Keb Darge Words

Keb Darge Words

So I started a scene going there, and eventually it got to the point where we had all-nighters in Aberdeen, around 77, with about 800 people. And they wanted to hear what theyd been hearing at Wigan. So I had to get the tunes that were played there so you know, I remember going to The Mecca. And there was this record, Ron Holden, in this guys box for 7 pounds. And I remember thinking Shite! Thats a weeks wages for christs sake! And it was then! - I must have it. So I walked away, then I saw some other cunt going up and pulling it out, so ran back - 7 pounds. So on the way back, I thought my motherll kill me. But when I went to this club in Aberdeen and I played the fuckin thing, and the response was like Fucking hell, hes got Ron Holden! I thought hmmm, I like this feeling.

So from then on I was going to Wigan and I got to meet all the big dealers and Right, I want all the big tunes, and that was after I was into it for about three years. And then I sussed that if you really want to get noticed, youve got to find tunes of your own, youve got to find new discoveries, ken. And I started talking to folk, and finding out Oh, we go to Detroit, and theres this guy called the Coachman, who used to be a gangster in the sixties, a fucking drug dealer and pimp and all that, and he knows all the fuckin folk whove got all the records. So I thought Ill go to Detroit and meet this Coachman, ken, so I got all the numbers and I went out there, and I found records, and I did Chicago, all the fuckin places, ken, and then I was playing stuff from there." "All Northern, aye. Funk, when I went out I didnt know much when I started. And you would look at labels, and the fuckin title, and the artist, and think yeah, cos there were no Soundburgers, no portable record players in them days, which makes it so much easier because otherwise youre just buying blind. But everything was 50-75 cents. So anything that looked good, youd buy it. And youd get home and listen to the fuckin thing: Shite. Shite, shite, funk, shite, shite, funk, shite, Ooh, Northern! And I got a great buzz when I played my first discovery, you know, boom. First time out in Britain for this thing. And it was the Scottish crowd that heard it first, I just got the buzz. Im making this big, this is my tune! And that was it, whoom, I must find new discoveries, ken."

"And the DJs, Winstanley and the likes at Wigan were playing absolute shite, there was only a few playing good stuff. But because Wigan had such a hold, every club started playing shite cos of the Mods, and so the shite was played. About 1980, I met this guy Guy Hennigan, and we said Fuck it, no ones doing anything about this, wed better do something. So me and him made this decision. We said Look, were going to play nothing but new discoveries, sixties and that, and if people dont like it were gonna tell them to fuck off, get out the fuckin scene." "So wheres your rare stuff? That is my rare stuff. No, you know, the obscure ones. I thought What the fuck are you on about? I was limbing over these things trying to get to the good stuff in America. Whatre you on about, son? So I said look, whats the biggest tune on this Rare Groove scene. And this was like at the start of it, 1982. He says Oh, you wont know it. Just tell me what it is. Oh no, Ive got the only copy. He says its a tune called "Gwan". I said Oh, on Wingate, number 106 He pulls it out the back of the shop, and he was like Fuck Me! I says how many copys do you want? And it was a bit of a fluke cos my mate had been over in Detroit with fuckin Popcorn Wylie and his mates who had owned this label, and they had about 800 copies that they didnt know what the fuck to do with. So I gave the number to fuckin Roy the Roach, and he was like Oh my Fuck! So from then, he was coming round here every week, and Norman Jay used to come round here, ken, and I didnt care, I was just looking for Northern. All this funk, seventies soul, I didnt care for it at the time, because I didnt listen to it properly, so I was A pound; fifty pence and they were going fuck, whats this, Leroy and the Drivers, fucking hell. And away they went.