L8 At The Tate event in April, when I interviewed Les Spaine?</p><p></p><p>Here's the link to the video and the lowdown: </p><p></p><p><strong>The DJ who inspired me</strong></p><p>This is an interview I did with Les Spaine in Liverpool’s Tate Gallery on the evening of April 22nd this year that was filmed and has just been uploaded onto their website:</p><p></p><p><a href="http://channel.tate.org.uk/media/89296363001">Tate Channel: From Freetown to Motown: Les Spaine in conversation with Greg Wilson</a></p><p></p><p>It was part of the Tate’s Afro Modern season and, following the interview, Les deejayed to a highly appreciative audience in the gallery’s foyer. It was his first time behind the decks in many years, so this was a rare treat.</p><p></p><p>It was a special night for lots of reasons, not least because it marked what was a triumphant homecoming for Les and a long-overdue appraisal of his contribution to the city’s musical legacy. The room where the interview was conducted was packed solid, tickets having all gone well in advance, with people filling the remaining space by standing in the aisles. Many of those in attendance were active within the Liverpool music scenes of the 60’s and the 70’s – there was a real tangible sense of history surrounding the event.</p><p></p><p>Les Spaine was the DJ at two legendary Liverpool Funk clubs during the 70’s, The Timepiece and The Pun, before he hung up his headphones and moved to London to work for Motown Records – the talk was titled ‘From Freetown To Motown’ (Freetown being the capital of Sierra Leone, where Les was born). As you can see from the footage, the respect he’s still afforded in his home town, over 30 years after he moved away, is something that few club DJ’s, wherever they may be from and in whatever era that might be, could hope to receive.</p><p></p><p>Whilst the Northern Soul scene, which was at its height during the period Les was deejaying, has been documented in its finest detail, the black scene, which was so influential in shaping the course of UK club culture, continues to be marginalised and regarded as something of an afterthought in comparison to the white dominated movements – as anyone who knows me will be well aware, I regard this as the major flaw when it comes to the current documentation of UK dance history. Clubs like The Timepiece and The Pun, and DJ’s like Les Spaine, helped pave the way for all that followed - they were undoubtedly pioneers, just as much as their Northern Soul contemporaries, yet their contribution is continually obscured.</p><p></p><p>So, as you can imagine, that evening at the Tate was really poignant on a personal level - to be able to play my part in celebrating the work of someone who had directly inspired me (as an ambitious 16 year old with aspirations of being a black music specialist), as well as acknowledging the community he was a part of, is something that goes right to the core for me.</p><p></p><p>It’s great to finally see it online in its entirety on the Tate’s website – they did a wonderful job recording proceedings, bringing a previously hidden part of Liverpool’s cultural heritage sharply into focus. Excuse the sound quality during the introduction (it’s fine by about three and a half minutes in) and also my slip of the tongue in locating my own club, Legend, in Liverpool and not Manchester – it wouldn’t be a show without punch!</p><p></p><p>Greg</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="greg wilson, post: 802800, member: 14835"] Is right adamw - it was pretty damn special, wasn't it. Did you manage to make the L8 At The Tate event in April, when I interviewed Les Spaine? Here's the link to the video and the lowdown: [B]The DJ who inspired me[/B] This is an interview I did with Les Spaine in Liverpool’s Tate Gallery on the evening of April 22nd this year that was filmed and has just been uploaded onto their website: [url=http://channel.tate.org.uk/media/89296363001]Tate Channel: From Freetown to Motown: Les Spaine in conversation with Greg Wilson[/url] It was part of the Tate’s Afro Modern season and, following the interview, Les deejayed to a highly appreciative audience in the gallery’s foyer. It was his first time behind the decks in many years, so this was a rare treat. It was a special night for lots of reasons, not least because it marked what was a triumphant homecoming for Les and a long-overdue appraisal of his contribution to the city’s musical legacy. The room where the interview was conducted was packed solid, tickets having all gone well in advance, with people filling the remaining space by standing in the aisles. Many of those in attendance were active within the Liverpool music scenes of the 60’s and the 70’s – there was a real tangible sense of history surrounding the event. Les Spaine was the DJ at two legendary Liverpool Funk clubs during the 70’s, The Timepiece and The Pun, before he hung up his headphones and moved to London to work for Motown Records – the talk was titled ‘From Freetown To Motown’ (Freetown being the capital of Sierra Leone, where Les was born). As you can see from the footage, the respect he’s still afforded in his home town, over 30 years after he moved away, is something that few club DJ’s, wherever they may be from and in whatever era that might be, could hope to receive. Whilst the Northern Soul scene, which was at its height during the period Les was deejaying, has been documented in its finest detail, the black scene, which was so influential in shaping the course of UK club culture, continues to be marginalised and regarded as something of an afterthought in comparison to the white dominated movements – as anyone who knows me will be well aware, I regard this as the major flaw when it comes to the current documentation of UK dance history. Clubs like The Timepiece and The Pun, and DJ’s like Les Spaine, helped pave the way for all that followed - they were undoubtedly pioneers, just as much as their Northern Soul contemporaries, yet their contribution is continually obscured. So, as you can imagine, that evening at the Tate was really poignant on a personal level - to be able to play my part in celebrating the work of someone who had directly inspired me (as an ambitious 16 year old with aspirations of being a black music specialist), as well as acknowledging the community he was a part of, is something that goes right to the core for me. It’s great to finally see it online in its entirety on the Tate’s website – they did a wonderful job recording proceedings, bringing a previously hidden part of Liverpool’s cultural heritage sharply into focus. Excuse the sound quality during the introduction (it’s fine by about three and a half minutes in) and also my slip of the tongue in locating my own club, Legend, in Liverpool and not Manchester – it wouldn’t be a show without punch! Greg [/QUOTE]
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