Music flows through HemingwayDesign, and here is a blog that documents Wayne’s eclectic tastes. For more, visit Wayne’s mixcloud.
We have a special Memory Tape this week from designer Wayne Hemingway who has hand-picked tracks from the year 1983, the year he set up his first clothing factory in Blackburn, Lancashire. The tape was made to coincide with the first Festival of Making, which takes place in the town on the weekend of the 6th and 7th of May.
The festival is described as an “opportunity to see, make and do for residents and visitors to Blackburn town centre as The Festival of Making takes over the streets with music, markets, street food, art, performance, tours, talks and above all, an eclectic mix of making experiences for everyone”, and it will explore and celebrate the present day diversity in the range, scale and skills of UK-based making.
Looking back to his beginnings, Wayne Hemingway has put together this special memory tape for us, It’s an eclectic bag of goodies taking in indie, soul, boogie, Brit -funk and Bowie. It marks the year 1983, and the tracks are all taken from Wayne’s personal vinyl collection. Here’s the man himself to give us some more insight…
By 1983 I had been in London for 4 years and Gerardine (my design partner) and wife we combining dealing with the take-off of our first label Red or Dead which had started of Kensington Market and was now starting to open shops selling mountains of second-hand clothes at Camden Market.
The music scene was amazing and totally diverse. You could sing along to the intelligent pop of Aztec Camera and Orange Juice or dance in clubs like le Beat Route (think “Friday Night Beat Route” the lyric from Chant 1 from Spandau Ballet) to bands that had grown up, like me, listening to Northern Soul. Joe Boxers’s, Just Got Lucky sums up that “Blue Eyed Soul”, Dexys’s Midnight Runners inspired vibe that was also partially mined by a band I was in, Diversen.
Whilst many of us soulies had strayed into punk and indie, we still couldn’t stay away from the soul clubs. For me it was The Royalty in Southgate and The Wag Club and these dance tracks were what Thursday and Saturday and Sunday nights were all about.
Thompson Twins – Love on Your Side
New Order – Blue Monday
The Smiths – Hand in Glove
Style Council – Long Hot Summer
Echo & the Bunnymen – Never Stop
Orange Juice – Rip It Up
Aztec Camera – Oblivious
Jo Boxers – Just got Lucky
Bauhaus – She’s In Parties
Ann Margret – Everybody Needs Someone Sometimes
Armenta – I Wanna Be With You
Billy Griffin – Hold Me Tighter In The Rain
Bob James – Sign O’ The Times
Chaka Khan – Ain’t Nobody
Devarne – Kiss You Everywhere
Extras – Haven’t Been Funked Enough
Fatback Band – I Found Lovin’
Stevie Wonder and Gary Byrd Experience – The Crown
Herbie Hancock – Rockit…Electro!
Jazzy Dee – Get on up
Julia & Co – Breakin Down
Kid Creole – Going Places
Oliver Cheatham – Get Down Saturday Night
Shannon – Let the Music Play
David Joseph – You Can’t Hide
Freeez – IOU
David Bowie – Let’s Dance