Norman Jay¹s Philadelphia (& Bronx & Ladbroke Grove) Freedom (interview)

³It¹s funny how the music media works in the UK, when it comes to Carnival,
there¹s hardly ever any mention of it. It¹s all about hard-selling you all
these other dance music festivals. But they¹re not representative of the
community at large. When I play some of those other festivals, I don¹t see
black faces or Asian faces, I don¹t see a mix of people and I certainly
don¹t hear a mix of music. As a result I don¹t really do them anymore,
because I don¹t enjoy them.²

As well as being the Notting Hill Carnival¹s number one ambassador and the
host of its most popular rig Good Times, Norman Jay is one of the true
pioneers of British dance culture, being one of the first to bring New York
sound system culture to the UK, helping to create London¹s warehouse scene
that paved the way for rave. 2 decades on the Queen¹s awarded him an MBE
(something he¹s now equivocal on) he¹s a prolific internationally recognised
genuine superstar DJ and most impressively he remains close to his roots
where his musical career started; the decidedly meaner streets of Notting
Hill and West London.

³In Ladbroke Grove, even today, if you¹re in the wrong place at the wrong
time, you¹ll come unstuck,² he points out, though stresses he¹s personally
unconnected with gang culture, in London or anywhere else.

³I don¹t know anything about it, to be honest. It¹s not something I can
comment on because I¹m not part of it; I¹m too old for that shit,² he points
out. Though what he does feel qualified talking about is Carnival, London¹s
annual two day street party that draws millions, despite (or because of)
being largely beneath the mainstream media¹s radar.

³Notting Hill (Carnival) for me is the best inclusive multi-cultural event
there is,² he says.

We get so many tongues (languages) and so many hues (colours), it¹s
brilliant, and that¹s what I¹ve personally always been into. Call me
idealist, I don¹t care. But the fact that we get Asians, Europeans, South
Americans, blacks, whites, straights, gays, males, tons of girls, that¹s
brilliant for me, it vindicates what we¹re doing. And our event is free and
the people don¹t have to come; if it was shit, they could vote with their
feet,² he says.

His route to Carnival champion includes stints in New York¹s infamous South
Bronx in the late 70s when he first became exposed to disco¹s earliest
predecessor Philadelphia soul. It¹s a sound he¹ll be including throughout
both Carnival days and one he¹s recently returned to for a compilation
Norman Jay Presents Philadelphia. The album includes tracks from the O¹Jays,
The Jackson¹s and Teddy Pendergrass though not ones the casual listener will
know.

³When the record company guys first approached me to do it I said if you
want me to do a Greatest Philadelphia Hits thing and simply add my name to
it then no, you don¹t need for me that,² says Norman.

³But what I suggested was that I¹d select my favourite underground tracks,
ones that weren¹t so mainstream but had been championed by people like me
since they were first issued. That¹s what the compilation is; I¹ve always
played those records and I¹m almost synonymous with every track on it.²


Skrufff (Jonty Skrufff): New York electro pioneer Arthur Baker was talking
recently about dance music being born in Philadelphia in the early 70s, how
significant is Philly for today¹s dance culture-

Norman Jay: ³It plays a part with the new school, people like King Britt and
Angie Stone. The lineage continues to this day, the legacy of the city
remains intact.²

Skrufff: You moved out to live in the South Bronx in the late 70s when it
was notorious for being one of New York¹s most dangerous ghettoes, what took
you there-

Norman Jay: ³I had family scattered all over the boroughs (New York¹s five
regions- Geography Ed), and in reality the South Bronx was no different from
being in Hackney or Brixton or Ladbroke Grove at that time, which was
equally as scary for whit Tags

• Skrufff