Entertainment For Lively Minds
Disco sequence advice required
I may be DJing for my local club as the previous DJ is hanging up his cans.
The clientele is predominantly educated expats, mostly middle aged with a few twenty-somethings and who have broad musical tastes. People have complained that the previous DJ's sets have been rather predictable, so I'd like to spice things up a bit with tracks that most people may not have heard before but I think would go down well in amongst some golden oldie and current floor-fillers.
To help me get it right on the night, I'm seeking advice on such issues as the proportion of familiar to new tracks, what sequence I should play each type of track or should I forget looking too deeply into this and just play them at random.
Any help would be much appreciated.
- More from Henderbeast.
- Login or register to post comments
-
Not so much advice...
...as an observation (not made by me) that there are records that people will dance to, and there are records that people will start dancing to.
never met a Brit abroad
who can resist Come on Eileen
Unless
it's a specialist dance music club of one sort or another people will not dance to records that they don't know. However if you use your imagination and dig deep in the huge canon of danceable music you're bound to come up with some long forgotten not often heard gems that will still work on the floor.
Experiment early on and then let the loose the big guns in the last hour or two and send the punters home with a smile on their faces. Don't be afraid to cut a tune that's not working after the first chorus but don't cut a tune that's going down a storm off until it's end.
Don't be snobbish about taking requests, you're there for the punters not your own enjoyment. You get that when the manager sticks the money in your hand later (EDIT- that seems a bit cynical, you should enjoy it too and no DJ cannot enjoy a packed dancefloor of happy faces)(whether you let them stick anything up your nose is left to your own discretion, but if they try to at least you know you're probably doing a good job). Having a pad of paper for punters to write requests down is a good idea as you can dj on autopilot if the management are generous with complimentary drinks.
Never play Duran Duran.
You have to be flexible
Whatever plan you come up with, be prepared to ditch it on the day.
With this largely 'middle-aged' group, I'd start with something modern, then flip back and to within the decades, coming back to the present now and then.
I'd bunch three or four tunes together that are from roughly the same era. So, maybe three Tamla Motown from the 60s, three funk from the 70s, three Chic related songs and so on. The idea is once people are up dancing, they'll stay up for a few, then sit down. Make sure everything is familiar - no obscurities.
Definitely agree with the big guns in the last hour - Beyonce, Ga-Ga, Rhianna, Cee-Lo, Madonna, Prince, Michael Jackson and so on.
Have fun
That's pretty much what I had in mind
We do three events a year and I've noticed that my friends and I usually stay up for three to four tracks before reaching a natural break point (drink / loo / chat). If this was made to coincide with a change of music style it will make taking a break easier if the new style isn't their favourite to dance to. If they like it and stay up, all well and good.
However a few people have complained that the disco is the same at every event, hence the desire to introduce something a little different that they may not know at first but I think they'll grow to like. I suppose I can play it safe on the first event and gradually add some unfamiliar tracks in future events once they see where I'm coming from.
Thanks for the advice!
So many spring to mind
Educated expats you say?
Vic Reeves - Dizzy.
Pulp - Common People.
Blur - Parklife.
B52's - Loveshack.
Tone Loc - Wildthing.
Prince - 1999.
Some "rules" I learned at the rockface
Try new stuff at the beginning - if it doesn't work then, forget it until the very end of the evening.
If nothing else gets people dancing, reggae/ska will. Jamming or Red Red Wine (UB40, *not* the original!) always work, and you can move on from there.
If things start flagging, 70's disco is a good default setting, but don't play more than 3 in a row of a specific genre unless it's become obvious that's all the room wants to hear.
And in your "In case of emergency, break glass" pile, you'll need:
Come On Eileen
Dancing Queen
I Will Survive
It's Not Unusual
Jamming
Loveshack
Our House
Smells Like Teen Spirit
The Irish Rover
Town Called Malice
Enjoy!
EDIT: Just re-read the OP and trying to avoid the predictable - the above might be too obvious, but YMMV...
Two Love Shacks!
That's on my list - will follow the Stephen Merchant rule of only playing it after 11pm. I'm thinking of playing 'Good Stuff' early doors as a mood gauge
This went down a storm
I did an hour or so at a friend's wedding. I was horribly nervous about it, but the floor was heaving. I was pleased.
This was my set:
Get It On/T Rex
Need You Tonight/INXS
In Between Days/The Cure
Fools Gold/Stone Roses
I'm Free/Soup Dragons
I Can't Stand The Rain/Eruption
Hippychick/Soho
Rocks/Primal Scream
Connection/Elastica
Pump It Up/Elvis Costello
Teenage Kicks/Undertones
Cool For Cats/Squeeze
Gangsters/Specials
Israelites/Desmond Dekker
Green Onions/Booker T
These Boots Were Made For Walkin/Nancy Sinatra
Satisfaction/Stones
Blockbuster/Sweet
Queen Bitch/Bowie
Jungle Rock/Hank Mizell
Nutbush City Limits/Ike and Tina Turner
Knock On Wood/Amii Stewart
Doin' The Do/Betty Boo
You Spin Me Round/Dead Or Alive
Atomic/Blondie
You Gave Me Love/Crown Heights Affair
Footloose/Kenny Loggins