Paul Clark – The DJ
Resident at the Inn Place, Papillon, Busbys on a Sunday, Brighton Belle, Sheffield Arms, Hilly and the Escape, not forgetting Caister Soul Festivals – started DJ’ing in 1977 at the Seven Stars in Brighton. First record span was Roy Ayers’ Freaky Deaky .
He played jazz-funk-soul for 11 years and as well as being known nationally, he became the #1 DJ on the south coast.
He was resident at the Inn Place, Papillon and Busby’s on a Sunday, which was voted #10 in Blues & Souls top clubs.
In ’82 he played on of his best ever gigs – Caister Soul Weekender 10, with over 4000 people and ran the Brighton Beach Party at Top Rank. ’83 saw him at the Brighton Belle with Fatboy Cooke and Carl Cox and in ’85 he began a residency at Brighton’s Escape club and Hilly’s in Sheffield Park, resident with Chris Hill, Pete Tong and Jeff Young, and was #3 DJ at Canvey Island’s Goldmine.
Following years at Special Branch in Ibiza with Rampling, Masters, Tong, Peterson and Holloway and Corfu and gigs with De La Soul, In ’88 Acid House arrived, with partner Warwick Armsby Ward created their best night, Shoom, with the Rampling’s. Regular slots at Queens, Colnbrook with support Rocky & Diesel, Phil Perry’s club with Dave Courtney on the door. In 1990 saw Clark in Detroit, with Blake Baxter, and Boston. He returned to Saturday night residency at the Escape in ’94 with Russell Small and guests such as Sister Bliss, Boy George, Farley, X-Press2, Fatboy and Rampling and also played regular spots at the Emporium in Leicestershire, Swansea’s Escape and The House in Nottingham.
Finished DJ’ing in ’99 due to promoter changes, but due to huge demand, Clark has returned to the one’s and two’s, and has appeared at Escape to the ‘90’s, The Heist, The Sovereign and Richard’s Parties with Inn Place and Papillon revivals every two months and a new Saturday residency in Brighton.
The new gigs are Bournemouth Soul Weekender, Solar Radio all-dayers, Chocolate Chip Brighton, Papillon Brighton, Dantes Bognor, Stage 3 East Anglia Soul Weekender, Soulstice, Med Soul, Egyptian Soul and Shoreham, the Heavy Soul Cambridge, Essex Weekenders, Richard’s Parties, The Surgery London, Bar one Ascot, Brass Monkeys Hastings, Patterns Brighton with Brandon Block, Alex P, Danny Rampling, Russell Small, Joey Negro, Norman Jay MBE, Paul trouble Anderson, Ibiza Soul Week, Mi-Biza, Mi-Soul all-dayers at Shooosh Brighton, Liquid Spirit Benfleet, Butlin’s Skegness.
The Ex Shop, a bit of history
Music Meltdown (previously Vinyl Demand) was opened as Brighton’s first Collectors record shop almost 25 years ago by Geoff Finch and is regularly patronised by local celebrities and visiting performers (inc. Springsteen’s band, Mari Wilson, Captain Sensible, Psychic TV, Fatboy Slim, Russell Small [Phats & Small],howard marks,dexy,s kevin rowlands,req,bob jones ashley beedle,phil perry,seamus haji/neil tennant/snowboy, Bushy and Skint supremo Tim Jeffries) rob louis/mark little/mark williams / and Brighton’s First Division Team.
The shop has an international reputation and it has bought and sold some of the most fantastic and collectable music items on the planet, including at one point an entire radio station’s library of over 40,000 pieces!
In December of 2001, long-time customer, DJ Paul Clark, bought the business and within a month of moving in had bought his first collection – over 9000 dance 12″ from one of the South’s major International DJs. Music Meltdown has 3 staff, new boy ben walsh,paul fowler/paul wilson in 2006 may we moved to new england house alongside urban records to work of the site.