Story of REFORM!

REFORM!

The seeds of REFORM came from a combination of the Junction tapes I compiled some months back (details of which are posted as an earlier note) and a book called ‘Last night a DJ saved my life’.

The magic of the Junction was being able to play wildly different music almost back to back like it belonged. Nowhere else could you hear 10CC, Doobie Brothers, Alien Sex Fiend and Marianne Faithfull in that order and all this back in 1989.

The book traces the history of the DJ from the beginnings of the phonograph record and radio right up to the superstars of today. What interested me was the middle bit being the story of Jimmy Saville and his early tea room romps, the Northern Soul story and the mish-mash that was the 70’s and early 80’s.

Going through the set lists of the different clubs and their infamous DJs I felt like a philistine only recognizing less than a third of the tracks. So I hit the music and blog sites trying to find as much as I could. What I found was mind bending. How could some of these tracks have evaded me for so long? (beside the fact that I was 3 when all this was going down…) What struck me again was the Junction principle where these DJs played seemingly unrelated music back to back…Clash into Grandmaster Funk into Rolling Stones into Manu Dibango into Blondie into Iron Butterfly. There was also a strong African influence across the lists, especially Nigerian funk/pop. This got me thinking.

Would it be possible to put a night together playing elements of proper Northern Soul, Motown, Disco, 70s/80s alternative/pop/rock, 60s girl groups/garage and 50s rock n roll interlaced with South African township music, popular ‘white’ radio hits and some North African funk?

With the combined force of Charles Leonard – respected journalist and DJ – it could be done.

I remember sitting for hours on end at Abelarde Sanctuary in Brixton and early Tokyo Star listening to Charles play his eclectic mix of soul/jazz/funk/hip-hop and reggae. We’d both have to make some adjustments, but we’d be the perfect match to pull this off.

Law of averages says:
There were probably parties like this in Johannesburg in the 70s/80s and they were probably raided and closed down. It’s so much easier these days.

The only question now is will anyone come…

NEXT REFORM! PARTY:

Thu 10 Dec
From 9pm R10 entrance
Kitchener's Carvery (Milner Park Hotel) Juta St Braamfontein

First REFORM! held at same venue on 3 Nov was a great opening night!

Join the facebook group/event page or mail marc.latilla@gmail.com for more info
If it works, we’ll do it monthly.

REFORM artwork

**REFORM** Thu 5 Nov Kitchener's Carvery Braamfontein Charles Leonard and myself join forces for an illegal gathering playing an eclectic mix of 50's - early 80's Soul/Funk/Rare Groove/RocknRoll/Post Punk/Psych and odd South African Radio Pop/Township SwingJive.
R10. From 9pm



This is new territory. There is no template or safety net.
YOU NEED THIS. WE NEED THIS. THEY DON'T WANT THIS

Milner Park HotelCnr Juta & De Beer str Braamfontein