Review: We May Win We May Lose – by Jim ‘Shaft’ Ryan

Jim ‘Shaft’ Ryan is a famous house music DJ from Birmingham who along with his brothers, Mick and Dermot, and their mate Lee,  responsible for the seminary U.K. and global nightclub brands, Miss Moneypennys and Chuff Chuff. Jim is also my mate.

I knew that Jim had trained as a Catholic priest before becoming entangled in the acid house movement and I know he does quite a bit of academic work. He’s not stupid, for sure. I was pleased to hear about the release of this poetry book on Black Country Radio and surfed over to Amazon and picked up a copy. I wasn’t expecting wonders but to be honest, after reading the collection of poems that Jim has produced here, I can say that I am pleasantly surprised. The collection is well-balanced, covers a wide range of life topics and the poetry is neat, punchy, with excellent meter and range of vocabulary and a lot of it even neatly rhymes. We delve into religion with a bit of his Irish Catholic roots shining through, there is a great poem about Jim’s father covering family life and for the DJ and clubber there’s even some great little poems dedicated to his life as an electronic musician, ‘12” Single’ being the highlight. Some of the poems ask questions about contemporary life and values and often there is a dark insight into morality and values, with Jim not shying away from exposing human frailties and the dark undercurrents of modern life. My personal favourite poem and the one which I most identified with was ‘Fear Panic and Chaos’. I think that Jim’s work as a professional DJ helps his poetry in the neat rhyming and its meter. The reader is treated to the insight of a veteran DJ with a rich tapestry of life experience behind him and the book is a well-presented offering to British culture. The collection leaves you in a pleasant mood and I would recommend going out and treating yourself to a copy.

Review: Life After Dark – A History of British Nightclubs & Music Venues – by Dave Haslam

I got excited when this book arrived on my doorstep. At first glance it has all the key ingredients for a great book. Hacienda DJ author, history of British nightclubs – I expected lots of gory detail and exciting anecdotes and couldn’t wait to get to the acid house chapters….
The history begins back in Victorian dancefloors. From the outset a consistent theme throughout our nightclub adventure is controversy, rebellion and culture. Working class escapism as highlighted by co-founder of communism, Fredrich Engels as he discussed working class conditions in Manchester, illustrating the inebriated masses keen to escape the drudgery of factory work. Moving through, each chapter tends to focus on a specific era. We go through Jazz, rock and roll, Mods and rockers, Punk and disco and through to the modern age electronica plus Britpop and present day trends. The book often focuses on particular niche venues across various cities in the UK, both small and large, venues which influenced the whole culture. It’s so surprising considering the incredible popularity of such bands as the Beatles, the Rolling Stones and The Animals, to discover how they really became grounded and formed the elements of their success in small club residencies: The Cavern in Liverpool for the Beatles, The Crawdaddy in London for the Rolling Stones and the Club a Go Go in Newcastle for The Animals. Later so many dance DJs carved their names in residencies such as at the Hacienda in Manchester and also self-promoted London nights such as Spectrum, Shoom and Trip at the Astoria. As a DJ I found it particularly interesting seeing the evolution of my art. How early than I had imagined venues were turning away from live acts and creating spaces for vinyl spinners or jukeboxes where the latest music from all over the world could entertain the crowd in its original studio glory rather than lame band covers playing the same old stuff. Often the first and most successful DJs to contribute to dancefloor culture were the ones with the most eclectic well-resourced vinyl collections. The resistance from formal old school music industry to record-spinners was there from the outset. On a local tip for me, John Sicolo, famed owner of TJS in Newport, one of John Peel’s most favourite live venues, gets a mention in the introduction and although Miss Moneypennys @ Bonds and elsewhere and Chuff Chuff in Birmingham escapes much attention, I did, in particular love the focus on Bristol with detailed analysis of the formation of Wild Bunch, leading to the musical movement that is Massive Attack. I think the Korean restaurant whose basement was the spiritual home of Daddy G’s crew was once a Thai restaurant on Park Row where I’d treat all my Shuffle resident DJs to meals before our weekend gigs. Throughout the book special attention is paid to the gay scene and how it has influenced UK culture. From clandestine beginnings we see a more accepted mainstream less-discriminatory inclusion in the modern day entertainment environment. There are some darker tales and the history of Gary Glitter at the Cavern and Jimmy Saville’s live DJing are historic details I’d rather not know tbh but truth is out there…. The whole acid house coverage is where DJ author, Dave Haslam comes into his own. The whole book is written with intellectual flair and creative passion but from the evolution of Hacienda to coverage of Sasha at Shelleys and rise of Ministry of Sound Garage, Summer of Love Ibiza London acid house founders, the story bubbles and Haslam lets loose with a soul of a professional dance music aficionado. As someone who grew up in nightclubs and has spent a lifetime dodging around venues in the UK as a DJ, promoter etc it was great reading about many people who influenced my life so much and also people I’ver been privileged enough to work alongside. Paul Oakenfold, Danny Rampling, Nicky Holloway, Norman Jay, Judge Jules to name a few. Most of the London and Birmingham clubs that I did play in have since closed their doors and one consistent fact I notice in the book is that venues often have a short shelf life. Often many are a lot smaller and these are the most influential in the various eras. There are a few survivors but so many are now tescos or blocks of flats or shopping centres. It’s noticeable how marginal the lines are when it comes to finance and how fashion dictates and authorities discord with entertainment sector has harsh political consequences. The book is quite substantial and detailed with so many new facts for me and amazing anecdotes I shall be relaying to all who might listen to me. However, I need more. at 400 pages it’s not enough. There’s too many characters left in silence too many more venues I need the facts on. I want to keep Mister Haslam’s pen busy and will be applying to Routledge for him to be approached to compile a definitive Encyclopedia of British nightlife and I’m sure Haslam could maybe expand his horizons beyond the confines of this tiny island and deliver a history of global nightlife. I want to know how many guitars Jimi Hendrix has put through the ceiling in Antarctica and for every nook and cranny from darkest Africa, Chinese villages, Amazonian jungle hideouts, Saharan oases to Detroit back alleys, New York boutiques and Chicago storage facilities I need to know what bands are on, what the DJs are spinning, dress code, bouncer quality and profit and loss situation. Plenty more to crack on with, Dave. Get busy. Like any vinyl collection there’s always room for more… Anyone from the humblest cloak room assistant to the most pretentious superstar DJ should get onto this book and analyse and enjoy the great achievement of its original creation.

Review: Black Russian – by Vladimir Alexandrov

This is an exciting tale from the turn of the twentieth century of an eccentric man of the world who encountered directly some of the most important global events of that era. It is a biography of Frederick Bruce Thomas or Fyodor Fyodorovich Tomas. He was born to former plantation slaves in Mississippi, USA in 1872. His parents overcame prejudice and in an age of abolition became successful farmers until ultimately the still underlying racial inequalities and injustice drove them away and led to the murder of Frederick’s father. Frederick sought pastures new and headed for the cities of Chicago and New York before ultimately setting out on an Atlantic voyage across to European waters where he disembarked and settled in London. From there he quick-footed it around the continent and seeking ever more exotic locations finally made his way to Moscow. Initially his career had been as a highly mannered waiter in top restaurants or in hotels or a a domestic aid to wealthy businessmen. In Moscow he learnt the Russian language although he never perfected it but his entrepreneurial adventure allowed him to set up successful nightclub / theatre businesses across the city in some of its most exclusive locations. He toured Europe bringing in successful stage acts and entertainers from all over, including many early Black Jazz musicians from his homeland. The nightclubs he ran often appealed to the Russian and foreign elites and were widely recognised as being some of the most successful venues in the city. Often they had manicured gardens and served high class food in fancy restaurant spaces although sometimes they could be quite seedy with many of the female entertainers expected to provide additional private services in private rooms to paying clients a symbol perhaps of the age and the lack of women’s rights. Frederick married twice and had several children. For many years he was attached to the nanny of his children with his first wife who had died. In Moscow Frederick, most probably as a business incentive, adopted Russian citizenship. He had ongoing disputes with jumped up US Embassy employees who were always chasing him over bad debts and went out of their way to disrupt his application for a new USA passport most probably down to their underlying racial attitudes. Business swung to and fro between success and failure but by the time of the Russian Revolution in 1917, Frederick had built a successful theatre empire and was a famous celebrity due to his public work. The Rise of the Bolsheviks ultimately made it dangerous for him to remain in the city and eventually he luckily fled down to Odessa on the Black Sea where he also had some businesses. White Russians failures and the advance of the Soviets made him flee again to the relative safety of Istanbul (Constantinople). The fall of the Ottoman Empire in the post World War 1 period had left the French military protecting the city. It was a cultural hive of creativity and Frederick rebuilt from scratch another nightclub / theatre / restaurant empire. The rise of Ataturk and the return of Istanbul to the new Turkish state led to problems for Westerners and disrupted Frederick’s businesses. Ultimately he ran up some serious debts and ended up fleeing and dying in a debtor’s jail.
This book challenges many of the racist stereotypes from that period. Frederick felt much less prejudice on European shores and suffered no discrimination in Moscow. The Bolsheviks were fighting a class war unlike the anti-abolitionists in America. There is much entertainment and the story is a blistering read, an adventure of a brave and joyful character at a time and in exotic places during which many significant interesting major historical events occurred. Well-researched and well written.

Review: Happy Mondays – Excess All Areas – by Simon Spence

This is the third Simon Spence book that I have read. He is a very talented music journalist from Manchester with a taste for documenting, wild, stylish cultural movements that have emerged from the Madchester craziness. Excess All Areas covers perhaps the most successful and innovative band to have ridden the early acid house craze that swept the nation in the mate 1980s. With the charismatic Shaun Ryder heading up the band, a true hedonist, a notorious substance abuser, it was always difficult for the true Happy Mondays to translate through the myriad web of journalists who tried to document them. Ryder, much to the annoyance of most of the musical backdrop of the band, Paul Ryder (Bass), Gary Whelan (Drums), Paul Davis (keyboard), Mark Day (Guitar), Mark ‘Bez’ Berry (dancer), got into a habit of blagging the press and feeding them over the top exaggerations of the band’s history and exploits. In hindsight, this was pure marketing genius and led to much of the mystery and notoriety that paved the way for success. However, it sifting all the bullshit, has made the writing of this book that much more difficult for Simon Spence. The early days of a relatively privileged middle class upbringing contrasts with the bunch of Manchester council estate ‘scallies’ they tried to portray themselves as. Sure there was petty crime and shopflifting etc. but nothing serious, although perhaps the addition of Bez to the group was actually verging on real true life crime as he obviously was up to the neck in it as a youngster and quite obviously expanded his mini empire quite a lot under the guise of being part of the band…. Manchester Giants, Factory Records and Tony Wilson picked up the band and signed them which paved their way to success following the ilk of luminaries Joy Division and New Order and allowing them direct access to one of the UK’s most influential music venues, the Haçienda. It all happened at just the right time for this band, as the cultural rebellion against failed Thatcherism took hold of the UK’s disillusioned youth masses and expressed itself in the ‘Acid House’ movement. Ecstasy-fuelled, fashion shifts, mass movement and gathering of people in raves, parties and festivals, vast increase in polydrug clubbing and mainstream ending of anti-drug taboos. A lot of this movement was driven by DJs and the Mondays’ uniqueness was that they became one of the first genuine rock/dance crossover groups, who embraced the lifestyle and tried their best to incorporate the new music technology into traditional guitar-based rock. They were definitely pioneers in this sense and for me their link up with Spectrum’s Paul Oakenfold and his studio partner Steve Osbourne, was absolutely critical. Early days there was a struggle for financial success and Factory mismanagement of funds and artistic decadence led to much poverty. Heavy use of narcotics: cocaine, crack, heroin and ecstasy, was where a lot of the cash ended up. Bez and Shaun often boasted of being ecstasy dealers and there presence in the Hacienda’s E corner was much felt. The struggles of professional music led to relationship breakdowns and the loneliness of single life manifested in some serious drug addictions, mainly Shaun’s heroin addiction. This was all brutal and eyeopening to read. You always felt a little sorry for the band and as you read want to really have been giving them all a big cuddle, but maybe that’s just the ‘E’ talking…. Success eventually came with four critically acclaimed studio albums. They threatened a US breakthrough but never managed to follow the likes of Depeche Mode in emulating this, often short, late bands sets and excessive tour partying contributed to this failure. However, in the UK they were a huge band and record sales were good. The music press looked after them very well. Melody Maker, NME et al supporting most of the early stuff and shooting them on many front covers. At one stage, after Princess Diana, Shaun Ryder was the second most publicised celebrity in the UK. The legendary Barbados crack cocaine binge / studio session is covered although I wanted to hear a more complete tale of the actual detailed goings on of this debacle. Ultimately the band fell apart due to the multitudinous variety of industry pressures. However, the positive note is that they continued to rock on and as I write this my tickets have just arrived for their Nov 29th gig on their latest Greatest hits tour, where they will be doing an event at my Student Union at Cardiff University. Can’t wait for that, nor to get to grips with Simon Spence’s next offering.

Review: Mister Good Times by Norman Jay MBE

I was lucky enough to be a warm up DJ for Norman Jay back in the 1990s in The Cross Nightclub, London and I think I was billed on a couple of other events with him. He was a great DJ, I remember him once, in Ministry of Sound, having a full glass of drink topple on the bar decks where he was spinning from the above balcony and Norman, lightning quick just kept the music rolling and not even a skip of the needle. The book is divided up into several unique sections. The first part covers Norman’s Good Times sound system at Notting Hill Carnival which is for what he has been most famous. The whole logistics of such an event is well detailed enough for the professional DJ to thoroughly enjoy and learn from and to any reader the whole politics and excitement and logistics of such a fun event must be enlightening. The book covers Norman’s childhood, whereby he was brought up in Ladbroke Grove, West London to Windrush Caribbean immigrant parents, both of whom seemed very hardworking and supportive and keen to give their family the best start to life. The book discusses a lot about how being a black DJ was defined during the early years of the deck revolution. For me, a highlight was Norman’s journey to New York, where he learnt the best of what would be culturally exported from the USA to British streets. Norman Jay’s love for Tottenham Hotspur football club is covered in detail and during the excitement of terraces and the emergence of the hooligan years it is great reading of times past and the fun and frolics of being a serious football fan. For me, as a Liverpool fan it was truly disturbing to read about racism at Anfield back in the 1970s. Growing up in the John Barnes era of Liverpool, for me I always felt that we were a progressive club when it came to racism which is still a fight in the beautiful game to this very day. I really wanted for the book to keep running once it hit the years of house music. The warehouse parties with Judge Jules thrown across London were particularly interesting, the funniest moment in the tale, when the Met Police tried robbing all the takings from the promoters and Judge Jules and Norman hid under raincoats, pretending they were drunk. The chapter on big time club DJing moved too quickly for me. I really by this stage of the book wanted it to continue for at least double the length it was. It’s the best book I’ve read from a DJ to date and is testament to the Queen’s recognition of Norman Jay as our culture’s first recipient of the MBE. It inspired me to crack on in my chosen career and I can truly relate to a lot of the wisdom and knowledge contained therein. A Must read for anyone with an interest in DJing and Nightclub culture.

Review: Still Breathing: The True Adventures of the Donnelly Brothers – by Anthony and Christopher Donnelly (and Simon Spence)

Chris and Anthony Donnelly are two likely lads from Wythenshawe, Manchester. Growing up to a backdrop of crime, allegedly part of the the notorious Quality Street Gang, these entrepreneurs became leading figures in the birth of Manchester’s Acid House scene, initiating illegal raves and forging bonds and networks across music from the Hacienda to the launch of their own short-lived crime-ridden Parliament Club, at the peak of The Gunchester headlines when Guns and gangs took hold in Manchester. After heading out of music they entered the world of fashion, launching Gio-Goi. Using a mixture of guerrilla marketing, incorporating their music friends and street buddies, they became a necessity of fashionistas. The brand ultimately became corporate turning over £40 million a year at its height. This tale, interview-style, arranged by Stone Roses biographer, Simon Spence, is a true journey of life’s ups and downs, for a most colourful family. From drug busts, media headlines and jail sentences to filming videos with Pete Doherty and Deadmau5. I especially enjoyed the reminiscences of Old Skool Hacienda DJs, Mike Pickering, Jon Dasilva and Graeme Park. This book has it all. I’m sure that no party is complete without the Donnelly brothers influencing it in some way.