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Mr. C gets back to the Warehouse days with Push
Reported by benz
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Submitted 29-11-06 21:50
Most world-renowned djs sit pretty on their wad of cash, treading the well-worn route of spinning tunes in clubs and making beats throughout their career. You’d be hard pressed to find a character whose various projects over the years have reached as far and as wide as Richard West — also known as Mr. C. A hugely acclaimed dj he is also a producer, a former MC as part of dance/rock crossover pioneers The Shamen and co-owner of one of London’s finest nightclubs — The End. On December 9th he is getting back to his acid house roots with a set at PUSH Warehouse Sessions — a party with a seriously hot line-up of house and electro in an underground venue that is little known in clubbing circles.
Mr. C’s legendary vocal duties on The Shamen’s tracks such as ‘Move Any Mountain’ and ‘Ebeneezer Goode’ go down in history as an important part of one of the earliest acts to straddle the divide between mainstream guitar-led music and electronic music. The “Es are Good / Eezer Goode” refrain has been one of the most notorious lyrics to ever have featured on mainstream radio — slipping under the authorities’ eyes and ears during the early ‘90s when ecstasy culture in the UK was at fever pitch. From this role as a media-bating mic-man to a co-founder of one of the UK’s most influential clubs and to a technically flawless DJ of underground dance music, his contribution to dance music has always been varied and of great importance. Think about it — what other clubs in London can boast a roster of nights featuring some of the biggest DJs in the world, playing hard house, drum ‘n’ bass, dubstep, electro, indie, nu-rave, house, techno, breaks, hip-hop and even more besides? The club is a true inspiration. Mr. C answered some of our questions to help us piece together his long-running involvement in dance music.
You’ve been a key figure in the UK dance music industry for many a year now. Could you take us back to your early years and tell us about the first time you went out clubbing...
My first clubbing experiences were as a young teenager. I started going to disco pubs — The Old Axe, Hackney Cab and Septembers in Shoreditch and Hackney Road when I was 13 (I looked older) and then at 14 I started going to the Lyceum Ballroom in the Strand. At 15 I would frequent Busby’s (now LA2) and by the time I was 16 (1982) I was going to more up market establishments like Zenon’s in Piccadilly, Titanic in Mayfair and the Cafe De-Paris.
Do you ever long for those more “innocent” days?
I wouldn’t have called my early clubbing days innocent. There was a lot of violence in the clubs in the early ‘80s, North London gangs fighting South London gangs both in the clubs and out on the street afterward. The West End would be a bit of a warzone back then with this being an overspill of football hooliganism. This is why I got out of the cheap club scene and went for the more up-market alternative.
Most people were first made aware of you as part of the commercially successful dance music group The Shamen. But had you met any success with dance music before then? Were you DJing before you were MCing?
People outside London only really became aware of me post-Shamen but I had lots of success before the Shamen thing kicked in my home city of London. I started MCing at 16 after being inspired by the likes of Dizzy Heights at Titanic and over the years became well known in London clubland as an MC working with Ron Tom on LWR pirate Radio, Dave Dorrell & The Boiler House Crew at RAW, Jasper the Vinyl Junkie & Jazzy M and then later “Evil” Eddie Richards and Colin Faver. Then in 1987 I made my first deep house track with Eddie Richards on his Baad imprint and at this point started to DJ.
I started to organized my first acid house parties called Fantasy at HQ in Camden Lock in February ‘88 and then went on to resident the legendary RIP parties at Clink Street, London Bridge in Summer ’88 — the first house music summer of love. I also recorded as Bass Bureau with Femi B & The Nu Jacks… also with Femi B all before any involvement with the Shamen.
Do you think you had/have talent as an MC? Do you still ever think about writing lyrics or is that something that is firmly in your past?
Bit of a silly question really having been at number one in the pop charts doing just that! I no longer write lyrics but I do still freestyle sometimes when I feel the crowd needs that extra lift which never fails to get the crowd screaming so I must be at least competent as an MC.
There are places where the crowd actually insist and harass me to get on the mic and the style I use in the clubs is very very different to what I did with the Shamen — much more street.
Tell us one of the most amusing stories from that period in time...
1 special memory was in 1988 we were doing one of the legendary R.I.P. parties at Clink Street, London Bridge. I was DJing and Ashley Beedle (who was then part of the Shock Sound-system) was on the mic. He said on the mic “we need to become one and unite by joining the people in the next room.” The crowd in its mindless state then attacked the wall with their bare hands to break through into the next room where Eddie Richards was playing. The ceiling fell down and everyone was covered in dirt and plaster dust but happy at becoming one. Very funny indeed, if not a little scary.
You must have been one of the earliest dance music groups as such who entered into the commercial realm. Did it feel like you were really breaking new ground at the time?
There wasn’t much in the way of dance music in the pop charts in the late ‘80s but there had been a few tunes that made it in like ‘Jack Your Body’ by Steve Silk Hurley, ‘This Brutal House’ by Nitro Deluxe and ‘French Kiss’ by Lil Louis, but The Shamen were definitely the first proper dance band to have continuous success in the pop charts so yes I do feel that we were breaking new ground and opening doors for the bands to follow like Prodigy, Orbital, Underworld etc.
At what point did you start DJing professionally? Did people treat you with less respect because of your past or did your former projects help you to enter the DJ world?
You obviously have information a little lop sided. I started DJing in ‘87 after making my first tune and became very very well known as a DJ in the London acid house scene way before any involvement in the Shamen. It was in fact because of my DJing and MC skills that the Shamen asked me to get involved in the ‘Move Any Mountain’ track in late ‘89, a full 2 years and more after kicking off as a DJ. After the Shamen kicked in I obviously became more popular but never with disrespect as a DJ because I’ve always been the most cutting edge with my musical programming and extremely tight technically so as DJ Mr.C I only ever received the utmost respect. Maybe there were people that were clueless about my DJ skills and history that only saw the Shamen on TOTP and heard the tracks on pop radio who would form uninformed opinions about me... more fool them I say!
Also I’ve always taken peoples opinions with a pinch of salt as opinions are like arseholes — we all have them and they’re mostly full of shit, including my own as they are only opinions!
Your are co-owner of the highly successful Central London nightclub The End. How did the opportunity to purchase the space come about? What was it used for originally?
The End celebrated its 10th birthday almost a year ago, in fact it’s our 11th this coming Saturday. The End was originally Central London’s main post office and is part of the London under London tunnel network. The mail would be horse drawn to the surrounding sub post offices from this location. This was over 100 years ago. After that it was used to store whiskey.
The opportunity arose to take the place on when End director Douglas Paskin (1st class architect from PKS) was commissioned to turn this space into a shell so it could then be leased on as a club or restaurant. Douglas told his son Layo about the space knowing of Layo’s interest in the club world and Layo came to me to see if I was interested in getting involved. This was in 1993 so I’d already been a party organizer for some five years in London building a huge crowd of underground dance music followers as well as having notoriety with The Shamen. I went to see the venue with Layo and with a lot of vision and hard work from Douglas, The End opened on December 2 1995 — a completely different space the that which I went to see two years prior.
Was The End an instant hit or did it take some time to find its feet?
It took time to find its feet. When we opened the club we did so with full integrity and an underground music policy but getting the underground crew in was hard work at first. This idea of a shiny new club was a far cry from the dirty warehouses they were used to partying in so it took a while for the penny to drop. In fact the first few years were a real up hill struggle mostly due to our naivety in the night club business. Once Zoe Paskin took over as MD though things rapidly changed and we haven’t looked back since.
You will be playing at PUSH Warehouse Sessions on the afternoon of Saturday 9th December at Village Underground in Shoreditch. What kind of beats can the PUSH faithful expect to hear you churning out?
Firstly I don’t churn out anything as you call it. I play with well thought-out and researched experience. The style I play is very upfront, sexy trippy funky electronic tech house with a minimal edge so expect to hear lots of nu pschidt. I generally play music for the girls so it has to be sexy.
Do you think there’s much of a difference between a warehouse event and a club event in this day and age?
Huge difference. I doubt if I can get a Kettle One & Soda with a twist of lime in a warehouse and drink it sitting on a nice leather couch?
Also I won’t be wearing a nice pair of Helmut Lang trousers with my Dior boots and McQueen coat as I did at Superfreq on Sunday to get it messed up at a warehouse party, more likely some funky jeans and trainers!
Also the installation of sound and light in a warehouse can never truly compare with a well nurtured set up of a night club. However the vibe in a nice underground warehouse space cannot really be duplicated in a night club. Very different things really.
What’s your view on this thing they call “minimal”? Do you think the term is bandied about too much?
Yes I do. Most of what people call minimal isn’t minimal at all, It’s simply modern electronic dance music, which is slightly more stripped back nowadays which adds to the dynamics in the production of these said tunes. The real minimal stuff I find a bit boring unless I’m at an after hours K’d off my tits.
What have been your highlights of 2006? Are dance music and clubs still exciting you?
My highlights for 2006 have been few as I lost my mother in the early summer after a long battle with cancer. However, moving Superfreq to DC10 from Underground
Club in Ibiza was very special and I’m extra excited about The End’s 11th Birthday party on December 2nd.
Dance music is still very exciting for me. There’s nothing better than playing great music to make decent people very happy. This is my main objective when mixing it up… it’s all about the people having as much fun as I can humanly manage to give them without losing my musical integrity. I absolutely love it!
Photos courtesy of ITB. Not to be reproduced without permission.
PUSH: Warehouse Sessions
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On:
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Saturday 9th December 2006
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At:
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Village Underground [map]
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From:
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1PM – 9PM
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Cost:
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Early Bird Tickets £12 + b.f. SOLD OUT!
Standard Tickets £14 + b.f.
M.O.T.D.
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Website:
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www.heatuk.com
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Ticket Info:
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This is a ticket only event - Limited capacity
Ticketweb 08700 600100 // www.ticketweb.co.uk
Online: www.viewlondon.co.uk
Event Info: 07984 427575 / 07931 252 095
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Buy Online:
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Click here to buy tickets
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More:
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PUSH is the gritty underground brand from the creators of London’s biggest summer dance festival South West Four. With their bi-weekly Sunday Sessions events at The White House in Clapham, these guys have redefined Sunday evening clubbing. The likes of James Zabiela, Xpress2, Adam Freeland and Fergie have all brought their world-class DJing skills to their parties and have helped to illustrate PUSH’s commitment to giving London’s clubbers the opportunity to see world-class DJs in an intimate surrounding.
‘Warehouse Sessions’ is the first of its kind for PUSH with a line-up to die for featuring some of the finest purveyors of dirty, driving, cutting-edge house and electro music. Headlining is the awesome Eric Prydz – Sweden’s number one who has been continually stunning the dance music fraternity with his huge productions over the last few years. Anyone who saw his epic 3 hour set at Global Gathering 2006 will know that he is simply one of the most sensational DJs around, with a euphoric, tough-edged sound that is perfect for big arenas. London legend and owner of The End Mr. C bring his naughty, techy vibes to the party, with Mylo’s stablemate and electro obsessive Linus Loves making a rare London appearance. This is simply one of the most exciting line-ups the capital has seen all year!
54 Holywell Lane
Shoreditch, London, EC2A 3PQ
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Flyer:
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Other Features By benz:
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Coburn bring their live show to UP^^
The return of The Colosseum
Modernism, Politburo and Sedition: Matthew Duffield’s manifesto
The views and opinions expressed in this review are strictly those of the author only for which HarderFaster will not be held responsible or liable.
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Comments:
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From: Matt Smallwood on 29th Nov 2006 22:01.06
'The real minimal stuff I find a bit boring unless I’m at an after hours K’d off my tits'  : The Shamen were my first 'dance band' that I was really into, Nice work Mr C!
From: Richard Launch on 30th Nov 2006 12:38.11
Well said indeed...!!! Great DJ and humbling to watch behind the decks.
From: Becka on 30th Nov 2006 13:37.53
Great Interview, although at sometimes a tad difficult!
From: Camden Nurse on 30th Nov 2006 14:23.51
Hm, he seems somewhat pretencious but then if you have done what he's done, fair fukin' play.
From: Lx on 30th Nov 2006 16:55.38
I'd really like to see him deejay while he's straight
SW4 was a great disaster
From: BrinnO on 1st Dec 2006 13:56.37
Looking forward to this one, and lets see what Mr C plays!
From: dean peters on 1st Dec 2006 16:04.31
Think this was one of the more interesting interviews on HF. Certainly he has achieved a great deal and whilst he appears a bit up himself I think he deserves to be. Good luck to the bloke.
I remember listening to LWR many many years ago (early 80's) which launched a certain Tim Westwood. Quality pirate radio station that got raided quite often....great tunes though
From: Disco Diva on 2nd Dec 2006 14:40.31
Great interview, interesting read & I wouldn't have said he was up himself, just honest which is all good.
From: Ashley James on 4th Dec 2006 14:23.54
After reading that I'd say he does appear to have a slightly self important and stuck up manner about him.
From: Jay..... on 4th Dec 2006 19:06.46
i know people who know him, who say he is a great guy, but he has never been nice to me when ive met him.
From: garyoptim on 4th Dec 2006 23:19.09
saturday is gonna be sooooo good!
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