Fatboy Slim tips his cap to him, Shaun Ryder tips his, em, drink to him - Greg Wilson, a seminal figure in the development of dance music on this side of the Atlantic tells us what the big tunes were for him and why at the messy birth of dance music.

Greg Wilson – One of the most seminal figures in Dance music. He was one of the first English DJs to use 3 turntables playing the farm fresh new electro-funk sounds coming out of NYC. By ’82 he had queues snaking around the block on Wednesday’s at Manchester’s legend venue, by ’83 the Hacienda had installed him as resident, considered to be on of the starting points for dance music culture. He was one of the first to introduce scratch mixing, break dancing and graffiti culture to the UK, hell even Fatboy Slim credits Greg alongside Grandmaster Flash as his biggest influence. In a rare moment of Sobriety, Shaun Ryder said “Greg Wilson was where it began”.
These are the songs that shaped things to come:

AFRIKA BAMBAATAA & THE SOUL SONIC FORCE ‘Planet Rock’ (Tommy Boy 1982) – The record that changed everything! ‘Planet Rock’ literally re-defined dance music. Dismissed by the Soul purists at the time, due to its obvious Kraftwerk blueprint, but nowadays acknowledged as one of the pivotal releases of the 20th Century.

CYBOTRON ‘Clear’ (Fantasy 1983) – Regarded as the first Techno single, this Juan Atkins / Rick Davis track might have come out of Detroit, but what’s not often mentioned is that its remixer, Jose ‘Animal’ Diaz, was immersed in New York Electro and, as such, this was originally played as an Electro release.

D TRAIN 'You're The One For Me' (Prelude 1981) - Nowadays viewed as a Disco standard, when this 12” first came over on import it stood apart from all the other club tunes of the time, heralding a new, and soon to be much imitated, direction for dance music.

GRANDMASTER FLASH & THE FURIOUS FIVE ‘The Adventures Of Grandmaster Flash On the Wheels Of Steel’ (Sugarhill 1981) – What can you say? Simply one of the most influential records ever committed to vinyl! As a masterclass of cut and scratch it’s still unparalleled.

GRANDMASTER FLASH & THE FURIOUS FIVE ‘The Message’ (Sugarhill 1982) – Rap music well and truly came of age with this release. This time Flash only played a supporting role, with rapper Melle Mel to the fore, setting new standards for a genre that had previously been more concerned with rocking the party than poignant social commentary.

KLIEN & MBO 'Dirty Talk' (Zanza 1982) - The groove around which New Order based their classic 'Blue Monday'. Nowadays revived as Italo Disco, but back then it was very much regarded as pure raw Electro and first played in clubs like Manchester’s Legend and Wigan Pier.

LEAGUE UNLIMITED ORCHESTRA 'Hard times / Love Action' (Virgin 1981) - From the brilliant Human League ‘Dare’ remix album, 'Love And Dancing', producer Martin Rushent at his creative best. Perfectly illustrates how the British Futurist movement would help inspire the oncoming Electro era.

NORTHEND 'Tee's Happy' (Emergency 1981) - An Early Arthur Baker co-production. Throughout the following year, Baker would become one of the biggest names on the scene, producing truly revolutionary tracks like ‘Planet Rock’ and ‘Walking On Sunshine’ by Rockers Revenge. The vocal side was called 'Happy Days', but the instrumental was renamed in homage to New York Better Days DJ, Tee Scott, who mixed the track.

PEECH BOYS 'Don't Make Me Wait' (West End 1982) - A seminal Larry Levan recording, which inspired a new dub-based approach to dance music. Vocal by Bernard Fowler, who later became a member of Tackhead. The US 7” version also included what’s been cited as the first acappella pressed specifically for DJ use.

RAFAEL CAMERON ‘Boogie’s Gonna Get Ya’ (Salsoul 1981) – Shep Pettibione is generally associated with Salsoul mixes of the period, but this was done by another legendary name, Francois Kevorkian, who, alongside people like Pettibone, Larry Levan, Tony Humphries, Tee Scott and ‘Jellybean’ Benitez, took remixing to new levels of innovation during this hybrid age.

RYUICHI SAKAMOTO ‘Riot In Lagos’ (Island 1980) – Way ahead of the game! Sakamoto, formerly of the Yellow Magic Orchestra, released this unique record in 1980, but it wasn’t until the Electro scene began to emerge a few years later that it really came into its own, having been revived in the black clubs.

SANDY KERR 'Thug Rock' (Catawba 1982) - Nowadays ultra-rare, this sublime groove was an underground classic back in the day and is now achieving cult status all over again, over two decades on. Based around a Brit-Funk release called 'Give Me' by I Level, which was remixed in the US by John Luongo.

SINNAMON 'Thanks To You' (Becket 1982) – From the prolific production and songwriting partnership of Eric Matthew and Darryl Payne, this Shep Pettibone mixed dance opus was huge in the specialist clubs. The duo were also behind other influential tracks, including Electrik Funk’s ‘On A Journey (I Sing The Funk Electric)’ and Sharon Redd’s ‘Beat The Street’.

TW FUNKMASTERS 'Love Money' (Champagne 1981) - A British release, originally issued in 1980 on the Tania label, that would provide something of a missing link in the evolution of both New York and Chicago dance music. The Champagne version, from the label’s ‘Re-Mixture – The Best Of UK Jazz-Funk’ EP, is the definitive one.

VISUAL 'The Music Got Me' (Prelude 1983) - A perfect example of Proto-House from 1983. The term 'House' might have derived from The Warehouse in Chicago, but New York provided the inspiration. Co-Produced by Timmy Regisford and Mixed by Tony Humphries.

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