Chris Hill (DJ)

Last updated

Chris Hill
Born (1945-01-08) 8 January 1945 (age 78)
Occupation(s)Disc Jockey

Chris Hill (born 8 January 1945) is a British disc jockey. He worked at the club Lacy Lady in Ilford, as well as at the Goldmine Canvey Island [1] and was the head of the 'Soul Mafia' a group of DJs which included Greg Edwards, DJ Froggy, Jeff Young and Robbie Vincent, in London and the South East of England into the early 1980s. He had a major input into the creation of the British 'Brit Funk' music scene of the late 1970s and early 1980s. [2]

Contents

Career

Early DJ experience

Hill's first residency was at The Cock public house in Orsett, Essex in the late 1960s where he would play jazz records. The Canvey Island Goldmine owner, Stan Barrett and manager Kenny Faulkner came to The Cock and offered Hill the residency. Hill stated: "They’d heard about me and when I started at The Goldmine on Canvey Island in November 1972, people there didn’t understand a ‘Soul’ night." [3]

In 1975–1976, he promoted his 'swing revival nights' playing the music of Count Basie, Jimmie Lunceford, Chick Webb and Benny Goodman. During this short period, which was promoted by Hill, the Goldmine had a monopoly on GI uniforms and scarlet-lipped jive-dolls whilst promoting the music of Glenn Miller and those swing revival nights. Club goers followed the brief trend of 'swing fever' for a few months until it attracted the attention of The Sun newspaper, after which the trend ended returning to Soul, Funk, and Jazz.[ citation needed ]

Having completed a second stint back on Canvey's Goldmine in the early 1980s, Hill decided to quit the club scene in 1985 and concentrate on his Ensign duties with Sinéad O'Connor whom he had recently discovered. [4] In 1987, he was offered a weekend job in Hamburg on Radio 107 and created SoulBeat. [4]

Hill was a key figure on the Brit funk scene of the late 1970s and early 1980s. He worked as a record company man behind many of the first Brit Funk tracks that would be central to the Brit Funk movement and launched many acts on the Ensign record label alongside the late Nigel Grainge who founded the label. Bands have included Light of the World and Incognito. Alexis Petridis has described him as "perhaps the scene’s biggest and most controversial name, with a divisive penchant for onstage wackiness". However Hill has also been praised by fellow DJ Gilles Peterson, who stated that he was "an amazing DJ" musically and said that he was the British equivalent of Larry Levan. [2]

Chart success and British Hustle

In 1975 he released a "break-in" novelty record, in the style of Dickie Goodman, called "Renta Santa", which became a hit single in the UK during the Christmas season. On the record Hill narrates using various artists' song clips to tell a Christmas story. The record peaked at No. 10 on the UK Singles Chart in December of that year. [5] Early the following year, he released a cover version of The Coasters' hit "Yakety Yak", [6] with the innuendo-laden "Ride On!" featured on its 'B' side that failed to chart. However, later on, his second Christmas record, "Bionic Santa", cut with audio segments in a similar style to "Renta Santa", was more successful, again with "Ride On!" on the flip-side. It also peaked at No. 10 in the chart in December 1976. [5] Both tracks, which included snippets of other hits of the time, were released on the Philips label. [7]

His final release, "Disco Santa", again in the same style, released for Christmas 1978, failed to chart. [5] That same year a short film was made about British soul music called British Hustle filmed in the Clouds Nightclub in Brixton. Hill appeared in the film playing 'Swanee whistle' over the records whilst encouraging dancers to form human pyramids. [8]

Since 1979

Hill still works as a DJ and until 2011 ran the Lacy Lady in Ilford, London. Hill also has a major involvement in the 'Caister Soul Weekenders', a DJ event which began in 1979, which has taken place twice each year, initially in Caister-on-Sea but, in later years, at the Vauxhall Holiday Park in Great Yarmouth. [4] He has worked on these with his long term event collaborator and music promoter Brian Rix. [9]

Discography

Singles

YearSong UK Chart
[5]
1975"Renta Santa"10
1976"Yakety Yak"—
"Bionic Santa"10
1978"Disco Santa"—
"—" denotes releases that did not chart.

Related Research Articles

Popular music of the United Kingdom in the 1980s built on the post-punk and new wave movements, incorporating different sources of inspiration from subgenres and what is now classed as world music in the shape of Jamaican and Indian music. It also explored the consequences of new technology and social change in the electronic music of synthpop. In the early years of the decade, while subgenres like heavy metal music continued to develop separately, there was a considerable crossover between rock and more commercial popular music, with a large number of more "serious" bands, like The Police and UB40, enjoying considerable single chart success.

Electro is a genre of electronic music and early hip hop directly influenced by the use of the Roland TR-808 drum machines and funk. Records in the genre typically feature heavy electronic sounds, usually without vocals, although if vocals are present they are delivered in a deadpan manner, often through electronic distortion such as vocoding and talkboxing. It palpably deviates from its predecessor boogie by being less vocal-oriented and more focused on electronic beats produced by drum machines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northern soul</span> Music and dance movement that emerged, initially in Northern England in the late 1960s

Northern soul is a music and dance movement that emerged in Northern England and The Midlands in the early 1970s. It developed from the British mod scene, based on a particular style of Black American soul music with a heavy beat and fast tempo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Young</span> English musician

Paul Antony Young is an English musician, singer and songwriter. Formerly the frontman of the short-lived bands Kat Kool & the Kool Cats, Streetband and Q-Tips, he became a teen idol with his solo success in the 1980s. His hit singles include "Love of the Common People", "Wherever I Lay My Hat", "Come Back and Stay", "Every Time You Go Away" and "Everything Must Change", all reaching the top 10 of the UK Singles Chart. Released in 1983, his debut album, No Parlez, was the first of three UK number-one albums.

Brit funk is a musical style that has its origins in the British music scene of the late 1970s and which remained popular into the 1980s. It mixes elements from jazz, funk, soul, urban dance rhythms and pop hooks. The scene originated in southern England and spread with support from DJs including DJ Froggy, Greg Edwards, Robbie Vincent, Chris Hill and Colin Curtis. Major funk acts included Jimmy James and the Vagabonds, Average White Band, Ian Dury & the Blockheads, Carl Douglas, Hot Chocolate, the Delegation, Hi-Tension, Light of the World, Level 42, Central Line, the Pasadenas, Beggar and Co and Soul II Soul. The genre also influenced 1980s new wave/pop groups such as Culture Club, Bow Wow Wow, Pigbag, Dexys Midnight Runners and Haircut 100.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yakety Sax</span> 1963 instrumental composed by James Q. "Spider" Rich and Boots Randolph

"Yakety Sax" is a pop novelty instrumental jointly composed by James Q. "Spider" Rich and Boots Randolph.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mod Club Theatre</span>

The Mod Club Theatre was an entertainment venue in Toronto that operated from 2002 to 2020. Its address was 722 College Street, which is in the city's Little Italy neighbourhood.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mark Ronson</span> British disc jockey (born 1975)

Mark Daniel Ronson is a British-American DJ, record producer, songwriter, and remixer. He has received seven Grammy Awards, including Producer of the Year for Amy Winehouse's album Back to Black (2006) and two for Record of the Year singles "Rehab" and "Uptown Funk". He received an Oscar, a Golden Globe and a Grammy Award for co-writing "Shallow" for the film A Star Is Born (2018). In 2023, Ronson co-produced the soundtrack for the fantasy comedy Barbie, which he also composed and co-wrote several songs on with his production partner Andrew Wyatt. The soundtrack has received 11 Grammy nominations. Throughout his career, he's produced for Amy Winehouse, Lady Gaga, Dua Lipa, Adele, Duran Duran, Miley Cyrus, and Queens of the Stone Age.

Deep funk is a subgenre of funk music which features a "hard, lean" sound and emphasis on groove, improvisation, and musicianship over traditional songwriting. The term is also used to describe rare funk recordings sought out by collectors and DJs. Artists such as James Brown and the Meters were basic reference points for the style.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Will Holland</span> English musician, DJ and record producer (born 1980)

William Holland is an English musician, DJ, and record producer. Holland records under various pseudonyms, including Quantic, the Quantic Soul Orchestra, The Limp Twins, Flowering Inferno, and Ondatrópica. His music features elements of tropical, cumbia, salsa, bossa nova, soul, funk and jazz. Holland plays guitars, bass, double bass, piano, organ, saxophone, accordion and percussion. Much of his sound is original composition, rather than sampling of other artists' material. In addition to his original compositions, he has also produced remixes of over 30 songs.

Phillip Joseph Fearon is a Jamaican–English record producer. He was the lead singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist for the 1980s band Galaxy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yakety Yak</span> 1958 song by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller

"Yakety Yak" is a song written, produced, and arranged by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller for the Coasters and released on Atco Records in 1958, spending seven weeks as #1 on the R&B charts and a week as number one on the Top 100 pop list. This song was one of a string of singles released by the Coasters between 1957 and 1959 that dominated the charts, making them one of the biggest performing acts of the rock and roll era.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Calvin Harris</span> Scottish DJ and musician (born 1984)

Adam Richard Wiles, known professionally as Calvin Harris, is a Scottish DJ, record producer, singer, and songwriter. His debut studio album, I Created Disco, was released in June 2007. Its singles "Acceptable in the 80s" and "The Girls" both reached the top 10 in the UK. In 2009, he released second studio album, Ready for the Weekend, which debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart and whose lead single, "I'm Not Alone", became his first song to top the UK Singles Chart.

Soulboys were a working class English youth subculture of the late 1970s and early 1980s, and fans of American soul and funk music. The subculture emerged in North-West England as northern soul event attendees began to take more interest in the modern funk and jazz funk sounds of artists such as Lonnie Liston Smith and Roy Ayers, instead of the obscure 1960s soul records that characterized the northern soul scene.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robbie Vincent</span> British radio DJ

Robbie Vincent is an English radio broadcaster and DJ. As a champion of jazz, funk and soul music in the UK during the late 1970s he made an important contribution both live in clubs and on radio. In 1995 he was voted Independent Radio Personality of the Year at the Variety Club of Great Britain annual awards.

British soul, Brit soul, or the British soul invasion, is soul music performed by British artists. Soul has been a major influence on British popular music since the 1960s, and American soul was extremely popular among some youth subcultures, such as mods, skinheads, and the Northern soul movement. In the 1970s, soul gained more mainstream popularity in the UK during the disco era.

British pop music is popular music, produced commercially in the United Kingdom. It emerged in the mid-to late 1950s as a softer alternative to American rock 'n' roll. Like American pop music it has a focus on commercial recording, often orientated towards a youth market, as well as that of the Singles Chart usually through the medium of relatively short and simple love songs. While these basic elements of the genre have remained fairly constant, pop music has absorbed influences from most other forms of popular music, particularly borrowing from the development of rock music, and utilising key technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes. From the British Invasion in the 1960s, led by The Beatles, British pop music has alternated between acts and genres with national appeal and those with international success that have had a considerable impact on the development of the wider genre and on popular music in general

Steven Howlett, aka DJ Froggy, was an English DJ who worked as a 'beatmixer DJ' on the British club music scene in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. He was a member of the Soul Mafia group of DJs which included Robbie Vincent, Greg Edwards, Jeff Young and Chris Hill.

Derrick Trought, better known as Dee Sharp, is a British lovers rock singer who began his recording career in 1980, also joining Buzzz as lead singer for a time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greg Edwards (DJ)</span> Grenadan radio DJ & broadcaster

Greg Edwards is a British radio broadcaster and DJ. He is well known as the founder of Capital Radio's 'Soul Spectrum' programme and for the promotion of PIR records and associated artists when it was formed in 1971. He is credited as being a DJ who had a major influence on the promotion of soul and disco music in the UK during the 1970s and 1980s both on radio as well as the club circuit.

References

  1. ↑ "Time Capsule - December 1976". Sixmillionsteps.com.
  2. 1 2 Petridis, Alexis (2 April 2021). "'There were pitched battles, fist fights': how Britfunk overcame racism to reinvigorate UK pop". The Guardian . Retrieved 2 April 2021.
  3. ↑ "Chris Hill - Interview". National Jazz Archive. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  4. 1 2 3 "The Chris Hill Story". Caister Soul. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  5. 1 2 3 4 "CHRIS HILL - full Official Chart History". Official Charts Company . Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  6. ↑ "Chris Hill - Yakety Yak / Ride On ! - Philips - UK - 6006 508". 45cat.com.
  7. ↑ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. p. 253. ISBN   1-904994-10-5.
  8. ↑ "British Hustle (1978) - BFI". Archived from the original on 13 October 2017. Retrieved 2 October 2021.
  9. ↑ "Caister Set up and Brian Rix". Redbullmusicacademy.com. Retrieved 23 November 2021
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.