Judge Jules

Attracting a crowd from the pavement to the penthouse

t5m — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 16:13:39 +0000

Although throwing his own parties was a stressful experience, the last party that he threw ‘Mad For It’ (MFI) was one of the best Acid House parties in London, he told t5m.

The club attracted a strange crowd, from penniless ravers to the likes of pop royalty such as Prince and George Michael! From this party, he gained a lot of DJ work. Back in the day, party flyers only had the mobile number of the person throwing the party…not even the address! It was only on the evening of the party that people would call up and ask for directions, whilst driving around on the M25 in the middle of the night.

He was at the epicentre of this social movement, and some underground house ravers were resentful. The crowds just kept getting bigger…from hundreds to thousands!

A New York Minute

t5m — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 15:35:52 +0000

Jules went to Harlem, New York with his friend in search of dusty second hand records which formed the backbone of what they were going to play. The explosion of house music in the ’80s changed the direction of their music from rare groove to house.

They went to Club Paradise club in New York which was a sexually charged black gay club, the amazing thing about the club was the sound systems they had, which would only be seen in the UK 10 years later. Technology was revolutionising so much, that the ordinary person in Detroit or Chicago could afford ‘deck in hand synthesisers’ which enabled them to make music in their homes. The big labels at the time were Trax Records and DJ international, both of whom worked on a low budget recycling vinyl. The majority of the music at the time came from these two labels.

Judge Rules

t5m — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 15:30:14 +0000

DJ Judge Jules had to choose between chasing after girls or being a DJ. He chose the latter, hoping the former would follow! he told t5m. He would go to a second hand record shop called The Record and Tape Exchange in Camden where he would buy “old fashioned” (as far as the public were concerned) tracks for as little as 10p.

When he was old enough, he began doing gigs at clubs which he got through promoting his parties. The golden rule for dj-ing is to gain a strong following, and the younger you are the more friends who have which always works in your favour. He offered young people, who were going out for the first time in London, a legal way for social opportunites.

Back then parties were held in disused warehouses around London, namely Shoreditch and Old Street, which are now hotbeds for social activity. He would befriend estate agents who would allow him access, and they would bring in generators and sometimes hook up to street lamps!

He wanted to champion music that wasn’t being played in nightclubs in London.