Last Night a DJ Saved My Life: 100 Years of the Disc Jockey Book + PRICE WATCH * Amazon pricing is not included in price watch

Last Night a DJ Saved My Life: 100 Years of the Disc Jockey Book

The self-styled "definitive" history of the humble art of spinning plates of vinyl, Last Night A DJ Saved My Life steps up to the turntables with worthy pretensions. The work of journalists Bill Brewster and Frank Broughton, who, between them, have worked on The Face, i-D, Rolling Stone, and Musik, they certainly know their deep house from their speed garage. But while Last Night A DJ . . . is an impressively knowledgeable compilation of information, they never quite decide whether this is an intellectual resource, a complete history, or if they're playing these records just for kicks. So in the preface fun is poked at "abstract nonsense about postmodern intertextuality", and the pair thunder into well-reasoned, impassioned debate about the DJ being a modern-day shaman--pulse-racing stuff, which makes it all the more uncomfortable when it segues into an unremittingly dull chronological history of the invention of the record deck. The pace quickens with an excellent chapter on Northern Soul, and in hot pursuit follow impressive histories of the reggae, hip-hop and disco genres. But then Acid House--perhaps Britain's most important musical evolution ever--is given short shrift and techno is dismissed over a mere ten pages as "house's swotty offspring". The term "definitive", it seems, has been faded out of the mix. Last Night A DJ . . . is no Bible for the penitent vinyl worshipper, and its difficult chronology makes it an uncomfortable read. Still, if you think that Northern Soul records were made in Leeds and disco began with the Bee Gees, there's a wealth of knowledge here that'll put you right --Louis PattisonRead More

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    An updated edition of the definitive history of dance music, published to coincide with the centenary of the DJ

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    To celebrate 100 years of DJing Bill Brewster and Frank Broughton have expanded and updated their classic account of the history of the disc jockey. The DJ was born on Christmas Eve 1906 when Reginald Fessenden became the first person to play a record over the radio. A century later and the DJ is the central figure in popular music. From these humble 'talking jukebox' origins to today's DJ superstars earning rock star salaries with a fan base to match the history of the DJ is fascinating and unpredictable. The story of these unlikely cultural icons takes the reader through the swinging sixties through the sequinned revolution that was disco via hip hop and house to mass-market global domination.

  • Pickabook

    Bill Brewster, Frank Broughton

  • 0755313984
  • 9780755313983
  • Frank Broughton, Bill Brewster
  • 22 May 2006
  • Headline
  • Paperback (Book)
  • 608
  • Revised edition
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