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GARY BRATCHFORD

Dec 9, 2024

5 min read



What inspired your journey into DJing, particularly in the soul genre?


Harry ‘Soul Man Has’ Grundy and his wife, Di. They run the Soulsville Soul Night in Bury where I grew up. At one point it was based at a working-mans club close to my mum's house. My Neighbour knocked on one eve to ask if I’d help out behind the bar as they were short on staff. My neighbour was the club secretary. I was only 17 and hadn’t a clue what to do but he said, “don’t worry, it’s a soul night. They’re an odd bunch who don’t drink too much but are very polite”. I guess he meant in comparison to an 18th or an Irish wake because to my memory I was run ragged. In any case, I was utterly captivated. I’d never heard of Northern Soul, but I liked everything about it, the records, the beat & tempo, the dancing. I asked to work the next one and that was it. Eventually, I started to buy records, and the regulars brought me spares of their cheapies… I must have 20 copies of A Ghost in my House.


Soon after Harry & Di let me have a little 30min spot. I returned the gesture a few years later when I organised the precursor to the first European Soul Weekender in Manchester in 2010 – Northern Soul v Belgium Popcorn.


What’s the most memorable set you’ve ever played, and why?


The final set of the inaugural Manchester European Soul Weekender in 2011. The entire weekend was a thrill. Amazing atmosphere, records beyond my comprehension and that feeling you get when you make an offering for others and then see how much they are enjoying themselves.


The final set of the weekend was me and Liam Quinn double decking to a packed, narrow room on the middle floor of the now defunct Pure Space on New Wakefield Street. The final record was Huey Baby – Drifting. I remember we announced the final record and as soon as the needle hit the groove, I looked up to see my friend, Rich, with his hands in the air with utter glee on his face. There was a wild cheer and a real sense of achievement and satisfaction I’ve rarely experienced since.


Who are some of your greatest influences as a DJ and soul enthusiast?


Liam Quinn. We met prior to co-running the first Manchester European Soul Weekender and his knowledge and ear for a tune were leagues ahead of anyone else’s I knew at the time. He was well into the scene and had an oversight of what was going on in Europe too which was interesting.


The others are Brett Franklin and Russell Paine. Brett and I ran multiple short-lived events in Manchester, which Rusell often guested at. The pair would stay at mine, and we’d hang out, chat records and generally have a good laugh. The 3 of us travelled to Europe a bit around the same time. Around that time (2010 maybe) the funk and uptempo sound was fairly prominent. The other offering was the more conventional ‘nighter sound’ which wasn’t all that appealing to me really.  Like Quinn, Brett & Russ were onto different sounds and a different way of ‘doing soul’ which really resonated with me.


How does the soul scene differ between the UK and other European countries you’ve played in?


The simple answer is the age of ‘the scene’ which in Europe is probably a decade or two younger than in the UK. Largely shaped by the 80s Mod revivalist movement (though I could be wrong) whereas in the UK the soul scene as we know it started in the 60s. This is reflected in the age of the major European DJs and then the audiences are a touch younger again.


The second noticeable difference is the location and aesthetic of the venues. In the UK you could put a Soul Night on anywhere – a provincial town hall, a very local, almost homogenous working man’s club, or a leisure centre! Outside of London (and with exceptions for the odd and new event in Manchester or Liverpool) the soul scene is neither urban nor very youthful. You can look on Soul Source under the events listings and there are 100s of events and most of them are in towns you have never heard of. That is also its charm and strength too! In Europe, it’s the opposite.


What do you think makes the soul community so unique and enduring?


Passion, curiosity, long-standing friendships and a sense of belonging. It is its own little world and no matter where you are (in one of the many little UK towns or a big European city) you can seek out an event, walk in and feel at home.


Are there particular cities or venues that stand out for their passion for soul music?


I used to love Hamburg, Germany. I went to a few of the weekenders and was fortunate to DJ at ‘For Dancers Only’. That weekender was packed, and it attracted the best people. The whole weekend from start to finish was great fun, the city was interesting, and the music and venues were unrivalled. Then when I played For Dancers Only which was the nighter in Hamburg it was like a microdose of the weekend and when it was all over you could walk out the club door to the local fish and flower market which was open, have a coffee and watch the city come to life.


What do you listen to when you’re not playing soul tracks?


I love Radiohead, Talking Heads, The Smiths, Beck, PJ Harvey, Grand Daddy, Elliott Smith, Talk Talk, Sonic Youth, and loads of very odd, low-fi American indie. In reality, I like a lot of stuff. My partner and I have a very eclectic collection and we go to a lot of gigs. In 2024 we’ve seen Interpol, Elbow, Giles Peterson, Weezer/Smashing Pumpkins, The Go! Team, Paul McCartney and the Mary Wallopers! We’re big music fans and at the centre of that passion is soul music.


Why do you think soul music continues to resonate with audiences today?


It's just such an infectious sound and completely omnipresent. It's sampled in all the best HipHop, on TV adverts and on in every hipster shop, café, deli and bar’s Spotify Playlist.


I was a late adopter to Spotify (not majorly late but slow enough to realise I was missing out) and hadn’t really realised there was a “curated playlist”. One morning I was in a café and the Gospel Comforters – Yes God is Real came on their sound system. I said to the guy on the counter, ‘Gospel Comforters! I’ve got this on a 7’. He looked at me like I’d had just claimed the earth was flat and mumbled something about a ‘random soul playlist that head office suggested they play in store’.


Good soul music is everywhere, and someone somewhere recognises its importance…the marketing person working on TV branding, the coffee shop owner and the Hip Hop hero’s who knew the groove was dope. You hear it everywhere and if you’re interested you make moves to find out more and that’s what keeps the whole thing going.


And Finally... If you had to describe yourself using only the title of a soul record, what would it be? 


A Lucky Fellow - Maurice Jackson. A chance offer to work behind a bar one night as a 17-year-old allowed me to hear amazing music, meet great people, see wonderful cities and change my entire life in such a positive way. 



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