Colin Curtis (DJ)
Encyclopedia
Colin Curtis is an influential British DJ whose career spans several decades and musical developments. He was born and grew up in Madeley
in Staffordshire
, UK. Although he is most closely associated with the 1970s Northern soul
scene, he has been described by the author and musician Mark 'Snowboy' Cotgrove
as:
stations such as Radio Caroline and through a friend’s sister who would listen to Tamla Motown records at their house. He then became interested in collecting black American music through attending Northern soul all-nighters at clubs such as the Twisted Wheel in Manchester
and, later, the Golden Torch
in Tunstall, Stoke
. He began DJ-ing in the late 1960s, firstly at the Crystal Ballroom in Newcastle-under-Lyme
but later became part of the resident DJ line-up at the Golden Torch all-nighters, which included Tony Jebb, Ian Levine
and Keith Minshull.
In 1973, after the closure of the Golden Torch, Colin began a weekly residency at the Blackpool Mecca
’s Highland Room soul nights and was joined by fellow DJ and collector Ian Levine
in a partnership which lasted until 1978. Hitherto, the Northern soul scene had been a revivalist movement built around obscure US recordings from the 1960s which conformed to a certain rhythmic and vocal template. However, the Curtis/Levine duo are noted for successfully introducing contemporary styles of African-American music such as Disco
, Funk
and Jazz Funk onto their Highland Room playlists and, as a result, the creation of a split in the Northern soul movement which led to the parallel Modern soul
sub-genre. Levine and Curtis are also credited with being amongst the first DJs to introduce mixing
to British nightclubs. This technique, which had been pioneered by DJ Francis Grasso
in the clubs of New York City
, enabled the DJ to create a non-stop sequence of records.
In September 1978, after quitting his weekly spot at the Blackpool Mecca, Colin began a residency at Rafters
nightclub in Manchester
where his playlists continued to include soul and disco but leaned more heavily towards Jazz Funk and Fusion
. He also continued to DJ at all-day soul festival events at venues such as the Manchester Ritz and the Blackpool Mecca, regularly playing before crowds of between 1500 to 3000 people. Around the years 1982 to 1983, whilst continuing to DJ at events around the country, Colin began to move towards more exclusively jazz sets at clubs such as Berlin in Manchester and is credited as pioneering the UK Jazz Dance
scene in the North of England.
In the mid-1980s, Colin became interested in the latest developments in dance music emanating from the US including New York Electro and Hip Hop
and the first wave of House
music from Chicago
, typified by artists such Chip E, Steve ‘Silk’ Hurley and Farley Jackmaster Funk. In 1986 he became one of the earliest British DJs to play these records at venues such as Rock City
in Nottingham
alongside DJs such as Greg Wilson and Graeme Park.
At the end of the 1980s, Colin went into semi-retirement from his DJing career due to a spell of bad health. In the early 1990s he concentrated on his computer games business but since that time he has resumed his DJ-ing career, playing Northern soul and Jazz Funk ‘revival’ sets at various venues such as the Ruby Lounge in Manchester and the King Georges Hall in Blackburn. In August 2010 he played two sets in the 1970s-themed Soul Casino arena and 1980s-themed Warehouse arena at the Vintage at Goodwood Festival.
Madeley, Staffordshire
Madeley is a village and ward in the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme, North Staffordshire, England. It is split into three parts: Madeley, Middle Madeley, and Little Madeley. Madeley Heath is also considered by many to be part of Madeley...
in Staffordshire
Staffordshire
Staffordshire is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes, the county is a NUTS 3 region and is one of four counties or unitary districts that comprise the "Shropshire and Staffordshire" NUTS 2 region. Part of the National Forest lies within its borders...
, UK. Although he is most closely associated with the 1970s Northern soul
Northern soul
Northern soul is a music and dance movement that emerged from the British mod scene, initially in northern England in the late 1960s. Northern soul mainly consists of a particular style of black American soul music based on the heavy beat and fast tempo of the mid-1960s Tamla Motown sound...
scene, he has been described by the author and musician Mark 'Snowboy' Cotgrove
Snowboy
Snowboy is a UK-based Afro Cuban percussionist, bandleader, DJ, music critic, journalist and music promoter.Featured in the Who's Who of Latin American Music, Snowboy has released 11 albums and 17 singles in a career that spans over 15 years and has taken him and his authentic Afro-Cuban sound to...
as:
...one of the most important Black music tastemakers there has ever been in the UKAs a teenager in the 1960s, Colin developed a passion for music through listening to Pirate radio
Pirate radio
Pirate radio is illegal or unregulated radio transmission. The term is most commonly used to describe illegal broadcasting for entertainment or political purposes, but is also sometimes used for illegal two-way radio operation...
stations such as Radio Caroline and through a friend’s sister who would listen to Tamla Motown records at their house. He then became interested in collecting black American music through attending Northern soul all-nighters at clubs such as the Twisted Wheel in Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
and, later, the Golden Torch
Golden Torch
The Golden Torch, more commonly known as The Torch, was a mod nightclub in Tunstall, Stoke on Trent, England. The club opened on January 30, 1965 with the headline act of Billy J. Kramer and the Dakotas...
in Tunstall, Stoke
Stoke-on-Trent
Stoke-on-Trent , also called The Potteries is a city in Staffordshire, England, which forms a linear conurbation almost 12 miles long, with an area of . Together with the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme Stoke forms The Potteries Urban Area...
. He began DJ-ing in the late 1960s, firstly at the Crystal Ballroom in Newcastle-under-Lyme
Newcastle-under-Lyme
Newcastle-under-Lyme is a market town in Staffordshire, England, and is the principal town of the Borough of Newcastle-under-Lyme. It is part of The Potteries Urban Area and North Staffordshire. In the 2001 census the town had a population of 73,944...
but later became part of the resident DJ line-up at the Golden Torch all-nighters, which included Tony Jebb, Ian Levine
Ian Levine
Ian Levine is an English songwriter, producer, and DJ. He is also a well-known fan of the long-running television show Doctor Who.Levine attended Arnold School in Blackpool from 1963 to 1970...
and Keith Minshull.
In 1973, after the closure of the Golden Torch, Colin began a weekly residency at the Blackpool Mecca
Blackpool Mecca
The Blackpool Mecca was a large entertainment venue on Central Drive in the seaside town of Blackpool, Lancashire in the North West of England, first opened in 1965. In the 1970s, it was particularly known for The Highland Room, which was a major Northern Soul music venue...
’s Highland Room soul nights and was joined by fellow DJ and collector Ian Levine
Ian Levine
Ian Levine is an English songwriter, producer, and DJ. He is also a well-known fan of the long-running television show Doctor Who.Levine attended Arnold School in Blackpool from 1963 to 1970...
in a partnership which lasted until 1978. Hitherto, the Northern soul scene had been a revivalist movement built around obscure US recordings from the 1960s which conformed to a certain rhythmic and vocal template. However, the Curtis/Levine duo are noted for successfully introducing contemporary styles of African-American music such as Disco
Disco
Disco is a genre of dance music. Disco acts charted high during the mid-1970s, and the genre's popularity peaked during the late 1970s. It had its roots in clubs that catered to African American, gay, psychedelic, and other communities in New York City and Philadelphia during the late 1960s and...
, Funk
Funk
Funk is a music genre that originated in the mid-late 1960s when African American musicians blended soul music, jazz and R&B into a rhythmic, danceable new form of music. Funk de-emphasizes melody and harmony and brings a strong rhythmic groove of electric bass and drums to the foreground...
and Jazz Funk onto their Highland Room playlists and, as a result, the creation of a split in the Northern soul movement which led to the parallel Modern soul
Modern soul
Modern soul is a style of music with associated clothing and dance styles , that developed in Northern England in the early 1970s....
sub-genre. Levine and Curtis are also credited with being amongst the first DJs to introduce mixing
DJ mix
A DJ mix or DJ mixset is a sequence of musical tracks typically mixed together to appear as one continuous track. When a DJ mix or DJ mixset is recorded onto some medium, it is often referred to as a mix tape...
to British nightclubs. This technique, which had been pioneered by DJ Francis Grasso
Francis Grasso
Francis Grasso ) was an American disc jockey from New York City, best known for inventing the technique of slip-cueing and later beatmatching which is the foundation of the modern club DJ's technique.Grasso started his DJ career in 1967 at a New York nightclub called Salvation II...
in the clubs of New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, enabled the DJ to create a non-stop sequence of records.
In September 1978, after quitting his weekly spot at the Blackpool Mecca, Colin began a residency at Rafters
Rafters (nightclub)
Rafters was a nightclub located in the St James Building in the centre of Manchester, UK. A number of bands played concerts at Rafters in the 1970s and 1980sRob Gretton who went on to become the manager of Joy Division worked at Rafters...
nightclub in Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
where his playlists continued to include soul and disco but leaned more heavily towards Jazz Funk and Fusion
Jazz fusion
Jazz fusion is a musical fusion genre that developed from mixing funk and R&B rhythms and the amplification and electronic effects of rock, complex time signatures derived from non-Western music and extended, typically instrumental compositions with a jazz approach to lengthy group improvisations,...
. He also continued to DJ at all-day soul festival events at venues such as the Manchester Ritz and the Blackpool Mecca, regularly playing before crowds of between 1500 to 3000 people. Around the years 1982 to 1983, whilst continuing to DJ at events around the country, Colin began to move towards more exclusively jazz sets at clubs such as Berlin in Manchester and is credited as pioneering the UK Jazz Dance
Old school jazz dance
Old school jazz dance refers to an improvised dancing style that originated in the UK in the 1970s. The style grew up in clubs in the UK, mainly in London and in northern cities, to the sounds of bebop, Afro-Cuban jazz, fusion, swing and other Latin-influenced jazz and funk.Innovative DJ Paul...
scene in the North of England.
In the mid-1980s, Colin became interested in the latest developments in dance music emanating from the US including New York Electro and Hip Hop
Hip hop
Hip hop is a form of musical expression and artistic culture that originated in African-American and Latino communities during the 1970s in New York City, specifically the Bronx. DJ Afrika Bambaataa outlined the four pillars of hip hop culture: MCing, DJing, breaking and graffiti writing...
and the first wave of House
House music
House music is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in Chicago, Illinois, United States in the early 1980s. It was initially popularized in mid-1980s discothèques catering to the African-American, Latino American, and gay communities; first in Chicago circa 1984, then in other...
music from Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, typified by artists such Chip E, Steve ‘Silk’ Hurley and Farley Jackmaster Funk. In 1986 he became one of the earliest British DJs to play these records at venues such as Rock City
Rock City (club)
Rock City is a club in the city of Nottingham, England that focuses on live music.-Overview:Rock City, based in Nottingham City Centre, has a capacity of 2451, and is known for its intimate atmosphere. It has been described by NME as "sweaty, but truly indie". Rock City is divided into two rooms:...
in Nottingham
Nottingham
Nottingham is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England. It is located in the ceremonial county of Nottinghamshire and represents one of eight members of the English Core Cities Group...
alongside DJs such as Greg Wilson and Graeme Park.
At the end of the 1980s, Colin went into semi-retirement from his DJing career due to a spell of bad health. In the early 1990s he concentrated on his computer games business but since that time he has resumed his DJ-ing career, playing Northern soul and Jazz Funk ‘revival’ sets at various venues such as the Ruby Lounge in Manchester and the King Georges Hall in Blackburn. In August 2010 he played two sets in the 1970s-themed Soul Casino arena and 1980s-themed Warehouse arena at the Vintage at Goodwood Festival.
External links
- Northern Disco Web article citing Blackpool Mecca as one of the leading venues in the development of dance music in the UK
- Colin Curtis Connection Colin Curtis' regularly updated blog
- Soulvation: Colin Curtis interview Interview with Colin Curtis by Neil Rushton, discussing the Northern soul era
- DJHistory.com: Colin Curtis interview Interview with Colin Curtis by Bill Brewster, discussing his DJ-ing career
- Discogs: Mecca Magic Blackpool Mecca compilation LP compiled by Colin Curtis and Ady Croadsell