Posted by joly on Aug 14, 2010 in
old tape When I left the UK for the USA in 1983 I was sure to pack with me a few nuggets of British culture to entertain and amaze the colonists. Apart from reggae disco 12″ers and VHS’s of the Young Ones tv series – as yet unseen on this side of the pond, I had a copy of this broadcast – a Sunday morning one-off perpetrated by Keith Allen and mates such as David Rappaport – using the same transmitter as Dread Broadcast Corp. A visit with northern industrial gay Gerry Arkwright kicks off 90 minutes of segment after segment of ribald and raucous hijinks – some of the most outrageous programming to ever hit the airwaves. American listeners were a little non-plussed but when, in 1984, I visited Vancouver and played it to the Canadians they went nuts for it, playing it over and over til they had it word perfect.
(Thanks to Mike the Bike of DBC for forwarding a copy.)
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Tags: BPR
Posted by joly on Mar 25, 2010 in
mix,
old tape As we all know the ecstasy and agony of romance drives much of creation, and so it was with this, a mixtape from the late 80s, and the oft-repeated soundtrack to many pinmaking sessions in the early 90s. It starts off warm and easy, becomes enraptured, and then helplessly unrequited..
Tags: joly, lover's rock
Posted by joly on Mar 25, 2010 in
old tape,
session Here’s another of those short fragments off an old mix tape of mine – includes fav tunes from the likes of Dillinger, Hugh Mundell, Jackie Mittoo, U Roy, Roland Alphonso, and The Skatalites.
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Tags: joly, www
Posted by joly on Mar 24, 2010 in
mix,
old tape This is a very brief fragment from 1988 or so, some NYC radio plus a bit of Dominic – a young Ladbroke Grove skallywag who had turned up after making a name for himself in Jamaica – testing his chops on hip-hop played by Dreadbeat Massive’s Woody Dee. One feature of NYC is a large Caribbean Desi population, and the tune near the start is as sublime a combination of the two cultures as you are ever likely to hear!
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Tags: dominic, nyc, radio
Posted by joly on Mar 24, 2010 in
DBC,
old tape,
recast Yet more DBC. As mentioned early broadcasts, out of necessity, utilized the “plant the cassette player and transmitter on the tower block and retire to a safe distance†method. By 1984 the station’s technology had advanced to the point of being able to, via relays, do live broadcasts. Even to the extent, in the safety of the Notting Hill Carnival celebrating crowd, of coming live from the street. This snippet, hosted by Ranking Miss P, kicks off with the talents of the young MC prodigy Mekka Stephenson, hoarse no doubt due to toasting night and day, and then goes to station manager Lepke chatting up Portobello Road revelers.
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Posted by joly on Mar 19, 2010 in
old tape,
recast A month later than the last posting here we have Traffic Jam in full effect – this time the only thing that’s sped up is the chat, as was the craze of the day. A well-oiled Arrows International crew take turns to show off their freestyle lyrical prowess and vocal skill over a Federal selection. In the area: Snarky, Professor Nuts, Shakademus, Cutty Ranks.
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Tags: london, radio
Posted by joly on Mar 19, 2010 in
old tape,
recast The fact my beloved DBC Rebel Radio had been shut down, and Lepke the station manager arrested, was definitely a contributory factor to my decision to move to the USA in 1983. The door having been opened, however, a flood of new stations, mostly based in South London, sprang up. Someone gave me this tape, a wander around the dial from 1987, which includes KISS and Traffic Jam. You’ll observe parts of the latter are massively sped up, the likely explanation for this is that they, like DBC before them, employed the “plant the cassette player and transmitter on the tower block and retire to a safe distance” method, and those cheap cassette players were notoriously erratic.
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Tags: radio, uk
Posted by joly on Mar 18, 2010 in
DBC,
old tape,
recast Back in 1982 bread and butter for the DBC – Dread Broadcasting Corp. – were sponsored programs by the likes of Harlesden record distros Starlite and Orbitone, again presented with flair by the Ranking Miss P. Here are few fragments that have survived the ages thanks to Ms Mandi Newall of NYC who taped them off the air back in the day.
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Tags: DBC, lover's rock
Posted by joly on Mar 18, 2010 in
DBC,
old tape Amongst the very first streams that went out on streamola, and then run on repeat for it’s entire existence, was a selection of the Better Badges sponsored London reggae pirate DBC – the Dread Broadcasting Corp. – from the beginning of the 80s. One of the best loved features of that station were the lover’s rock selections by the sweet-voiced DJ known as the Ranking Miss P., who later went on to reach an international audience via the BBC World Service. This one’s just a brief snippet of the lady in action in her DBC prime.
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Tags: DBC, lover's rock
Posted by joly on Jan 8, 2010 in
dance,
old tape,
sound system Not sure where this one came from – Manwel perhaps – but it’s Italian sound system One Love Hi Powa playing out in Hamburg, Germany on 7/31/98.
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Tags: sound system
