KEB DARGE, the leading Northern Soul, rockabilly, exotica, and r’n’b DJs will be spinning the decks at Shuffle in the Róisín Dubh on Friday November 1 at 11pm as part of his European tour. The Gawlay gig is his only Irish date.
From the Scottish Highlands, his journey to becoming a DJ of note was a long strange trip. It could be said that, had he not picked a fight with a kid in school, he would never have discovered taikwondo or heard Northern Soul.
“I got into DJing through taikwondo,” Keb told me on the last occasion he visited Galway. “I got a good kicking in school and had to go into hospital. I vowed that wouldn’t happen again. When I came back, I did what you do, by picking on the English kid in school.
“I went for him but he did these amazing moves and I was flat on my back. ‘What was that?’ I said. ‘Taikwondo,’ he told me. I wanted to learn so he took me down to an RAF base where there were classes. At the classes they’d play all this sixties soul stuff and I really liked it.”
During his university years Keb would travel to Wigan each week buying Northern Soul records and by the end of the seventies had built up such a collection that a local DJ, Jonathan Scott, encouraged him to start his own clubnight. Keb’s collection of 45s went down a storm and the rest is history.
By 2010, Keb Darge had compiled various compilations, including several volumes of his Legendary Deep Funk, plus Soul Spectrum, Funk Spectrum and Lost and Found with Paul Weller. Many interesting collaborations were to follow with the most poingant being the scheduled collaboration with Amy Winehouse before her untimely death. 2010 saw the release of the first of Keb Darge and Little Edith’s collaborations. In 2010, Keb Darge and Little Edith released Keb Darge and Little Edith’s Legendary Rockin’ R&B.
As www.bbemusic.com said: “He has achieved legendary status by far with a 40s to 70s musical knowledge second to none”.
Joining Keb on the night will be German promoter, vinyl collecter and DJ Gu and Galway’s own Dave Barry.
Doors @ 11 and admission is €5.
