It’s a phrase oft bandied about, and rarely true - but for New Brighton’s Greg Wilson it’s bang on - this man is a DJ legend.

Pioneering the brave new world of house music, Wilson’s early-80’s sets at Wigan Pier blended soul, funk, disco and those nascent electro cuts by the likes of Afrika Bambaataa and D-Train. And when we say ‘blended’ we mean, like literally - Wilson was one of the first UK DJ’s to actually mix two records together.

It was at Manchester’s Legend club that Wilson first found his true audience. His Wednesday night sessions caused the sort of queues usually only reserved, around those parts, for Pat Phoenix. So popular were his sets, he was scooped up by a little known joint at the other side of town: The Hacienda.

Wilson was at the helm of the Hac’s first dance night, in 83. Nice to know those 24 hour party people had New Brighton to thank for their first heady taste of thrills (before the pills and bellyaches ushered in M People and gang warfare).

After a break, Wilson returned to DJing in 2003, and is now busier than ever.

Now, as then, it’s Wilson’s understanding of - and passion for - music that shines through (search out his ‘Dreaming’ remix for Goldfrapp for proof) - so it’s only natural SevenStreets would ask him for a Summer Spotify Playlist…

But first, a few questions:

You’re busy these days. Enjoying yourself again?

Yeah, it can be a bit full-on at times, but all good – I remember what it was like to have all the time in the world on my hands, but I wasn’t happy with that situation. It’s much better to be busy than to be wasting away in the wilderness.

Tell us about your electrofunkroots project…

I set up www.electrofunkroots.co.uk to document what was happening on the black scene in the early 80’s – which is pivotal for a thorough understanding of UK dance culture.

This underpins everything that follows, yet it just wasn’t being mentioned in the various histories that had been documented. I still had all my archive material from the period, so I thought a website would provide the best way for me to draw peoples attention to what was pretty much the missing link between the Soul, Funk, Disco era, and what developed later with the Hip Hop, House and Techno scenes. cont…