Dr Ray Dj

10 minutes ago, Phil J said:

I think atmosphere crucial to the scene being sustainable and empty dance floors just lead to apathy and a feeling of ‘won’t be coming here again’ IMO I think rare/underplsyed/underground stuff should have their unique separate nights or a designated spot during a mainstream night but no more than that - as you say balance is a key issue but when you’ve had an empty dance floor for an hour because some guy has decided that 60’s R + B needs to be shared then everyone is onto a loser. It takes all types I suppose but I’ll say it again - without the dancing there wouldn’t  be a scene and that is what pulls 90% of punters in. As for the rare stuff, I know a group of DJ’s past & present who meet once a month in a pub (midweek) to spin rare sounds, now that’s what you call an excellent compromise  

Another problem is the lack of younger dancers and how we get a good mix of old and young to keep a/the scene going even if it evolves into something different/new

I think it's a balance, danceable tunes people know and know how to dance good too plus less well known tunes. As well as dancing one of the valuable things from nights is coming away with an unknown but incredibly catch tune in your head and thinking I must find out what that is. My main thing is that dancing is less well documented that the music and I think there's a risk of losing this crucial part of the scene to history.

One thing that amazes me are the lyrics that seem to echo the scene but were of course written in a different decade, country and context. Obvious one is out on the floor but even the various Breakaway songs talk about being out of the mainstream. 

Misread that as Casino Code, which is an interesting concept, no drinks on the dance floor etc

Melodie - Bobby Darin

Bernadette -  The Four Tops

Quite liked the Balenciaga biog and there’s a new series of Slow Horses coming in September 

Does anyone have clips of modern style dancing?

Do these count?

Rock Candy - Alone with no love
Ace Spectrum - Don't send nobody else
Bill Harris - Am I cold, am I hot

And, even less sure but love the Skullsnaps