Video: Covent Garden / London 1985

This is a video from the first organised hip hop event in the UK. The graffiti side was represented by the Chrome Angelz. Rock City, London All-Stars, Live To Break, Look Twice, The B-Boys, Breakazoids and others were on the b-boy tip and Imperial Mixers were providing the music.

Thanks to Nick Dart.

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Video: All City A.K.A B-Boy Gold

This is an experimental documentary produced by Henry Chalfont, the man behind the most stolen book in the history of UK publishing, about the early days of hip-hop in the South Bronx. Word.

Thanks to Dartos.

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Video: Prestatyn Soul Weekender 1989 (Spectrum, Gilles Peterson, Paul Oakenfold, Froggy)

Found these via DJ History and the Go Bang Brighton website (thanks!). As it says under the videos on YouTube, “This is a copy of a dusty old video from 1989. It was filmed in the UK, the film is from a Soul Weekender in Prestatyn (Wales). This is a unique video that shows how the format of the Soul weekender changed forever … in the UK.

Although this was billed as a Soul Weekender, in truth it ended up featuring some of the biggest names in acid house music. Pete Tong went onto become the dance music master at R1, Oakey became a global DJ superstar, Gilles Peterson went onto R1 and Nicky Holloway went onto create the massive London house music clubs Sin/Trip etc … and the rest of us “got on one matey” …”

It’s great the soul crew liked a video camera so much as some of this is pretty priceless.

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Video: Electric Elephant 2011 Teaser

Sweet video from the Electric Elephant peoples for their forthcoming festival in the summer. Special props for using ‘Like A Ship’ by Pastor T.L. Barrett.

Thanks to Moonboots for the heads up.

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The Face: Jean Baptiste Mondino / Intro Piece / La Danse Des Mots

Anyone who has been reading Test Pressing for a while knows how much we love the work of Island Records. This piece comes from The Face in April ’84 and is about Jean Baptiste Mondino’s debut release for Island Records. Mondino, as most of you know, is the guy behind those iconic Grace Jones sleeves. I love that story about how when Badarou and all those guys turned up to Compass Point to make those early Grace Jones records that Chris Blackwell had pinned up the visuals Mondino had already made and said ‘we need the music to sound like that’. Anyway, shame Mondino didn’t make more music as it fits into our world perfectly. Love the video too.

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Video: Junior Vasquez – Sound Factory 1993

More classic club footage (well the Ku stuff I just posted wasn’t classic just interesting…). This is as classic as ‘house’ gets. Junior Vasquez at his peak!

Thanks to Terry Farley from the Faith crew for getting this up.

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Video: Ibiza – La Isla Blanca

This is taken wholesale from a chap called icebaer69 over at the Spotlight Ibiza Forums so thanks to him.

On 26th October 1947 two producers arrived on the steam ship, Ciudad de Mahon, to capture scenes of local life for the news programme, NO-DO, which was shown in cinemas before the main feature film in those days. The ten minute video, entitled Ibiza, Isla Blanca (White Island) has now been posted on YouTube.

The commentary tells of the temperate climate which allows for year-round tourism, far from the problems experienced in this day and age, where the summer season barely lasts four months. It goes on to say that the salt pans formed an important source of income for the islanders, production which exceeded 120,000 tons annually, compared with the 40,000 tons collected this year.

More than 60 years ago almonds and carob beans were harvested and exported, whereas now they are often left to rot on the trees. Special mention was made of the religiousness of the inhabitants, and several scenes were shown depicting people in the clothes of yesteryear and dancing the typical bal pagés.

A wedding in San Miguel is shown, as is Vara de Rey in Ibiza Town, before it was paved, and an anti-aircraft refuge can be seen in the background. It took two weeks to film all over the island, which was then condensed into ten minutes. Those were the days!”

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Video: DJ Chicco Secci – Live Summer 1986 At Ku

Here’s a video I found on YouTube of a DJ (and later producer) Chicco Secci live at Ku in ’86. If you want to avoid ‘Holiday Rap’ (ha) then skip to 2 minutes. If you want to hear him play Prince ‘Mountains’ (a record I’ve always wanted to hear in a club) and then spin a 12″ on his finger skip to 4:20.

He must have enjoyed his times at Ku as he later made this in ’88 obviously inspired by his times there…

Anyway, Chicco Secci, if you’re out there give us a wave as I am sure you are sitting on tons of good tapes.

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Video: Harvey Explains Destroying The Booth At The Meredith Music Festival

Here’s a video of Harvey record shopping as well as giving an explanation for his entertaining antics at the Meredith Music Festival (where he climbed on top of a table and destroyed 2 CDJ’s, a pair of Technics and a Bozak. Good work.

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Video: Boy’s Own (Andrew Weatherall & Terry Farley) On Snub TV / BBC2

Here’s a quality interview with Andrew Weatherall and Terry Farley about the history of Boy’s Own and the record label. Looks like it was done in the studio as they were recording the follow-up ‘Substance’. Weatherall dismisses techno in fine style, and the clip also features the videos for ‘Raise’ (as Terry calls it ‘a hillbilly balearic anthem for the summer’) and the Less Stress cover of ‘Don’t Dream It’s Over’. London attitude in full flow.

Thanks to Nick Dart.

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Video: Rocky & Diesel – Summer 1988

Nice one Leo (Zero) Elstob for digging this out. Footage from one of West London’s early balearic parties, Barbarellas in Greenford, with DJs Rocky & Diesel. Some great jacking going on in here.

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Video: Soft Cell – Sex Dwarf (The Unexpurgated Infamous Version)

This was stolen from Mark Moore’s Facebook page. I think they may have been high.

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Video: Look De Ibiza

We posted this one before but it was terrible quality on YouTube so we’ve uploaded it again. This was the holy grail for many people and has been passed around on DVD for quite some time now. As many of you know it was a promotional video by the Ku nightclub in the mid 80s, has an amazing soundtrack (which may or may not have been an inspiration for one of Harvey’s most famous mixes), incredible scenery, great club shots and very balearic people.

Thanks to Phil Mison (originally) and Tim H on this one.

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Video: Blow Your House

Amazing video from Detroit’s The New Dance Show featuring A Guy Called Gerald’s ‘Blow Your House Down’ and 33 1/3 Queens ‘Searchin” (probably my favourite house record). Can someone do us a mix of tracks like this of dirty old bassline house please and send it in for the site. Shout us here if you can. Gerald is taking part in the Red Bull Music Academy which is happening any time around now so we look forward to hearing some stories from that. We have heard the list of other guest speakers and have to say it’s sounding pretty stunning.

Thanks to Emma Warren for the link. Red Bull ahoy.

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You Tube: Club Culture (1988)

Got to say thanks to our Swedish cousins at Mind On The Run (more from them soon) for finding this classic documentary on the clubbing scene shown on Channel 4 in the UK in 1988.

On a New York hip-hop tip, we get interviews with the Jungle Brothers, Mantronix, Biz Markie, Red Alert & Q Tip, Stetsasonic, Richie Rich, Keith LeBlanc and a great montage to the sound of ‘Don’t Believe The Hype’ in Dapper Dan’s NYC shop.

If you want to go straight for the acid house section go to 14:20 and Mike Dunn saying, ‘So let it be written, so let it be house’. From there we get interviews with Ten City, Daryl Pandy, Tyree Cooper, Robert Owens and at 23 minutes up turns Oakey with that brilliant hair cut and Lisa Loud (wrongly named ‘Nancy Noise’) discussing balearic beat. Dorrell appears and states…


Nailed. Colin Favor tells the Ibiza story, Fat Tony talks escapism and it’s all cut in with some great acid house footage. Bam-Bam, Adonis, Marshall Jefferson, Eddie Richard go on to discuss the music and they show the E’d up video for Paul Rutherford’s ‘Make It Real’. Coldcut, Jazzie B, Youth, Baby Ford and a few others bring up the rear with the London perspective.

Jamie B Rose, the director, whoever he is, deserves a pat on the back. Someone re-release this please. Top top documentary.

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You Tube: Behind The Beat – Acid House

Another great acid house video with interviews with Pete Tong, Mark Moore and Dave Dorrell worth checking for the Dorrell interview alone. (For our European friends he was one of the guys who made ‘Pump Up The Volume’, was a London club face and DJ about town). Aciiied!

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You Tube: The Tube – A Night In NYC (Danceteria, The Roxy & The Paradise Garage)

Killer. Jools Holland in his guise as Tube presenter, goes to Danceteria, The Roxy and the Paradise Garage in NYC. When Mark Kamins at Danceteria is asked what bands he thinks have that magic feeling he answers, ‘Quando Quango, Africa Bambatta, The Peech Boys – they’re all different but they have that feeling’. Finally, they visit The Paradise Garage and interview the Peech Boys at 5am. Golden times.

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You Tube: Roxanne Shante’s Mum

Killer video called ‘Rap Queens’ featuring Roxanne Shante, MC Lyte and Queen Latifah. Nice story on recording ‘Roxanne’s Revenge’ from Shante and her mum.

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YouTube: Q-Tip On The Needle Drop

It’s an old trick but nice to see Q Tip showing out. Love to our friends at Breath on this one.

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You Tube: Hermeto Pascoal

Am just visiting a friend in Stockholm and she showed me this. This is a Brasilian albino flautist who, according to wikipedia, was described by Miles Davis as ‘the most impressive musician in the world’ after they worked together. Apparently he is known as ‘o bruxo’ (the sorcerer) and often uses nature as a basis for his music. Anyway, this is probably super known but stick with the video as it gets better and better. If you get on You Tube you’ll see he also has a piece called ‘music from the beard’. Anyway, nature, flutes and water bottles. Balearic.

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