1.)
Foreword (main)
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
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
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