Reunited for the first time in five years at Sankeys! The legends back on home soil at last…
Welcome to DMCWORLD Graeme. Let’s start with a quote from you. “Without you there would be no FAC51. To you all, I dedicate my 30th anniversary mix that is full of personal favourites of mine. Every track has a special memory for me and I hope they do for you too.” They were your sleeve notes from the Hacienda 30 Album box set that was released last year and you were talking about your 19 tunes that represented some of your memories from your time down at Whitworth Street’s finest. What though, was the greatest record you ever played to that famous yellow and black dancefloor?
“Surrender Yourself” by The Daou. The Original Un-edited Ballroom Mix of course. 14 minutes and 30 seconds of mind blowing ecstacy. It’s the perfect club record in my opinion. It has everything. It’s euphoric, deep, uplifting, tough, chunky, funky, ethereal, intense, insane, addictive, crazy, soulful and more. Just like The Haçienda was. Plus it was long enough for a quick trip to the toilet.”
There is a growing trend for retrospective nights all across the UK at the moment with so many old club brands celebrating landmark anniversaries. Do you enjoy reliving the past or do you prefer doing contemporary nights?
“Every weekend and every gig is completely different for me. It has to be, otherwise I’d go insane because I’ve been doing this for almost 30 years. One weekend I’m playing at a massive Haç night to an older crowd, the next I’m in an obscure underground venue where everyone’s half my age. I get to mix it up with obvious old tunes, obscure forgotten ones and a variety of current tunes too. It’s quite a challenge keeping everyone happy but that’s the reason I still love what I do. When you see a sea of smiling faces in front of you it makes it all worthwhile. However, I don’t think I relive the past. I celebrate it alongside the present. Both are important. And that’s the challenge.”
I hear it’s in your contract that nowhere on any advertising can the words old school be used. For any retrospective nights you insist on branding them Classics night. Why is that?
“Yes. It’s in my contract because I absolutely hate the term “Old School” and utterly detest it’s bastard brother “Old Skool”. I’ll use the former in conversation but not to brand a night. In fact I’m not keen on “classics” either but do understand why some promoters might want to use that expression. The main reason is that your setting yourself up for a massive fall if you do use those phrases because you just don’t know what the crowd will be like or what the vibe is going to be. I play to the crowd in front of me and go with the flow regardless of what it says on the flyer. Besides, whatever I play I always get some idiot (usually a bloke over 40) shouting “play some old school” when everyone’s going crazy to an obscure track from 1992 that I’ve dug out. It’s not about the hits, it’s about the vibe and in my opinion it doesn’t matter if the track I’m playing is from 1992, 2002 or brand new. Happy faces at the end of the night are the most important thing. Judging from my ridiculously busy diary, I think I’m continuing to manage that.”
Easter Friday then sees you reunited with Mike Pickering and performing together in Manchester for the first time in over five years down at Sankeys. How difficult is programming a night in the home city of The Hac? You have young faces in there who weren’t even born back in the day and you have old heads who want to hear Stone Roses and A Guy Called Gerald belted out….?
“We’ll create a vibe that everyone will love regardless of age. The Sankeys crowd know their stuff and I’m sure they’ll lap up whatever it is we decide to play. I’m getting nervous and excited thinking about it.”
Myself and my pal Dave Seaman used to travel up from the Mixmag offices religiously every Friday for some Nude action, sometimes sitting in the car for six hours on the M1 and getting to The Hac with only twenty minutes before the night ended. But it was worth it. Had you any idea back then just what you were responsible for – how important that night and your selection of records were?
Of course! Maybe not to start with, but we soon realised that what we were doing and what we were involved in was going to be huge. Selecting the records was pretty straightforward because of the amount of incredible tunes that were being created in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Everything was mind blowing and people lapped it up. It was a joy to be in control of the music. Don’t forget that a lot of tunes we played couldn’t be heard anywhere else. You had to come to The Haçienda to hear them and we both knew that. Those days are gone now. Everyone has everything or can get it straight away if they don’t.”
Just how much drugs were going on in that extended DJ booth of yours? It was like a mini back to mine party in there some nights…
“Quite a lot but maybe not as much as legend would have it. Mike and I eventually stopped letting people in for that reason. Despite the madness and pure unadulterated hedonism, we had to concentrate on the job at hand which was playing the right tunes at the right time to a crowd high on life and ecstasy. The less distractions we had the better.”
What was your take on London’s nightlife at that time. There was quite a funny north south divide thing going on back then…?
“I played in London loads of times before I even started at The Haçienda, thank you very much. I always had a great time there and saw it evolve from rare groove to acid but a lot slower than up North. They got it in the end though. Thankfully.”
I have been writing about DJs for over 25 years and hand on heart, have never seen a better mixer. It’s a question I have always wanted to ask you but never dared…did it matter to you that Mike’s mixing sometimes wasn’t at the same level?
Thank you Dan. Mixing was always as important to me as my selection of tunes and still is. Mike placed more importance on his musical choices and was a master at dropping the right tune at the right time. He still is now. I think we both learned a lot from each other and week in week out created an amazing vibe. We’ll attempt to do the same at Sankeys. It’s probably as close as you’ll get to those halcyon days of Nude from 1988 to 1992. Just leave those rose tinted spectacles at home.”
Who was the DJ that set the standards for mixing as far as you were concerned when you were starting your career?
“Frankie Knuckles and Tony Humphries. Massive inspirations to me. They still are.”
Where was the usual after party after the club closed and which well known faces were always on the guest list?
“88-90 The KItchen in Hulme. 90-92 Mike’s flat above The Arndale. 92-96 my suite at the V&A hotel. The usual suspects were pretty much always around from what I remember. You name them, they were probably there. Mind you, I’ve probably forgotten more that I remember. At least that would seem to be the case judging from the amount of times my memory gets jogged when I meet old friends. “Really?” is a phrase I use a lot when reminiscing.”
What was the rule on “one more” at the end of the night? Did you take it in turns or did you always have dibs on it?
“No, we religiously took it in turns. Whoever started one week finished off the next. We never deviated from that.”
Were there any tunes you were slightly worried about spinning at The Hacienda? Madonna’s ‘Vogue’ went down a ruddy treat!
“Never. I’ve always trusted my judgement and still do. You’d get a vibe from the crowd and there was a mutual respect. We never let each other down. It’s harder to do that these days because of all of the expectation and because its a different crowd in a different town each week. Back then I knew the crowd intimately and they knew me too. That’s why I had to surprise the from time to time with something unexpected. That’s a trick I learned from the late, great Mark Kamins.”
What is the current top 10 you are spinning?
1. Colour, Movement, Sex & Violence (Graeme Park presents The Yellow & Black Remix), Section 25
2. Pieces (Garage Mix), Flashmob feat. Laila Walker
3. 1961, Tony Barbato
4. Black Rain (Alex Kenji & Ron Carroll Mix), Ron Carroll & Jamie Lee Wilson
5. Hypnotic, Vanilla Ace
6. No More Lies (Sonny Fodera Vocal), Harrison Crump feat. Tierra Nevaeh
7. Little Luv (Freestyle Version), Casio Social Club
8. Love Song, Signature Soul
9. The Secret Life of Us (Director’s Cut Signature Mix), Joey Negro & The Sunburst Band
10. Let Me Show You Love (Gerd’s Crooklyn Full Vox Mix), Romanthony
Tell us about some of your favourite clubs we can catch you at in 2013…
“I’m all over the place! Go to http://thisisgraemepark.com and click on Gigs to find out where.”
Another great quote from you; “The reason I keep doing it is simple: it’s my mission in life to let people hear good music.” Where did this love of music come from – have you hailed from a musical family?
“My late Grandpa had his own big band in Aberdeen. The George Wood Orchestra were massive over four decades and were on the radio and regularly played for the Queen Mother. He gave me his clarinet when I was 10. He was my idol.”
What is the worst job you have ever had?
“Processing peas when I was a student. It’s only recently that I started eating them again.”
What was the first record you ever bought and do you still own it?
“Yes! “Children Of The Revolution” by T.Rex. I was 8. However, my second record was “Dynamite” by Mud. I still own that too. Fast forward 40 years and there’s a direct comparison with my 8 year old twin boys. The first songs they downloaded were by Lana Del Ray and Emeli Sandé and I was very impressed and proud. Until they downloaded “Gangnam Style”.”
What is the most awful record you have ever been asked to play at a gig?
“There’s no particular one but occasionally I get asked (usually by a bloke in his 40s) to play some hideous rave tune that I never ever played. Or occasionally I get very attractive young girls in incredibly short skirts asking me for some well known EDM tune. When I say no, they then ask “what have you got?”. And these people always ask when the dancefloor is jumping. I can forgive the younger girls, but not the older blokes. Just get into the vibe!”
I heard a while back you were emptying your lock up and collating every piece of vinyl with notions of releasing some of the records in 2013 – tunes people would have no idea were released decades ago. What’s the latest with that?
“I’m afraid my lock up is still as full of vinyl as it was when I sold my house last April and moved everything into it. I’ve been renting for the past year and touring like a lunatic which means I haven’t had the time or the room to do anything with them. But we’re moving into our new house soon so I’ll be able to start the process properly. I do pop down sometimes and grab a box at random and enjoy rediscovering some forgotten gems that go straight into my sets. Mind you, there’s always a lot of dire stuff that hasn’t aged well to listen to as well.”
It’s your birthday and you are hiring the local village hall for a party. Who are the three DJs dead or alive you invite to spin?
“John Peel, Frankie Knuckles, Tom Wainwright.”
Favourite ever night at The Hac?
“I really can’t remember a particular favourite but my first solo Nude night is up there as are most of the birthdays and New Years Eves. But to be honest, every single night there was incredible.”
I awoke in a hotel bath in the mid 90s after a seriously heavy night at Venus in Nottingham…minus one of my eyebrows which you had decided to shave off at silly o clock. What is the worst you have ever been stitched up on during a mad night out?
“I’m glad to say I’ve never, ever been stitched up. I can keep it together regardless of much I indulge. I’m from Aberdeen remember.”
And finally Mr Park. Have you ever visited the historic Graeme Park site in Pennsylvania USA? An old beer making house which seems kinda apt…?
“Never, but I have spoken to them and there’s an open invite for me to visit. Wearing my kilt of course. Bizarrely, the Graeme Park mansion was built by Sir William Keith who was born in Boddam Castle, near Peterhead in Aberdeenshire which is just up the coast from where I was born.”
http://www.mixcloud.com/graemepark
http://soundcloud.com/graemepark
http://www.facebook.com/GraemeParkFanPage
http://www.youtube.com/GraemeParkDJ
http://www.myspace.com/graemepar
Mike lovely to speak to you again, you were one of the main reasons I fell in love with dance music in the late 80s thanks to your DJing skills at The Hac and we are all at DMC looking forward to the reunion at Sankeys in March. So let’s go back to where it all began. It seems like a life in music was inevitable for you. Your parents had a love for Motown and Stax, one of your neighbours would one day marry Phil Sacks who managed The Happy Mondays and you infamously avoided a kicking at a Man City v Notts Forest game by hiding behind a garden wall next to a stranger who turned out to be the one and only Rob Gretton. Although Northern Soul played a part in your early musical adventures it was David Bowie and punk that changed your life. What was it about that whole sound that moved you?
“It wasn’t just the sound, which was amazing – but the whole ethos. It showed that music which was in the period before very muso and gave the impression only virtuoso musicians could make music. Punk and it’s 3 chords showed people like me anyone could make music that related to the life we led.”
You got fed up with the UK and moved to Rotterdam where some squatters in and old waterworks offered you the adjoining hall to put on music events. You had started DJing by now and your attention had shifted to the wonderful world of US Disco with Chic and Crown Heights Affair being the order of the day. How did the whole DJing thing begin, did anyone teach you and what was the equipment you were let loose on back then?
“I was so into the funk and early electronic music from the States and also from Europe and started a night in the waterworks called “Rotterdam Must Dance”. This was quite a radical move as Holland was very rock influenced. I had my mates staying with me from Sheffield who were then called Vice Versa but at this time morphed into ABC due to our shared love of this music. Anyway the night was a huge success and became a regular event. I taught myself to DJ, 2 Technics decks and a mixer – no mic as I hated all the chat you heard in those days.”
One of the bands you booked over in Holland was New Order, it was the second gig they performed after Ian had died. Rob told you that he had bought an old yacht salesroom in Manchester and asked you whether you’d be interested in coming back home and working with him. What was your initial reaction to the building that we all now know as The Hacienda when you first walked in?
“Well it was very tall and basically a pile of rubble. It was the vision of Rob Gretton and New Order that was the inspiration and with Ben Kelly’s design, it gradually and sometimes painfully came together. Up to a few days before it opened we had to make major decisions on the design.”
The influence of America and their DJs was immense for you back then. One of the DJs who was important to you back then was the late Mark Kamins who sadly passed away in Mexico last week. I remember dancing with you at Danceteria in New York – the guy was a legend. What is your favourite memory or Mark from back in the day? Why was he so good?
“Mark Kamins was my DJ mentor from the 1st time I heard him play. He would play indie records on Rough Trade etc. and mix with electro New York tracks. He even used to mix in Arabic tracks with accapellas of club tracks, a truly wonderful DJ and larger than life guy. I brought him into the Factory Records world and some of his productions and mixes like Quando Quango and Marcel King still sound amazing these days. Danceteria was the template for the Hacienda, it was a meeting place for the weird wonderful and creative side of NYC. I have many personal and mad memories of Mark; taking him to an Oldham v City game which ended in a riot was one and meeting him really early many times at Manchester airport and hearing him getting off the plane from the other side of the terminal. He DJ’d many times with me at the Hac but I remember we got asked to play a glitzy club in Blackburn one night who thought we were of another planet…his face that night was a picture.”
You booked his ex-girlfriend Madonna to play at The Hacienda in the early 80s. Her photo with the yellow and black stripes has been shown a million times over since that night in the music press. What hasn’t been mentioned though is the crowd’s reaction to her that night…what happened?
“Well she wasn’t very friendly to put it mildly. And she performed miming on the dancefloor. It went down like a lead balloon and I remember cans being thrown at her from the balcony. She later claimed she had never been to the Hac or even Manchester which was funny as the whole night was recorded for the Channel 4 programme The Tube.”
A really interesting thing you once said in an interview. It was when you were discussing two different eras at The Hac; around 1986 you had Simon Topping spinning Latin grooves which would clear the dancefloor which enabled people like the Jazz Defectors’ dancers take centre stage, and then you had yourself and Graeme Park entertaining 1600 kids munching on E’s and spraying water over each other as the Nude Friday night phenomena took the world by storm. You claimed 1986 was…”better than ’88 and ’89 really, those years were amazing but for me, but before that was better.” That is a huge statement as those years changed clubbing for ever for so many people. So…why was 1986 better in your view?
“What I meant was there was a much wider variety of music played pre 88 and once E kicked in it was all about beat mixed 4/4 tracks. ‘88 was probably one of the greatest years in my life.”
What is your first memory of when Ecstasy entered your life?
“Well the first time was in Barcelona with Mr Oakenfold, then Ibiza and then the Hac and on and on and…”
Fridays at the club turned into a mecca for thousands every week. Eastern Bloc Records was a roadblock every Saturday with clubbers trying to buy the tunes they’d heard the night before, kids from London and Scotland would journey for six hours to make sure they got into the hallowed Whitworth Street towers, magazines like The Face, i-D and early Mixmag would jump on your rave bandwagon and all of us – and I mean all of us, would chalk off the days until Park & Pickering Fridays came round again. Had you any idea back then just what you were part of?
“Yes I think we did. Graeme and I used to get to the club at 8 o clock – an hour before the doors opened and people were queuing round the block and had been for hours. The atmosphere was incredible and I have never felt anything like that first 2 years since, it was a revolution and we knew it.”
How much drugs were going on in that extended DJ booth on a Friday night – it was like a who’s who of Madchester every week and you never answered that door?!
“What happened in the booth stays in the booth as they say. I never answered the door as once we started playing at 9 I was on the most beautiful musical journey and found people banging on the door behind me an awful distraction.”
Deconstruction Records – which you were an integral part of, was a groundbreaking label. Pete was a master with his press manifestos, Justin Robertson admitted one of the reasons he signed his Lionrock outfit to you was “cause you’re the only record label I’ve been in where they all wear Gucci loafers” and to sum it all up, you were very anti the whole music business establishment. Which brings us to Blackbox and ‘Ride On Time’. When did you first hear it, how did you sign it and who did sing those vocals…?
“I was handed a cassette one Friday night and always checked stuff I was given there and then. I did the same with ‘Voodoo Ray’, we thought it was that good we played it peak time to the most incredible reaction. Next morning I rang Pete Hadfield to tell him and he said the same track was handed to him at Decon’s offices the Friday afternoon. We had signed it by the next Tuesday and the rest is history. We had to quickly replace Loleatta Holloways vocal for publishing reasons. We flew Heather Small to Italy and she did them. Listen close enough and you can just about make her out.”
One question I have always wanted to ask you about those halcyon Hacienda days. Back then Danny Rampling had his residency at The Milk Bar, Weatherall was ensconced at Flying, Slam had their Sub Club weekly. As a DJ enjoying the limelight and adoration on his weekly podium, how did other clubs that you guested at compare? Were they all a let down for you when you were away from The Hacienda?
Some were great like The Garage in Nottingham which was Graeme’s night and Sands in Blackpool on a Thursday was great. Also of course later the wonderful Renaissance in Mansfield was brilliant. Have to admit though after I left the Hac in 92 playing most clubs felt like playing at Gigg Lane in Bury after the San Siro.”
Your chart topping band M People began in a way quite similar to the Soul II Soul collective, a group of cool people with a love of music falling into an outfit. Where did you first clap eyes on Heather Small?
“First place I saw Heather was when her band Hot House were supporting Barry White at the Albert Hall, as soon as I heard her voice I knew I had to make records with her.”
I have to admit, for a superstar DJ to suddenly star writing songs like ‘Colour My Life’ and ‘How Can I Love You More’ was stupendous. How did it feel to be suddenly a massive TV star?
Being on TV didn’t mean much to be honest, although after my first TOTP appearance I did get some stick at the Hac. The real joy came from people getting into my music and our live shows, that’s really fulfilling.”
Wembley, NEC, Glastonbury, Crystal Palace Bowl – some massive gigs you did. What was the first show though when you really had to pinch yourself that this was all really happening?
“Tough question, the early gigs were pretty mental but I do remember we were doing 3 nights at Manchester Arena and I thought, god look at all of these people in my home town.”
March 29th sees you team up with Graeme Park at Sankeys in Manchester, your first time together in five years. So what will be the musical selection next month be all about – I don’t for one minute your set will be 100% Hac tunes?
“The new house tracks these days are using that era as inspiration so I now feel I can play a contempory set with newer versions of old tracks in there. I love people like Julio Bashmore, Jamie Jones, Tensnake, Ejeca and a lot more…”
Looking at the DJ scene today, where young kids are earning $200,000 for an hour’s set and America has gone EDM crazy – what are your thoughts on the dance music scene in 2013?
“Well having signed Calvin Harris I know what you mean. Look, if you can earn it then good for you, I just hope the scene doesn’t eat itself through greed as it did before in the 90’s. What’s happening in US does make me laugh though, it’s like a flashback.”
And finally, you follow your beloved Man City all over the world. Who would you really love to sign in the summer to bridge that Old Trafford gap?
“We will sign Cavani from Napoli and a few more after we have a little trim of our present squad.”
Fac 51 The Hacienda is pleased to announce that on Easter Good Friday 29th March our next Sankeys event sees the legendary DJ duo of PARK & PICKERING reunited and performing together in Manchester for the first time in over five year.
– http://www.facebook.com/events/444672055605369/
Advance tickets available online now from Sankeys / Skiddle Ticketline / Resident Advisor. Physical tickets available from Easter Bloc / Gaffs / Piccadilly Records / Vinyl Exchange.
Hacienda Good Friday at Sankeys
Friday 29th March 2013 / 10pm to 5am
Sankeys, Radium St, Manchetser M4 6JG
Tickets £12 Earlybird / £15 Advance
www.sankeys.info / www.fac51thehacienda.com
