Black Market: a name synonymous with UK’s dance music phenomenon. From rare groove to rave conspiracies and beyond, they’ve got more tales to tell than every premier league DJ put together. The iconic brand was created in 1984 by Rene Gelston… Little did he know how much of an impact his weekly Friday party at the Wag club on Wardour Street would have.
2012 sees an exciting new phase begin for the trusted brand as it’s developed an innovative digital platform, a collection of designer DJ headphones and a cool range of Ts and hoodies. Naturally we’ve got a whole heap of merchandise to give away. So read on for a unique history lesson complete with a handful of time-defining tracks…
The Black Market story begins in the Wag Club, London’s West End. The DJs at the time Barry Sharpe and Lascelles created what would go on to be called Rare Groove, a sound that broke new ground not only musically but socially too. Rene made sure the door policy was friendly towards black kids, a first for a Central London club at the time (as noted by The Independent then). And they weren’t the only ones impressed with the new scene. The mix of hot but hard to find jazz, funk and soul attracted curious famous musicians.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uhsloOfCMD4
Black Market received the ultimate stamp of cool for an 80s night club; an appearance by Grace Jones. Not only that, but it stayed open extra late till 7am for her as she demanded the DJs ‘play more now’ whenever manager Alan tried to wind the party down.
Nightlife bible Time Out meanwhile recognised Black Market’s influence stating “when Black Market sneezes, club land catches a cold”. In response to demand further afield, they hosted nights in Milan and Paris before going on to take up a residency in New York in the summer of 1987. The club on W20th was perfect – a small venue that still had a huge disco ball in place over the dance floor. At their first meeting the owner told Rene that ”no way would a little white kid from England fill his club”.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zk8gwpjvIL0
Unfazed, the “little white kid” flyered outside the Paradise Garage and harangued local DJs for shout-outs. Pretty soon the famous London vibe was created and The Village Voice proclaimed “thank God for the Brits”. British dance bible i-D conceded “many Brits bullshit about opening clubs in New York but Black Market was the only one to have success”. The Chicago House sound was having an impact and the NY club put on some of the classic acts of the era – Liz Torres, Master C&J, Moon Fou and Cultural Vibe. Manning the decks were Maurice Watson and AZULI’S Dave Piccione getting his first club DJ break.
On Rene’s return to the UK he became a Transatlantic catalyst, a Johnny Appleseed for the US sound in the UK. He realised house music was going to be a game changer. As a regular at Paradise Garage and a frequent visitor to The Loft and The Zanzibar, he could see its irresistible pull was beginning to have a massive effect. He made a brave and bold decision….
No longer would Black Market at the Wag club concentrate mainly on rare groove but rather London, and indeed the UK, would be treated to an all-out assault of Chicago house and New York garage sounds along with Stateside rap. The club would be renamed Trax. Alas it was not the immediate success he envisioned and after only a couple of months he decided to call it a day. Commentators later acknowledged this club was light years ahead for 1988.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TUDWbTJiclI
But that wasn’t the end of the story. What came next proved to be phenomenal – namely the iconic Black Market Records store in London’s D’Arblay Street. Along with Steve Jervier, Rene put his vision for an innovative dance music store into practice. Pride of place went to a fantastic sound system manned by DJs spinning new and unbelievably exciting sounds that drew in hungry customers. The store frontage was a window through which the DJs could be seen spinning their wares. The vibe extended out into the street as people going about a busy Soho were stopped in their tracks amazed by the queues spilling out. Weekends were a total road block.
Black Market Records was the engine firing up the explosion in dance music, selling 12s as fast as they came in the store and always first on the distributors lists. The tales from those heady days have become legendary.
As the Summer Of Love kicked in, the store became notorious. The press were desperate for inside info on the illegal scene. It was a time of “folk devils and moral panics”. The Sun was particularly insistent, so Rene and Steve decided to spin them a line. With straight faces they informed The Sun reporter that it was a Mr T who was the main player. Unbelievably the guy fell for it and the paper duly provided it’s readership with tales of this shady Mr T and his evil empire of drugs and enforcers.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AFKXdTpOIak
One Saturday afternoon a guy entered a packed shop telling Steve Jervier he was a plain clothes detective from the Surrey police and that he would be working on getting the store closed down. Everyone just laughed at him. Somewhat miffed, he started to pick a fight with Steve. It didn’t go down too well and he was told in no uncertain terms to get out. Steve was consequently arrested and taken off to Lincoln jail as part of the government’s attempts to clamp down and criminalise anyone involved in promoting illegal raves. He was released the following day after lawyers intervened.
And as new genres emerged in the 90s and beyond Black Market was ever ready to deliver for its customers. Mickey D became the go-to-guy for New Jack Beat (or Swingbeat). The mercurial Ashley Beadle is just one of the future production greats to have manned the counters here. By now the word had reached the US about the Black Market Record store and Billboard ran a front page describing it as a phenomenon.
Rene then started his independent record label under the same name signing tracks from Chicago, Detroit and NYC. Larry Heard & Fingers Inc., The It, Adonis and Underground Resistance. Pioneers of house and techno were supported by this British label.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9IuSS9ecqEc
In 1990 Rene sold the store and granted Dave Piccione and Nicky a temporary licensing deal for use of the Black Market Records name for the shop. Meanwhile the label went from strength to strength, signing a deal with major label MCA/Universal and going on to sell over 2 million albums and even more singles.
In 1997 in collaboration with DJ Darren Jay, Rene launched a sub-label called Mecca Recordings. He released more music by Larry Heard including his seminal album ‘Sceneries Not Songs’.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tznVuhY8ru4
In 2002 Rene decided to return to North America, operating out of Toronto. He opened a minimalist design record store and a promotions company alongside Carl Collins, who managed operations. In 2004 and 2006 Black Market took the accolade of Toronto’s Promoter of The Year. Many of the acts promoted by Black Market now enjoy considerable global acclaim. Memorable events hosted included Skream, Jeff Mills, Quest Love, Derrick May, Larry Heard, Robert Owens, Morgan Geist, Alexander Robotnik, Steve Bug, Adam Beyer, Magda, Dillinja, Hype, Marcus Intalex, High Contrast, Kerri Chandler, Danny Krivit, Marshall Jefferson, Juan Atkins, Theo Parrish, Stacey Pullen and exclusive label events for Ghostly and Kompakt/Red Bull Music Academy.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b8zWbpv8HKQ
Since returning to the UK, Rene and Nick Dunlop (a new tech partner) have been researching and preparing for the next exciting chapter in the Black Market story. It all starts with these high-tech headphones…
With a frequency response of 20Hz – 20KHz and an impedance of 32ohms, not only are the ML101s crisp, clear and comfy, they also offer the same technology as the nearest headphone rivals at a third of the price. Black Market: once again, ahead of the game.
We’ve got five pairs of headphones PLUS five hoodies AND five Ts to giveaway. All you need to do is answer this simple question…
Which London nightclub did the Black Market story begin?
A) Wag Club
B) Shag Club
C) Timelag Club
D) Electronic Tag Club
EASY! Get those answers, along with your name and address to comps@breakbeat.co.uk by March 25 for a chance to win all of this loot. Good luck!