The Zoo Experience boys, Garage City and Soul Heaven dudes Bobby & Steve say hello to DMC…
Yo dudes. So you are twins which I don’t expect everyone actually knows. 1963 was a great year for cool music as that was the year you were born – five minutes apart! So what’s the difference between your personalities then?
Steve: “I’m more laid back, the cooler, sophisticated one.”
Bobby: “I’m more of a rough, streetwise, don’t get in my face attitude guy. But no, its all good…we are the divinity of twins you know – everything about us is identical.”
Can you describe a bit about the musical landscape that you grew up and tell me what your parents were listening to?
Bobby: ” Our Father was into Jim Reeves, Johnny Nash and also Elvis. The first album I ever got was a double Elvis Presley collection which I still have today, but we didn’t really adopt any of our parent’s musical knowledge back then, it is more about our older sisters. We have older sisters’ and one introduced us to reggae and disco, so basically that’s where it’s all come from.”
So what did you two really want to be when you grew up?
Steve: “Footballers to be honest. We were signed to Orient when we were about 11 years old, this is when the Football Association first started up the professional youth teams. We were signed to Orient until we were 15 years old, we had this dream of getting an apprenticeship but we were pretty short back then – and we haven’t really grown very much since then!”
Bobby: “I’m a qualified gas service engineer by trade.”
Do your parents still want you to get a proper job?
Steve: “No my missus does! No, our parents have always been very supportive and very proud of us since our downfall in our football career happened. They just sort of let us loose to do what we want to do basically and it was good, we had a great upbringing by our parents.”
Bobby: “My wife wants me to get a proper job, she can’t take me being away all the weekends and travelling and everything else but its all good. But our parents have been very supportive over the years especially when our football career didn’t take off in the 70’s, I would say they really understand us now making money by playing music…but in the beginning it was hard.”
Where did you play your first gig, where did it all begin…
Bobby: “We actually started in a bar, Simpson’s in Forest Gate, East London. We used to drink in there when we left school in 1980 and all the gang used to be up there on a Friday night. We got to know the manager and we approached him one night and said “I think you need a DJ in here”. Two weeks later he came up to us we had the job. We hired a Citronic Mixer, 1200’s, photocopied black and white promotional flyers and we rammed it. We became DJs and promoters on the same night!”
So let’s move into the 80’s, what was the vibe like back then?
Bobby: “The vibe back in 84/85 was very exciting because it was mainly house parties. The clubs were good, but you would do this thing called Blues where you would go into derelict houses and that’s where the whole party vibe would be. It was exciting not knowing whether or not the police were going to come and shut you down. The whole illegal concept was normal – and getting away with it was even more of a buzz. Everyone who came knew it was an illegal party.”
Your thoughts on clubbing today?
Bobby: “Now, the whole scene is more business orientated. We still love what we do, it’s our job, but everything is so business orientated.”
So, do you think it less fun now?
Steve: “Not for us, it’s so much fun it’s untrue. One of the good things about it all, is that we are twins and we are always flying away together doing our thing. The other advantage for us is that we are promoters as well. “
What it like the first night that you started at Garage City?
Bobby: “Wow, it was a new time then for the whole of London. Kiss FM had just launched and we started Garage City eight months later. It was very important to us then, still is and we are very proud we are holding the longest ever running soulful club night.”
Who were yourfavourite guest DJ’s at Garage City?
Bobby: “Tony Humphreys, Roger Sanchez, Derrick Carter…”
A favourite Garage City moment?
Steve: “Back in 92 we had Ten City come down to the Podium (where we used to hold Garage City) and these guys came down and blew the roof off – I will always remember that for as long as I live….”
