FOREWORDS by real disco era deejays

















1.)

Foreword (main)

It’s a great honour for me to be asked to write the Foreword of this unique book by Polish DJ pioneer Yahu Pawul.

I first got to know Yahu in a world that was very different from today. In the late 1970s and early 1980s, I lived in Margaret Thatcher’s Britain, where monetarism, the Free Market and privatisation were the causes she championed. In stark contrast, Yahu lived under the oppressive yoke of Communism, behind the Iron Curtain, in Poland.

One of the great things about old-style AM radio is that it could travel long distances, especially at night. It was no respecter of borders, whether physical or philosophical. In Poland, largely deprived of access to Western popular culture, radio transmissions from the West still got through, and not least “the Great 208”, the English-language service of Radio Luxembourg. Through tuning into 208 metres on the medium wave band, Yahu was able to keep in touch with the latest sounds from the UK and USA. The great ex-Radio Caroline DJ Tony Prince was Yahu’s favourite presenter on “Luxy” in those days.

In addition to the radio signals from Luxembourg and other western European stations that bounced off the ionosphere into Poland, it was possible for some magazines and records to get into Poland via “snail mail” – the traditional paper-based postal services. (This was long before the Internet.)

So Yahu went to great lengths to obtain as much material as he could by this route. He became an avid reader of Deejay and Radio Monthly, a UK-based trade magazine for disc jockeys, edited by journalist Ben Cree. Ben also formed the National Association of Disc Jockeys and I was a regional officer of that organisation. From time to time, I wrote articles for Deejay and Radio Monthly  (for example, about working on Britain’s first quadrophonic mobile disco) and this is what brought me to Yahu’s attention. He started writing to me from Poland and our correspondence lasted many years. We are still in contact from time to time all these decades later.

I was just one of many people with whom Yahu corresponded. His contacts were many and varied. For example, in the early years of Madonna’s career, he was exchanging letters with her producer, Jellybean Benitez, at a time when few disco fans had even heard of him.

In the mid 1980s, Yahu managed to escape the stultifying cultural confines of Cold War Poland and came to stay with me and my family in Oxfordshire. This took an extraordinary amount of paperwork to arrange and it is hard to know which regime was the more intrusive – the Polish Communists who required paperwork signed by my “local militia” (the Henley-on-Thames police were the nearest thing we could find that met this description) or the British authorities, who wanted to know which room in the house Yahu would be staying in – perhaps to know where to bug the place, if they chose to.

Yahu’s visit to Thatcher’s England gave him a chance to weigh up the advantages and disadvantages of seeking refuge in the UK. After some painfully serious consideration, including discussions with other Polish émigrés, he decided to return to Poland but later managed to move to the USA for a while to try his luck there. Without a doubt, this is a brave man who is totally committed to his art and is not intimidated by the “slings and arrows of outrageous fortune”, as Shakespeare put it. “Passion” is a word much over-used these days but it accurately describes Yahu’s love for disco and deejaying.

So, what is it that makes this book different and special? It is Yahu’s dedication to the subject over such a long period of time, and with such considerable attention to detail. There is a width and depth of coverage that you are unlikely to find elsewhere. Yahu’s perspective is worldwide and not limited by being a part of some hip clique in, say, Manhattan, Manchester, Munich or Magaluf.

These days, by Googling and cutting and pasting, it is easy to put together a book on almost any topic: for that reason, there are a great many very bad books published on all sorts of subjects. People are too lazy (and sometimes too cynical) to research properly. I once read on Wikipedia that the Puerto Rican singer Ricky Martin was born in Wigan, England! This shows how dangerous it can be to rely on such sources. In contrast, Yahu did much of his research in real time, over many decades – he was taking note of events as they happened. This book is truly a labour of love and the product of almost a lifetime.

In conclusion, I commend this epic work to anyone seriously interested in the fuller story of the development of disco music and deejaying. It is a unique reference and no in-depth study of this cultural phenomenon can be complete without consulting it. Yahu – I salute your passion and persistence!


Tony Hadland
Oxfordshire, England







2.)


----- Original Message -----
From: Billy Terrell
To: yahudeejay
Sent: Friday, July 11, 2014 7:54 PM
Subject: Foreword For Book


It's been nearly 40 years since the late Neil Bogart (then president of Casablanca Records) heard a DJ at the listening party for the release of Donna Summers' "Love To Love You Baby" using two turntables with two 45RPM copies back and forth extending the playing time to nearly 20 minutes.

At that moment the dawn of the 12" dance single was born when Bogart asked the DJ to make an edited copy for the first 12" commercial release.  Later that year Disco was on the rise with Dj's in clubs all over New York City playing to packed houses until the wee hours of the morning.  Stores specializing in Disco records followed and the race was on.  Many indie labels found instant success in the genre and the major labels began to follow suit.

Thanks to the creativility and commitment to the music by DJs worldwide many of us writers and producers prospered and our work lives on because of the loyalty of people like Jan Yahu Pawl, the author of this marvelous book.  What is so remarkable is,  Yahu has kept the music alive inspite of having limited resources behind the Iron Curtain until well into the 1980's.

Lucky for us veteran's of the Disco era, Yahu has prospered and assembled this long overdue first hand account of the beginnings and growth of our music through interviews with the DJs, songwriters and producers who made it happen.  ‘’DISCJOCKEY – trampled dreams’ - is a great read for those of us who lived and participated in these great memories back in the day.  But, it also serves as a history lesson for new generations still dancing and enjoying the great ground breaking music of the 70's dance scene.      

Billy Terrell






3.)


----- Original Message -----
From: Mike Pasternak (Emperor Rosko)
To: yahudeejay 
Sent: Friday, July 18, 2014 11:45 PM
Subject: for the intro of the book

YAHUDEE

Bravo bravo bravo, what a work of art, I am happy somebody was astute enough to place all this information in a book !! A bible for for future music lovers and Dj’s yet to be born. You know, what goes a round, what comes around.  

So, we may not see it but in the future when students of the era need information, your book will be the primo one that they find. It is complete, I have not seen better. The best part is you have the Le PRESIDENT / EMPEROR ROSKO IN IT !!

THANK YOU …  

And now good people you have seen this open the pages for the History of DISCO !!

Rosko






4.)

Most DeeJays never went thru what Yahu did when the Polish authorities made it ALMOST impossible for him to play disco music, entertain dancers, and make people happy through their music.

He travelled to the UK and to NYC and LA to discover more music, and play it for those hungry for the beat. A dear friend, (the late Vince Montana Jr) was a vital part of the TSOP Sounds Of Philadelphia Orchestra, and then the Sal Soul Orchestra, providing lush, instrumental dance music that Yahu and the world loved. Vince understood what rhythms moved people, and drove them to the dance floor. So did Yahu as a DJ, and Giant Gene.
Earl Young, a dear friend who was the drummer for the trammps (Disco Inferno) also played on most of the Gamble, Huff and Bell hits, setting the beat for the feet of millions of dancers everywhere.

During the late 1970's, the music started flowing… Hustle-dancing became the rage, and Yahu helped make that happen in Europe and Poland with the sweet sounds of the rythyms and the flowing, beautiful disco dresses that became the style for dancers the world over.

Ron Bess, Editor of Dance Talk, name Yahu a valuable resource for club music, with his ability to pick the most danceable songs from the hundreds of the new releases each month. Gene has always appreciated Yahu, and wants the world to know that people like him are responsible for some of the happiest people on earth… those who go out to dance, dance, dance.

Yahu is a valuable resourse to disco and dance music, (be it house or club) and a worldwide treasure.

We are proud to be a part of his wondeful new book.

Terry Arnold (for Giant Gene Arnold)






5.)


Jan Yahu Pawul had to work hard to be a disco dj when he started behind the ‘Iron Curtain’ but his passion for the music and the art of dj'ing sustained him and he persevered.  

During those dark days he managed to forge some links with western dj's, musicians and record companies and gradually as east - west relations thawed he was able to develop those links.

Over the years his passion for all things disco has enabled him to interview many famous people within the disco scene and he has passionately documented the rise and success of disco music and the cult of the dj. 

This book is a fascinating testament to that passion …

Theo Loyla




buy on my blogs





Brak komentarzy:

Prześlij komentarz