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Britain's Biggest Black DJ Takes Pride In Queer Nation

Author: Jonty Skrufff
Thursday, July 1, 2004
Legendary Good Times don Norman Jay MBE chatted to Skrufff this week about his long running residency at Queer Nation and revealed the renowned gay club remains one of his favourite London gigs.

"I've always loved Queer Nation, purely because of the emotion; if I want to play a Barbra Streisand record at the end I can do, which I couldn't do in a straight club," said Norman.

"The crowd's appreciation of music is a lot deeper and less rigid. So you can play screamy vocals as well the most crass records and fun records as well. If I want to play a screamy diva record that's fine."

Though Jay is not performing in Queer Nation's tent at the Gay Pride Big Day Out event this weekend, his enthusiastic support of gay clubbers is significant in the current climate of homophobia surrounding hip hop and ragga, though unsurprising, given his own route into music via New York's gay black Paradise Garage.

Though he first refined his DJ skills spinning at hip hop block parties in the South Bronx in the early 80s, he admitted he was equally at home at the Garage, a club predominantly popular with black gay men.

"I had no problem with the vibe there, absolutely no problem at all because I approached the Paradise Garage from the perspective of its sound system," he explained.

"My uncle who had a road show in New York had always told me 'if you think ours is good, if you go in the Garage then you'll hear a real sound system', so I went there to experience the sound," he recalled.

"Hearing how Larry (Levan) was able to pan the music around all the columns blew my mind; I had most of the records he was playing, and I remember thinking 'Wow, I never knew these records could sound like that'.

"By going to the Garage, it reinforced everything I'd ever thought about sound. Which was that if you get the sound right, even the crappest records will sound brilliant. And that's what Good Times did."

Jay went on to kickstart London's warehouse party scene in the 80s, as well as launching Kiss FM and discovering a young Judge Jules, though is nowadays synonymous with the Notting Hill Carnival where he admits he's unlilkely to play screamy diva records.

"The time would have to be right and I'd only do those kinds of things early in the day at the Carnival. If you want to hear the rare groove, you've got to be there early, the sound track gets more accessible as the day goes on. By 7pm it's full on hands in the air anthems."

Norman Jay DJs at Clapham Common's new festival Love Box On A Summers Day on Saturday July 3 (playing a Good Times freestyle set) and is next at Queer Nation on Saturday 17 July at The Zapp, Brighton (spinning a funky house & disco classics set). He also shortly releases a new classic disco/ soul compilation 'Norman Jay Presents Philadelphia' on Harmless Records.
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