I have been into this genre of music since the early 1970's and became a Rockin' DJ during 1987 - I have an extensive knowledge of dance music of the 1930's through to the 1960's and as a dancer myself, I know what works. Pinnell, RIP) was my mentor and I had the privilege and honour of sharing his decks at the "Rockin' Ball" (Marble Arch) and I still follow his wise approach to being a DJ, he sai
d "If it gets people off of their b*ms and onto the dance floor, I'll play it!"
I also shared the decks with "El Nino" (of the "Lady Luck" club - Mr Nino De Gruttola RIP) at "Ruby's" in Carnaby Street and "Zoots" at the Notre Dame Hall (off Leicester Square, run by Jane + Terry (RIP) Smith). With Mr Tim Hardy (RIP) at the "Hellzapoppin" club at Cecil Sharp House and "Jitterbugs" at the Notre Dame Hall. Also at the "P+S Club" at the London Welsh Centre and at a great many other events in and around London during the late 80's and through the 90's. Some of my 2020 gigs included a handful of the "What's Cookin" gigs upstairs at the Red Lion, E6, with sets between the bands. I have two local residencies;
One is at Red Door Studios pop-up cafe in E6, where I have been spinning tunes since 2016 (currently the last Saturday afternoon of the month). Back in March 2020, there was an article in the Newham magazine (Issue 419, Page 31) which was great exposure for the venue and was very surprised that it featured yours truly a lot more than I thought it would, but then the C19 pandemic kicked in...
Here is a link to that article:
Newham Magazine review - Issue 419 - Page 31 (March 2020):
https://archive.org/details/the-newham-mag-issue-419/page/n29/mode/2up
Another review of the Red Door Cafe event to whet your appetite:
Link to Mid Century Chap review:
https://www.midcenturychap.com/a-little-gem-behind-the-red-door
On 21/05/23, I played an enjoyable Sunday afternoon session back at the Red Lion pub, which has met with overwhelmingly positive feedback from customers and staff, which is strongly appreciated, thank you and due to that event, I now have my "Rockin' Music Session" there on a one-Sunday afternoon-a-month residency. I used to use vinyl, then it was Vinyl and CD's, but now I work from my own custom CD's as I am getting too old to be lugging cases of records about! And whilst CD's are not indestructible, they are less susceptible to damage than a slab of vinyl. I am a bit of a Hi-fi buff and I want to hear a recording how it was recorded, without all the clicks, pops and general surface noise that older vinyl can have. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy spinning slabs of vinyl (and shellac), but I don't blur the lines between record collecting and attributing superior sound quality to a 'platter' (Amp frequency curves etc)
As long as you can play what has been requested, that is the most important thing!
