GREG WILSON *Dj

Greg Wilson [Liverpool,UK]

Biography

MANCHESTER DJ GURUS - THE FACE 1990
"Greg Wilson is an honorary Manc born in Liverpool who is generally acknowledged as the godfather of the early eighties Manc electro scene. He is one of the first British DJ's to have used three turntables. Remembered for his nights at Legend and the Hacienda".
FROM SLEAZE NATION MAGAZINE (AMANDA CAZA) 1998
"By 1982 he was established at Wigan Pier, thrilling all and sundry with his brew of electronica and soul. He was given a dying Wednesday at Legend, Manchester's most influential black music venue, and blew enough life into it to spread queues round the block and gain punters countrywide. Forget the Hacienda, where Wilson began the first full-on dance night - Legend was the start of it all. His secret? The dastardly mixing techniques he'd picked up in Europe plus this weird and wonderful new form of music sweeping across from New York".
FROM THE BOOK 'THE NINETIES - WHAT THE F**K WAS THAT ALL ABOUT' (JOHN ROBB) 1999
"Greg Wilson was entranced by the stripped down electronic sounds that were coming out of New York where, in one of the weirdest quirks in rock history, black kids in the ghetto started to get hip to Kraftwerk. Taking the atmospheric synth music of the German outfit, they re-invented it as a dance music of their own. The computer age was dawning and here was a music that matched the nu digital times...Electro is one of the key forebears of nineties pop culture".
FROM THE BOOK 'MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - THE POP CULT CITY' (DAVE HASLAM) 1999
"Wilson's work on the decks every Wednesday (at Legend) drew the attention of Mike Shaft, who was then fronting a black music show on Piccadilly Radio. Although not a big fan of the new dancefloor sounds, he invited Wilson to do mixes for the radio show. These were probably some of the most taped programmes in Manchester radio history"
FROM REVIEW OF 'CLASSIC ELECTRO MASTERCUTS' - BLUES & SOUL (BOB KILLBOURN) 1994
"Compiled by famed deejay Greg Wilson who was one of the chief protagonists in the early development of electro in the UK. Greg helped pioneer the early stages as resident deejay at the legendary Wigan Pier and Manchester Legends venues. Greg was one of the first British deejays to consider seriously the art of deejaying and mixing was beyond the simple act of sticking a platter on a turntable before swilling ale and checking out the available talent (although I'm pretty sure Greg did his fair share of these activities too!). Greg's mixes on Manchester Piccadilly Radio were significant interludes and he was also the first British deejay to mix live on TV when appearing on the now defunct The Tube show".
FROM THE BOOK 'AND GOD CREATED MANCHESTER' (SARAH CHAMPION) 1990
"'The whole black side of Manchester has been completely ignored' says Greg Wilson, Manchester's first electro DJ, on the wheels of steel at Wigan Pier and Legends in '82. A disco-chemist, he experimented with mixing and NY's new styles...Legends stepped out a whole 18 months before The Face's cover feature caught up...By the start of '83, white hipsters were changing channels, switching from doom-rock to dance beats. ACR, New Order, Swamp Children and the like tuned into Legends...'In all things that have been written about Manchester, the thing that led the way hasn't even been mentioned! The black-white mix! Even when the students arrived (on the scene) the black side kept its identity and everyone began bouncing ideas around' argues Greg".
FROM THE BOOK 'SHAUN RYDER, HAPPY MONDAYS, BLACK GRAPE & OTHER TRAUMAS' (MICK MIDDLES) 1997
"Kermit was here there and everywhere. Everyone knew Kermit. Everyone knew Kermit stories. Everyone knew that one day this man would turn into something important. The story begins way back in the early eighties, at Manchester's Legends nightspot. On Wednesday night Manchester grandmaster of Electro, Greg Wilson, held hardcore funk sessions sussed enough to educate even the hippest of dudes from old Hulme. All the while, down the road, the Hacienda remained a vast, cold, empty shell, full of echoey indie sounds and a few straggly raincoated students. Greg Wilson was where it began and Kermit would soak in his influences".
FROM THE SLEEVENOTES OF 'CLASSIC ELECTRO MASTERCUTS' (IAN DEWHIRST) 1994
"Before retiring from deejaying in 1984, Greg had kicked off the first weekly dance night at The Hacienda and was managing Britain's best known breakdance crew, Manchester's Broken Glass. In '84 he produced Street Sounds' experimental 'UK Electro' album, and has since produced the Ruthless Rap Assassins".