Having DJ'd funk for years I know to keep the dancefloor full you need pepper your set with some tracks the dancers know but for the most part, when you have established the floor, people will dance all night.

Not so in the northern scene, I can't think of any other scene where dancers choose what they dance to on a track by track basis.

It can't have always been like this because all the records were unknown at some point, so when did this start happening and why?

Edited June 15, 201014 yr by missgoldie

It's wrong to assume that people outside the UK 'will dance to anything you throw at them'. They're just as knowledgeable as UK attendees and know what they like and what they don't like. As far as UK crowds go, could it be that British feeling of awkwardness/inhibition? Years ago, people on gear would literally dance to anything and we've all seen it. Today, some people have to be beered up to venture onto the floor, let alone dance to a record that's unfamiliar to them. Hasn't ever been a problem for me, thankfully. At the last 'do' I attended here, Steve G & Sam had me movin' and a groovin' to all sorts of stuff, admittedly, stuff like Frank Beverly and Jimmy Burns were greeted joyously, but I loved hearing and dancing to some of the other stuff too. The mahou 5 estrellas also helped if I'm honest.

Edited July 14, 201014 yr by macca

Don't really go out any more. But when I did one of the main motivations was hearing / dancing to records I hadn't heard before. Things seemed to me to go a bit "top 500" in the mid 90s which is when I started to drift away. On the odd occasion I have popped back, I have always felt vaguely disappointed at the amount of familiar / well worn material that gets aired and finding myself thinking, "I've got all these at home.." I'm sure its not like everywhere these days, though.

Edited July 14, 201014 yr by son of stan

I saw the immense 'Do You Believe It' Jack Montgomery clear the floor 4 years ago in Peterborough, the dj, miffed, flipped it over and cued it up and there was a stampede. As much as I love Dearly Beloved, there are other records out there. He then cleared the floor with the sublime My Sweet Baby by The Esquires. Some people just don't like being dragged kicking and screaming out of their comfort zone.