9.
The Fatback Band – 21 Karat
There’s a new town outside Bristol called Yate and there was a club there called Spiral’s. And when I was really young I went there to see War who did ‘Low Rider’. The Fatback Band and Jimmy Castor who was doing the boogaloo with his really big afro were also playing. I don’t know what they were doing in this really small club outside Bristol. From the age of 11 I could get into clubs because I was so tall and the people that were older than me were really, really into funk. They’d dress up in these clothes and do this weird monkey dance. People loved to dance in the crew I grew up with in Bristol.
People don’t really get that. They put me down as this serious Mr Grumbly but I’m just putting what I think are really interesting topics over dance music. People might complain that it’s politics but what is politics anyway? I just want to put some interesting words on top of something danceable.