Greg Wilson
Encyclopedia
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. 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 1975 and 1980. 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).
With his primary interest being black music, Wilson's nights at the Wigan Pier covered a spectrum of black music styles. 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
. One of those in attendance was Mike Shaft, a DJ fronting a black music show on Manchester's Piccadilly Radio. 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. These mixes soon developed a popular following, and are still talked about as influential to this day.
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. The night helped the club develop its later reputation as the home of cutting edge new music.
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 a certain Norman Cook (aka Fatboy Slim
), then a young aspiring DJ called Quentin, how to scratch (December ’83).
Despite 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. This included ‘Style Of The Street’ a track from the influential Manchester breakdance crew [Broken Glass] (who he managed during 83/84), which 20 years later would be sampled for The Prodigy hit ‘Girls’.
The following decade would be something of a wilderness period for Wilson, but in 2003 he set up his own website electrofunkroots.co.uk to document the rise of electro. Returning to the DJ scene on December 20th 2003, the Music Is Better Night he played in Manchester proved to be a catalyst for Wilson. Before long he was picking up an ever increasing amount of bookings throughout the UK, and eventually Europe and the World, gaining a newfound legion of fans, many young enough to be his children. A major catalyst in this was the release of his acclaimed re-edits compilation Credit to the Edit in the summer of 2005 on the Tirk label, which included some original tape edits from the 80’s. The album helped establish him, once again, as a scene leader.
Apart from working as a DJ, Wilson also writes on various aspects of dance / black culure with articles published in magazines / webzines including Wax Poetics, Clash, Grand Slam, Strobelight Honey and Discopia.
Nominated in 2008 by DJ Magazine for outstanding contribution, and also named amongst their top twenty remixers of all-time, Wilson’s edits and mixes continue to feature on the playlists of DJ’s in every continent.
On 17 January 2009 Wilson’s reputation was further enhanced when his Essential Mix on BBC Radio 1 became something of an instant classic, receiving almost universal acclaim and, in the process, providing the perfect way to mark the 5th anniversary of a remarkable renaissance.
Credit To The Edit Volume 2 was released in November 2009, and in April 2010, as part of their Essential Mix 500 special, Radio 1 selected Wilson’s Essential Mix as one of 10 classics than spanned the show’s near 17 year history.
His blog, Being A DJ, was launched in June 2010. Wilson describes it as “not a DJ blog as such, but more a blog by someone who happens to be a DJ”.
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
associated with both the early 80’s electro scene in Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
, and the current disco / re-edit scene, for which he’s acquired a global following. He was born in Wallasey
Wallasey
Wallasey is a town within the Metropolitan Borough of Wirral, in Merseyside, England, on the mouth of the River Mersey, at the northeastern corner of the Wirral Peninsula...
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
New Brighton
-Canada:* New Brighton, Calgary, Alberta, a neighborhood* New Brighton , a settlement in British Columbia-United Kingdom:* New Brighton, Merseyside, a seaside resort in Wallasey, England**New Brighton A.F.C., the current football club...
between 1975 and 1980. At the start of the eighties, Wilson moved to a residency at the legendary Wigan Pier
Wigan Pier
Wigan Pier is the name given today to the area around the canal at the bottom of the Wigan flight of locks on the Leeds and Liverpool Canal. It is a popular location for visitors and the local community in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England, situated just a few hundred yards south-west of the town...
, 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).
With his primary interest being black music, Wilson's nights at the Wigan Pier covered a spectrum of black music styles. 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
Peech Boys
The Peech Boys, also known as the New York Citi Peech Boys or NYC Peech Boys, was a band that comprised Bernard Fowler, Steven Brown, Robert Kasper, Darryl Short, Larry Levan and Michael de Benedictus. The group formed at the Paradise Garage, being influenced by Larry Levan. They only released four...
, D-Train and Afrika Bambaataa
Afrika Bambaataa
Afrika Bambaataa is an American DJ from the South Bronx, New York who was instrumental in the early development of hip hop throughout the 1980s. Afrika Bambaataa is one of the three originators of break-beat deejaying, and is respectfully known as the "Grandfather" and the Amen Ra of Universal...
. One of those in attendance was Mike Shaft, a DJ fronting a black music show on Manchester's Piccadilly Radio. 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. These mixes soon developed a popular following, and are still talked about as influential to this day.
In 1983, Wilson was invited to start a residency at the newly opened The Haçienda
The Haçienda
Fac 51 Haçienda was a nightclub and music venue in Manchester, England. It became most famous during the "Madchester" years of the late 1980s and early 1990s, during the 1990s it was labelled the most famous club in the world by Newsweek magazine...
club in Manchester, starting the club's first weekly dance night. The night helped the club develop its later reputation as the home of cutting edge new music.
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 a certain Norman Cook (aka Fatboy Slim
Fatboy Slim
Norman Quentin Cook better known by his former stage name Fatboy Slim, is a British DJ, electronic dance music musician, and record producer. He is a pioneer of the big beat genre that achieved mainstream popularity in the 1990s...
), then a young aspiring DJ called Quentin, how to scratch (December ’83).
Despite 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. This included ‘Style Of The Street’ a track from the influential Manchester breakdance crew [Broken Glass] (who he managed during 83/84), which 20 years later would be sampled for The Prodigy hit ‘Girls’.
The following decade would be something of a wilderness period for Wilson, but in 2003 he set up his own website electrofunkroots.co.uk to document the rise of electro. Returning to the DJ scene on December 20th 2003, the Music Is Better Night he played in Manchester proved to be a catalyst for Wilson. Before long he was picking up an ever increasing amount of bookings throughout the UK, and eventually Europe and the World, gaining a newfound legion of fans, many young enough to be his children. A major catalyst in this was the release of his acclaimed re-edits compilation Credit to the Edit in the summer of 2005 on the Tirk label, which included some original tape edits from the 80’s. The album helped establish him, once again, as a scene leader.
Apart from working as a DJ, Wilson also writes on various aspects of dance / black culure with articles published in magazines / webzines including Wax Poetics, Clash, Grand Slam, Strobelight Honey and Discopia.
Nominated in 2008 by DJ Magazine for outstanding contribution, and also named amongst their top twenty remixers of all-time, Wilson’s edits and mixes continue to feature on the playlists of DJ’s in every continent.
On 17 January 2009 Wilson’s reputation was further enhanced when his Essential Mix on BBC Radio 1 became something of an instant classic, receiving almost universal acclaim and, in the process, providing the perfect way to mark the 5th anniversary of a remarkable renaissance.
Credit To The Edit Volume 2 was released in November 2009, and in April 2010, as part of their Essential Mix 500 special, Radio 1 selected Wilson’s Essential Mix as one of 10 classics than spanned the show’s near 17 year history.
His blog, Being A DJ, was launched in June 2010. Wilson describes it as “not a DJ blog as such, but more a blog by someone who happens to be a DJ”.