IN THE BEGINNING

My first experiences of music like many others came from the home. My mum used to have a good selection of singles and albums from the likes of The Police, Sade and Fleetwood Mac.The first bands I got into where Adam And The Ants and in particular a Scottish based group called Big Country. I didnt get into music in a big way until around 1983 aged about 13 when I had my heart set on becoming a drummer. Radio One’s 'National Fresh' show, presented by Mike Allan, was my introduction to the likes of Public Enemy, EPMD, Big Daddy Kane, and in particular a series of albums named ‘Street Sounds Electro' <AlbumCovers> which got me hooked on the west coast electro sound. Another early influence came from a Saturday TV show, featuring a guest by the name of Chad Jackson, who had just been crowned the first DMC mixing champion. This was my first real experience of watching a DJ cutting and scratching. www.dmcworld.com

As a result, I decided to post an advert in a newsletter called Rumours, which accompanied the Street Sounds albums, looking for somebody to teach me the basics of mixing and scratching. Shortly after that, I was contacted by a guy called Davy D, who had a set up that consisted of a standard Hi-Fi linked up to a cassette deck through a realistic mixer which you could only listen to through headphones. Davy helped me build my own similar set up, and soon after I started picking up my first pieces of vinyl. The first cut I remember buying was the Two Live Crew's first album, then I got a few albums one Christmas - LL Cool J’s 'Radio' and Erick B & Rakim’s 'Paid in Full'. Davy then got himself a set of 1210s - I went with him through to Glasgow to pick them up – and after that, trips to Davy's house became a regular thing much to his Mum's distress. This period cemented my determination to learn how to mix and scratch, and in turn, begin what was a long and sometimes painful road to DJ’ing in clubs. <DJ Kid Back In The Day> <Davy D>

Next >