I'm looking forward to playing a series of DJ dates around the UK and Europe spanning nearly 4 months from 28th June til 18th October. Thanks so much to the promoters that have expressed an interest in having me play, and I'll be lookin' forward to sharing the turntables with you! I can't wait to play for more dancers and audiences that I've not DJ'ed to before, so please check out these dates, and hopefully I'll get to meet as many of you as possible.
The tour will encompass all sides of my playbox which includes rare soul, funk, gospel, r&b, modern & disco, so please check back here regularly as I'll notify you what styles I'll be playing at which particular show....for example, the Book Club on 26th July will be 100% r&b etc.
To give everyone an idea of generally what to expect, here's two relatively recent mixes I did for the 'Straight from the playbox' series....some of these are still in rotation, so please check them out and lemme know what you think!
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PhotoGreg Belson
Aug 16 2014 11:44 AM
Finally got some time to catch up on Thursday nights proceedings at the Pipe and Slippers in Bristol with Mr Tommy Charles and crew. Thanks so much to all of you that stepped out.....there's something kinda great about walking into a bar in Bristol, and being able to capture a lil' slice of West Covina some 1,000's of miles away. Something different to Englands fair shores....as promised, here's my 2 hour playlist in running order. Cheers to all of you that brought a smile to my face!
Slow ‘n’ Low 14th August 2014 Greg Belson playlist
Maestro Danny Jones ‘Sum it all by saying, thank you Lord’ (Tru-Soul)
Robert Vanderbilt and the Foundation of Souls ‘A message especially from God’ (Sensational)
General Lee and the Space Army Band ‘We did it baby’ (Lost Weekend)
The Gospel Sensations of Portsmouth, Virginia ‘People get ready’ (Pinewood)
The Invaders ‘O Lord’ (Da Gail)
G.C.’s ‘Let us pray’ (Spectrum)
United Sounds ‘And when it’s over’ (United)
The Summits ‘Let me love you again’ (DC International)
Sammy Jones ‘Don’t touch me’ (Mascot)
Margie Hendrix ‘Baby’ (Mercury)
Naomi Bradly ‘Why not tonight’ (Big Beat)
Willie Dale ‘Somebody help me’ (Lovie D.)
God’s Children ‘Lonely lullaby’ (Uni)
Jonah Thompson ‘Get involved’ (Inspiring)
James Bynum ‘We are in need’ (E.B.C.)
The Religious Souls ‘Condition the world is in’ (H&M)
The Valdons ‘Love me, leave me’ (Twin City Movement)
The Arrows ‘We have love’ (Bandit)
The Divine Chords ‘Goodness of the Lord’ (Gloryland)
Bill Murphy & Mistery ‘Praise his name’ (Spirit of God Records, Inc.)
New Way ‘Holding on’ (Prestige)
Apaches ‘Just another lazy day’ (Big 8)
Mighty Stars of Zion ‘My prayer’ (Star Disc)
Rev. Robert Welch and the Twilight Gospel Singers of Alabama ‘He holds tomorrow’ (Champ)
Rev. Harvey Gates ‘Price of love’ (Acquarian)
The Hubbards-Heavyweight Gospel Singers ‘When I meet mother in that land’ (Hubbard)
Vivian Hill ‘Turn on your love light’ (S.B.I.)
Zilla Mayes ‘All I want is you’ (Tou-Sea)
The Gospel Four ‘The devil don’t like it’ (D-Vine Spirituals)
Georgette Blu ‘You had a dream’ (Love)
The Roberts Family ‘Wake up!’ (c/u)
The Lover’s of God with Jones Bros + 1 Band ‘We should thank the Lord’ (Shur-Tinga)
Re-Vells ‘Do I love you?’ (Trent Town)
The Gospel Sensations Singers of Portsmouth, Virginia ‘What a friend’ (Pinewood)
Little Chris and the Righteous Singers ‘I thank you Lord’ (Skyway)
The Modulations of Durham, North Carolina ‘Who’s going to lose’ (Mozel)
Modulations ‘This old world is going down’ (One-Way)
The Gospel I.Q.’s ‘Waiting on you’ (Su-Ann)
Sensational Allstars ‘This may be the last time’ (Su-Ann)
Eveready Singers ‘Keep on praying’ (Memorial)
The Relatives ‘Don’t let me fall’ (Hosana)
PhotoGreg Belson
Aug 18 2014 02:21 PM
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Today = Official Recovery Mode.....what a major weekend of music that was! Amazing.....the M25 road though can kiss my grits. I'll deal with you later! First stop on Friday was at Love Vinyl in Dalston for the Horse Meat Disco Instore with James and Luke.....lovely session of great disco vibrations, and just general banter, catching up with old friends, and making new acquaintances. Busy busy and so great to see so many make the journey. Then, a quick scoot into North London for the 'Teen Scene' 60's megablast night at The Hideaway. Lovely little basement club that had the sound system to match. Numbers were slightly down this month, but hey, we still rocked (or 'souled') hard. Cheers to Jamie and Scott for the invite....had a great time! And then Saturday.....oh Saturday. A jaunt up the M1 took me to 'That Driving Beat' hosted by Mr Adams. I gotta say, what a right royal session that was......after a bit of tweaking, the PA was off and running.....sounded superb. Every record jumped outta the speakers and man, were there some 45's being offered up. Every DJ put their best foot forward and delivered some killer stuff......Neil Toplis wins the award for most outrageous 45 of the night.....so hard and fast, I had to love it.....whilst Mr Eddie Wainwright delivered a first class set compiled perfectly. Wonderful stuff.......this is a must-attend gig, it really is. Great venue, great music and most importantly of all, great people! Proper soulin', m'hearties!!
PhotoGreg Belson
Aug 20 2014 03:12 PM
A Bank Holiday Monday All-Dayer, you say? In the heart of Brighton's fair city? Kickin' off at 2pm and rollin' til 12 midnight? If you never made it through the doors of the much lauded Blue Room venue some 15 years ago, then now's your chance to capture a little slice of what many called a musical nirvana. Every night there was a beautiful session of amazing tunes provided by some of the most forward thinking DJ's.....the venue even coined the phrase 'Magic Happens'......magic, indeed. Come along, share some memories, create some new ones, drink, dance...SMILE.....all over again. When? Monday 25th August. Where? The Big Beach Cafe in Hove. And all for absolutely FREE!
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PhotoGreg Belson
Aug 21 2014 12:20 PM
This weekend, I'll be joining my old mate Pete Isaac and slangin' the OG 45's Jelly Jazz style! It's close to 15 years since the first time I DJ'ed for Pete, maybe even longer, and one thing's guaranteed. A block rockin', feet shufflin', road blockin' night of funk fuelled insanity. The Jelly brand is a pure stamp of quality, and I'm lookin' forward to sharing the turntables with a fella who's held down the South West coast side of jazzin' soul & funk for 20 years. Come along and see what makes Jelly such a great session. Personally, I can't wait ;)
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PhotoGreg Belson
Aug 27 2014 08:54 PM
The weekend ahead brings forth the first series of gigs venturing into Europe....first up, I'll be on the Fingerpoppinsoul Soulradiofromamsterdam tomorrownight from 10pm til 12 midnight local time (1pm US PST), pulverizing the airwaves with rare gospel soul & funk with the hosts leading the way. Then it's Ridin' High on Friday night Cafe 16cc for a similar taste of laidback gospelizations, crossover cuts, and tunes to make you bounce. On Saturday, I'll be crossing the border to Germany and lining up with Sebastian Gerstung & Tom Blaue, delivering the heavy hitting gospel funk all on original 45's. Heavy duty, uptempo cuts, all the way.....so bring your comfies.....lookin' forward to touching down and breaking my DJ cherry in both these cities, so see you on the road!
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PhotoGreg Belson
Aug 28 2014 06:53 AM
Here's the 38th installment of The Divine Chord Gospel Show which appears monthly on dublab.com.
Click here to see it on Mixcloud
For this broadcast, we head to blistering rare funk territory courtesy of Dorothy Glass.....a very tough 45 to locate, but what a killer groove. And the Beatrice Brown Singers deliver a stunning moody funk number also on 45. Stupidly rare, and just amazing!
Pt. 2 delivers the downtempo goods featuring a raft of superb harmonies, beatscapes and vocal performances that tug on your conscience. Fantastic 45's from the likes of The Goldenaires, Mary Jo Young and the Dynamic Superiours
And for pt. 3, it's soulful stepper territory with stunning offerings from the legendary Champ label, courtesy of the Highway Serenaders. And a superb funk instrumental from the band 'Serenity'....sure to go places. We round off the set with great performances from gospel staples the Clark Sisters, Eddie Robinson & Calvin Bridges.
Feel free to join the facebook group 'The Divine Chord Gospel Show'!
PhotoGreg Belson
Sep 02 2014 12:08 PM
Righto, recovery mode is almost complete so it's time to rustle up a few words about last weekend. Simply, just another set of amazing gigs and shows and when I say amazing, it's with a capital 'A'.....first stop was Amsterdam, and the awesome hospitality of the Fingerpoppinsoul Soulradiofromamsterdam guys. Record shopping in the red light district, incredible food, incredible company and a great gig complete with the talented 78rpm maestro DJ Moonshine providing us with some audio curveballs. It took a brave soul to arrange the diverse sounds of Thierry Boulanger, myself and Mr Moonshine, but man, it worked out just fine. A fabulous session that really still has me smiling....great work gents, and thanks so much for the gift of picture sleeved gospel 45's. I'm truly touched, guys....it was an absolute pleasure! Next day saw me travel via the ICE bullet train to SolidSoul Frankfurt for the first time.....I kinda knew I was in for another special time, and yeah, did it ever kick off! Promoted by Messrs Tom Blaue and Sebastian Gerstung, it was never in any doubt that the music was gonna be first class. And yes, it was so.....a solid dancefloor still going strong at 5am shows you that Frankfurt did us proud. The Strip Joint venue was perfect, the PA was a joy, and the 50 euro Gollum-esque lady of the night that offered me some kind of hand shandy service, became the comedy act. I'll take a thousand happy memories from this duet of gigs, having met some marvelous people in the process......once again, the soul scene is alive and well, you just have to reach out and embrace it. Here's the radio show recorded in Amsterdam....happy soulin' ;)
Click here to see it on Mixcloud
PhotoGreg Belson
Sep 03 2014 06:08 PM
OK ladies and gents....oh how time has flown on this tour!! This weekend, sees me play my last UK gig that's south of the Scottish border, of this European Tour 2014. If you wanna see me spin some soul records in England's capital city, it's all going down at Madame JoJo's, Brewer Street, London this Friday 5th September. I'll be DJ'ing alongside International Soul DJ, major Northern Soul record dealer and Good Foot regular, Rob Messer, so please join me one last time for this year.....I'll be sure to break out the goodies for ya! We'll be ploughing through our collection of 45's, playing predominantly 60's R&B Soul, Funk, Rare Groove and Boogaloo mixed with floor-filling Motown and Stax classics. It's going to be a blinding night!
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PhotoGreg Belson
Sep 04 2014 04:32 PM
Can't wait for this Saturday and a trip to Hamburg for the mighty 'For Dancer's Only' session hosted by the great Jan Drews and crew. Two floors of boss sounds at an amazing venue, the Hafenklang. Heavy dancefloor rarities, tough obscurities and killer hard soul original 45's are the order of the day! Come and join us....this one's gonna be a doozy!
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PhotoGreg Belson
Sep 08 2014 06:27 PM
Finally, a wave of tiredness caught up with me this last weekend after what was a pretty epic two night's in the UK's capital and then Hamburg, Germany. First up was my third session The GOOD FOOT at Madame Jojo's, every Friday. 10pm-3am. for this particular tour.....and whilst it was a slow start, the place soon got jumpin' very nicely, to the point of absolutely packed out. The dancefloor was lively right til the very last tune, proving that great music can still be heard in London town on a weekly basis. Always love playing this venue, so hopefully see you guys again next year! Then on 3 hours sleep, I headed to Hamburg for the monster All-Nighter at the Hafenklang......For Dancer's Only. Fantastic and varied sets from start to finsh from all the DJ's....a coupla new things for my ears too, which is always nice. Great atmosphere, another great club, and lots and lots of alcohol.....oh man, the alcohol!! The rhubarb schnapps was a winner, f'sure! By 5am, the legs had gone and bed was calling, but man, what a great couple of back-to-back gigs. Massive thanks to all of you that came out and partied!
PhotoGreg Belson
Sep 09 2014 01:28 PM
This Saturday night 13th September, I'll be heading over to Hannover, Germany for a session of heavy drum-led raw soul and funkier rhythms to the sun rises. Proper bone shakers will be the order of the day, so come prepared.....pack your soul bag with one extra shirt, cos you might just need it. Big tunes, small records, once again. Come and get your fix at the funk altar, my friends. See ya there!
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PhotoGreg Belson
Sep 15 2014 11:16 AM
Once more, Germany delivers a fantastic back to back session of top quality soul nights that was an absolute privilege to DJ at....thanks so much to all of you that made it out to the dances in Berlin, and Hannover....a cherry poppin' gig for me, so it was pretty awesome to see a full dancefloor all night long. The Berlin crowd were totally up for it at the amazing Das Hotel club....I love basement dingy clubs and this had it all....compact, close, and atmospheric. It was a total joy to see some of Berlin's glitterati out in support, as well as people there that just wanted to get down. Thanks so much to Hendrik Irmscher for what was a bloody bloody great session . Then it was a short run on the train to Hannover, and the wonder that is Studio 45. After a little contretemps with British Airways, we were off and running....a few Jager shots were needed to warm up, but once we were in full flow, the crowd seemed to love it. A really great mixture of music for this one, including some heavy hittin' raw funk from Martin Geefunk and some great curios Ethiopian and jazzual grooves from Peter Piper....the dancers seemed to love it all....which was pretty much awesome! Must say a special shout out to the drunken lady supposed 'DJ' who parked her butt next to my records and wouldn't move....thanks for hovering your beer over my 45's whilst chattin' rubbish to your mate. Amateur level, really . Hopefully see you guys next year, cos the place was poppin'....cheers all, for another superb coupla gigs!
Here's quite possibly the tune of the night in Berlin....just cos when I played it at the end of the session, the look on Hendrik's face was priceless......
And the big tune in Hannover was this currently unsigned cut by one of our own brethren, Fatshoolaces Wayne....yeah, block rockin' mate, and Martin lost his marbles good and proper.
PhotoGreg Belson
Sep 16 2014 11:46 AM
Here's the most up to date flyer for the last leg of my tour....a coupla dates added and two venues in Italy amended. Cheers!
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Photokev cane
Sep 16 2014 12:15 PM
Apaches, superb Greg
Kev
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