Podcast Dusk Dubs
DD0626 Dusk Dubs - Richie Fingers

[ Richie Fingers ]

Podcast: Dusk Dubs
Artist: Richie Fingers
Title: DD0626
Style: Ska, Reggae, Pop, Soul, Funk
Time: 69 Minutes
Date: 2020-03-29

Dusk Dubs returns with another incredible journey through sounds. As always, our guest provides us with music that has a special place in their memories and in their souls. Music that moves them, that invokes images of sunrises, sunsets, good times and good people. We then play each record, in full, giving it breathing space and allowing it to shine.

This week we invite Richie Fingers to the Dusk Dubs family.

Known to his followers as “FINGERS” Richie maintains the highest standard of musical knowledge and unique mixing skills.

He has worked extensively around the UK and Europe for thirty-seven years and covering four continents .Starting his career at the Marquee in London and progressing on to open-air festivals up and down the country, productions like Energy, Sunrise, Biology and World Dance, Raindance gaining valuable experience and skills to large audiences.

In London he has resided at AWOL (The Paradise Club), The Chunnel Club (Trinity) weekly also playing at their monthly productions known as Freedom at Bagleys. He has conjured up his own interpretation of the underground sound in various clubs in London: Ministry, The Warehouse, Astoria, The Velvet Rooms, Café de Paris, Gass Club, Camden Palace, The Matrix in Reading, The Elbow Rooms, The Area in Watford, Club Distinction in Ipswich plus many more up and down the country.

He has worked in Brazil, Dubai, Canada,Honk Kong , Switzerland, Holland, France, Germany, Greece, Ibiza, Magaluf, and Cyprus.

Richie has also stretched his fingers into production and frequently spends his time in the studio and has already had various releases under his belt under the co-ownership of Justice Records and Uxbridge St Records.

“Here is my list of music that’s has sculptured my musical taste over the years and leading up to me making my decision that my vocation was steeped in music . Influences far beyond my age due to a enthusiastic mother who herself was a mean dancer taking her skills throughout the Caribbean island at the tender age of 13 Rock and Roll the Jive and the Jitterbug to name a few . Music as with most Caribbean families was the centre of all gatherings and to me it was my church ..

I was born in 1962 North London and lived between Islington and Hackney all my life and still do ... here goes first influence were being home alone whilst parents went to work and left me with lunch on the table aged 5 to 7yrs old and radio one on the wireless as i got older i found radio Luxembourg coupled with the fact Mother and Aunt Florence would frequent the community Town Hall Dances and coming back with tales of the different sounds that she heard i was intrigued the record collection started to take a different turn , early stuff coming out of USA that wasn't getting played on UK radio more underground more funky more deeper with jazz / Latino influences , So now my catalogue had a broader appeal Reggae , Rock Steady , Studio One was added from my uncles Sound System collection so dings that enabled me the knowledge to be part of a Sound System in my community Wedding , Christening , thats sort of thing was my earliest experience of playing to a larger crowd .. ” [[Richie Fingers ]]

You can find Richie HERE:
facebook.com/Richie-Fingers-200947920987
twitter.com/fingers_richie

Tracklisting

1) Kenny Lynch - Never Stop Me Loving You (1963)
A family fav from London's radio stations the first man of colour on tv and film as a child I saw, who had the same accent as I.... fascinating..

2) The Charms – Hill And Gully (1964)
In my early years as a child, records that were familiar and brought over by my parents, this was a staple for family gatherings.

3) Lee Perry and the Soulettes - Please Don't Go (1965)
This R'ock Steady' groove lwas ater to be embraced by Mods in England, i was to find out later on in my school years.

4) Derrick Harriot - Walk the streets (1967)
Many Caribbean's 'Rock Steady' and 'Reggae' tracks were covers of old Country and Western and American Rock and Roll tracks, this one being re-sung after made famous by Pasty Klines crossover into our house due to early Radio 1.

5) Archies - Sugar Sugar (1969)
A firm family fav, that I remember mum belting out a lot of English records....another crossover into our house due to early Radio 1.

6) Dramatics - What You See Is What You Get  (1971)
Out of shorts and into long pants, I started to collect Deep Soul funk from US and targeting certain record labels to get my fix.

7) Aretha Franklin - Rock Steady (1971)
The first of what would become rare grooves later on in my life by Aretha 'The Queen of Soul'.... venturing out to find where they played this music at gatherings was my next aim, it was to become very challenging.

8) Staple Singers – I’ll Take You There (1972)
This was a church song, sang by minsters of the gospel, a place where young black immigrant families came
together for safety and community.... uplifting mum called it. I hated it but the music made it easier to suppress my urge to explore outside of my parent watchful eyes .

9) JB’s – Give Me Some More (1972)
A track that was a hit in secondary school where people use to hangout in the playground and show each other family dance moves and exchange experiences outside of the family confinement. It was here that the elder boys and girls would tell me about clubland located in downtown rundown areas called shebeens illegal (House Parties) a mixture of all music in one setting ..

10) Foster Sylvers – Misdemeanor (1973)
Rare groove collection coming along strong, finding the U.S. record catalogue now to choose what I needed from the safety of home, fully supported by Mum of course, I had picked up her influence and she knew it..

11) Roy Ayers – Life Is Just A Moment (1975)
Roys Ubiquity LP was ordered and it was going to become my prize possession, I didn't have a clue, i just knew it was as usual different from the rest - later it would sell for £300 in 1998.

12) Blackbyrds - Dreaming About You (1977)
Roy Ayers and James Brown were the "go to" tracks, as I had no experience on how anyone else reacted to it, it was time to venture out..

13) Paulino Decosta – Déjà Vu (1979)
It was the late 70's for me, Disco was a powerful distraction and my first experience was bunking off school and going to Crackers to hear George Power and a very young Paul 'Trouble' Anderson, who would later become a very good friend. Daytime in the West End, I hadn't even been to the qet end until then, turning my school blazer inside out and bringing a spare tee shirt, my club experience had started with live music.

14) George Duke – Brazilian Love Affair (1979)
After leaving school, sounds system and entertaining for me was the way forward, not being able to afford club prices very often it was time to try to mimic what i'd seen. I heard this track from the famous DJ Royalty - Froggy, the second person I noticed mixing live music.....I was captivated.

15) Michael Jackson – Get On The Floor (1979)
Rolling with older boys made clubbing a bit easier, playing the younger brother roll and becoming a jazz and soul dancer of very good merit I might add, always cool with the bouncers we were entertainers.

16) Motion – No Mans A Island (1980)
Following Froggy all around London and not even thinking about going further afield location wise, I got my education on mixing by one of the best in the business, mixing music on vinyl during the disco era and beyond was the hardest lesson to learn analogue live music.

17) Roy Ayers - Goree Island (1984)
The biggest thing to happen to UK radio, Micheal's 'Off The Wall' album, it was a great summer that year.