1983 Revisited: EDZY Unique 3 • BOYWONDER Ex-Nightmares On Wax • MixMaster Pedro - FREE ENTRY

40th Anniversary DJ sets, covering a spectrum

of dance music genres from Unique 3’s Edzy with Boywonder, founder

member of Leeds Duo, Nightmares On Wax, original Leeds DJ MixMaster

Pedro, Anton Raphael, Mutant Movement and DJ Lightfinger.

1983 was the year where dance music ruled with Leeds Warehouse’s

label releasing Shannon’s Let The Music Play and New York acts like

Hashim, Afrika Bambaataa, Man Parrish, Whodini, Newcleus and producer,

Arthur Baker breaking through with their Electro sound. Baker also

worked with British Acts Freeez and New Order, forging a new path for

the indie giants and the Brits had their part in the emerging Hi-NRG

scene with the likes of Divine, Hazel Dean, Patrick Cowley, Sylvester

and Pet Shop Boys producer Bobby Orlando.

The Belleville Three, Juan Atkins (Model 500), Derrick May (Rhythim

Is Rhythim) and Kevin Sauderson (Inner City) are credited with

inventing the Detroit Techno genre, their origins lay in the early 80s.

Atkins released the Haçienda Anthem, Clear with Cybotron in 1983, taking

inspiration from European ‘Techno’ which has roots in the original

electronic sound from pioneers, Kraftwerk, followed by The Human League,

Fad Gadget, Throbbing Gristle, Cabaret Voltaire, D.A.F., Liaisons

Dangereuses and Mute Records’ Daniel Miller as well as Japanese

originators of the genre, Yellow Magic Orchestra.

Funk, Soul, Freestyle & Hip Hop packed dancefloors throughout

the 80s with Grandmaster Flash gaining more recognition, continuing to

release records as well as DJing, spreading turntablism to the world

with his scratching, along with other pioneers of the art form including

Liverpool’s Greg Wilson, best known for his work at Manchester’s

Haçienda, recently playing a DJ set at the club’s 40th Birthday compiled

from tunes released the year the club opened, 1982 but were still very

much current in 1983, watch out for some of those at this night.

Run DMC’s debut It’s Like That, before Jason Nevins got his mitts

on it, came out in ’83 b/w Sucker M.C.s and Hip Hop was really taking

the world by storm, even the likes of Sex Pistols manager, Malcolm

McLaren saw a way to cash in on it with his landmark album Duck Rock.

All this was lapped up on dancefloors and even streets with the

developing dance crazes, breaking, also called breakdancing or b-boying

with body popping and the robot/robotics going hand in hand.

François Kevorkian and Shep Pettibone were busy remixing everything

from Time Zone’s Wildstyle and Tour De France by Kraftwerk to Loleatta

Holloway’s Love Sensation and Let No Man Put Asunder by First Choice.

Jellybean was also remixing whilst DJing at New York’s Funhouse, Studio

54 and Paradise Garage with Larry Levan who was remixing tunes like

Weekend by Class Action. In Chicago, Frankie Knuckles had left The

Warehouse to open the Power Plant, allowing Ron Hardy to take over. In

the UK, Tony Prince founded DMC, starting first with cassettes, then

began issuing on vinyl the following year.

This night is part of a series of Anniversary events from

1.21gigawatts, celebrating the dance music of years gone by when it was

all fresh but is now considered oldskool, whether you were around at the

time and want to remember those days or weren’t even born at such an

exciting time for dance music, come along and check out the skills and

tunes from these top DJs, dance, listen, drink and party like it’s 1983.