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Colin Curtis (born ''Colin Dimond'', 1952) is an influential British DJ whose career spans several decades and musical developments. He was born and grew up in Madeley in Staffordshire, UK.〔(Colin Curtis: DJHistory.com ) Interview with Colin Curtis by Bill Brewster on DJHistory.com〕 Although he is most closely associated with the 1970s Northern soul scene, he has been described by the author and musician Mark 'Snowboy' Cotgrove as: ...one of the most important black music tastemakers there has ever been in the UK〔Mark Cotgrove, ''From Jazz Funk & Fusion to Acid Jazz: The History of the UK Jazz Dance Scene'', Section 2 "The Interviews", page 86〕 As a teenager in the 1960s, Curtis developed a passion for music through listening to Pirate radio stations such as Radio Caroline and through a friend’s sister who would listen to Tamla Motown records at their house.〔Mark Cotgrove, ''From Jazz Funk & Fusion to Acid Jazz: The History of the UK Jazz Dance Scene'', Section 2 "The Interviews", page 86〕 He then became interested in collecting black American music through attending Northern soul all-nighters at clubs such as the Twisted Wheel in Manchester and, later, the Golden Torch in Tunstall, Stoke. He began DJ-ing in the late 1960s, firstly at the Crystal Ballroom in Newcastle-under-Lyme 〔(Colin Curtis: DJHistory.com ) Interview with Colin Curtis by Bill Brewster on DJHistory.com〕 but later became part of the resident DJ line-up at the Golden Torch all-nighters, which included Tony Jebb, Ian Levine and Keith Minshull.〔David Nowell, ''Too Darn Soulful: The Story of Northern Soul''. Chapter 4, page 101.〕 In 1973, after the closure of the Golden Torch, Curtis began a weekly residency at the Blackpool Mecca’s Highland Room soul nights and was joined by fellow DJ and collector Ian Levine in a partnership which lasted until 1978. Hitherto, the Northern soul scene had been a revivalist movement built around obscure US recordings from the 1960s which conformed to a certain rhythmic and vocal template. However, the Curtis/Levine duo are noted for successfully introducing contemporary styles of African-American music such as Disco, Funk and Jazz Funk onto their Highland Room playlists and, as a result, the creation of a split in the Northern soul movement which led to the parallel Modern soul subgenre.〔Bill Brewster and Frank Broughton. ''Last Night A DJ Saved My Life'' Chapter four, page 106, ''Fighting for the soul of soul''〕 Levine and Curtis are also credited with being amongst the first DJs to introduce mixing to British nightclubs. This technique, which had been pioneered by DJ Francis Grasso in the clubs of New York City, enabled the DJ to create a non-stop sequence of records.〔David Nowell, ''Too Darn Soulful: The Story of Northern Soul''. Chapter 4, page 115〕 In September 1978, after quitting his weekly spot at the Blackpool Mecca, Curtis began a residency at Rafters nightclub in Manchester where his playlists continued to include soul and disco but leaned more heavily towards Jazz Funk and Fusion. He also continued to DJ at all-day soul festival events at venues such as the Manchester Ritz and the Blackpool Mecca, regularly playing before crowds of between 1500 to 3000 people.〔Mark Cotgrove, ''From Jazz Funk & Fusion to Acid Jazz: The History of the UK Jazz Dance Scene'', Section 2 "The Interviews", page 88〕 Around the years 1982 to 1983, whilst continuing to DJ at events around the country, he began to move towards more exclusively jazz sets at clubs such as Berlin in Manchester and is credited as pioneering the UK Jazz Dance scene in the North of England.〔Mark Cotgrove, ''From Jazz Funk & Fusion to Acid Jazz: The History of the UK Jazz Dance Scene'', Section 2 "The Interviews", page 86〕 In the mid-1980s, Curtis became interested in the latest developments in dance music emanating from the US including New York Electro and Hip Hop and the first wave of House music from Chicago, typified by artists such Chip E, Steve ‘Silk’ Hurley and Farley Jackmaster Funk.〔(Colin Curtis: DJHistory.com ) Interview with Colin Curtis by Bill Brewster on DJHistory.com〕 In 1986 he became one of the earliest British DJs to play these records at venues such as Rock City in Nottingham alongside DJs such as Greg Wilson and Graeme Park. At the end of the 1980s, Curtis went into semi-retirement from his DJing career due to a spell of bad health.〔Mark Cotgrove, ''From Jazz Funk & Fusion to Acid Jazz: The History of the UK Jazz Dance Scene'', Section 2 "The Interviews", page 89〕 In the early 1990s he concentrated on his computer games business〔(Colin Curtis: DJHistory.com ) Interview with Colin Curtis by Bill Brewster on DJHistory.com〕 but since that time he has resumed his DJ-ing career, playing Northern soul and Jazz Funk ‘revival’ sets at various venues such as the Ruby Lounge in Manchester and the King Georges Hall in Blackburn. In August 2010 he played two sets in the 1970s-themed ''Soul Casino'' arena and 1980s-themed ''Warehouse'' arena at the ''Vintage at Goodwood'' Festival.〔(Colin Curtis Connection ) Entries in Colin Curtis blog〕 ==References== 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Colin Curtis (DJ)」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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