Their best known recording, ‘And It Wasn’t A Dream’, a minor chart hit in 1990, which focused on the plight of West Indian immigrants coming to the UK in the 50’s and 60’s, was named amongst Mojo (magazine)'s ‘50 Greatest British Tracks Ever’ in 2006. The Rap Assassins released 2 critically acclaimed albums via EMI, 1990’s ‘Killer Album’ and ‘Th!nk (It Ain’t Illegal Yet)’ in 1991. This included ‘Style Of The Street’ a track from the influential Manchester breakdance crew (who he managed during 83/84), which 20 years later would be sampled for The Prodigy hit ‘Girls’.īetween 1987 -1991, Greg would manage / produce Manchester’s Ruthless Rap Assassins, which included former Broken Glass member Kermit (who’d later hook up with Shaun Ryder to form the successful band Black Grape). Other firsts for Greg include being the first DJ to mix live on British TV (The Tube on Channel Four in February 1983), putting together the first UK re-edit (Paul Haig ‘Heaven Sent’ 1983) and teaching Norman Cook (aka Fatboy Slim), then a young aspiring DJ called Quentin, how to scratch (December ’83).ĭespite these successes, in 1984 Wilson retired from DJing to face a new challenge: he began producing records rather than playing them, and in 1984 was involved in all but one of the tracks on the Street Sounds ‘UK Electro’ album as co-writer / producer. The night helped the club develop its later reputation as the home of cutting edge new music. ![]() In 1983, Wilson was invited to start a residency at the newly opened The Haçienda club in Manchester, starting the club's first weekly dance night. ![]() These mixes soon developed a popular following, and are still talked about as influential to this day. Shaft wasn't a big fan of the new electro music, but he recognised its popularity and asked Wilson to record some mixes to play on the show. One of those in attendance was Mike Shaft, a DJ fronting a black music show on Manchester's Piccadilly Radio. But it was in his championing of the early electro records that he became known nationally - whilst working at Wigan Pier, he was offered an ailing Wednesday night residency at Legend in Manchester and was soon pulling in a predominantly black crowd to listen to the new electro-funk sound of groups like the Peech Boys, D-Train and Afrika Bambaataa. With his primary interest being black music, Wilson's nights at the Wigan Pier covered a spectrum of black music styles. ![]() At the start of the eighties, Wilson moved to a residency at the legendary Wigan Pier, making his mark as a jazz-funk specialist via their weekly Tuesday night session that would subsequently pick up the Blues & Soul award for the North’s best club (Wilson would also be named best DJ). He was born in Wallasey on Merseyside in 1960, and began his career as a club DJ at the age of 15 with a schoolfriend Derek Kelsey (later known as DJ Derek Kaye.) To begin with, Wilson was known for playing funk, soul and disco records with residencies in clubs in New Brighton between 19. Greg Wilson is a DJ and producer associated with both the early 80’s electro scene in Manchester, and the current disco / re-edit scene, for which he’s acquired a global following.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |