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Tales From A Disappearing CityAuthor: Controlled Weirdness
Hosted from a South London tower block by Neil Keating aka Controlled Weirdness. Tales from a Disappearing City is a chance for Neil to tell some untold subcultural stories from past and present, joined by friends from his lifelong journey through subterranean London. Neil is a veteran producer and DJ and has been at the front line of all aspects of club and sound system culture since the early 80s. His musical CV includes playing everywhere from plush clubs to dirty warehouses as well as mixing tunes on a variety of iconic London pirate radio stations. He has released music on numerous underground record labels and was responsible for promoting and playing at a series of legendary early raves in the USA at the start of the 90s. He still DJ's in the UK and throughout Europe and beyond and has an eclectic and seriously deep collection of music built up over time that reflects an appreciation of all elements of the London groove. Neil currently runs Presence Unknown, a vinyl and digital label dedicated to releasing music influenced by his love of Electro, Acid House and Rave. He also does a fortnightly radio show live from Planet Wax record store in New Cross where his aim as always is to play you some amazing music that you have never heard before. Language: en-gb Genres: Music, Music History, Music Interviews Contact email: Get it Feed URL: Get it iTunes ID: Get it |
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Episode 32 - Dirty Punk to Holy Joy: 80s and 90s London Stories - special guest - Johny Brown
Sunday, 30 November, 2025
Send us a textFrom a "dirty punk" being shamed in his Newcastle school assembly to sharing a beer with the Sex Pistols, Johny Brown lived the explosive birth of UK punk. But that was only the beginning. In this episode of Tales of a Disappearing City, Johny takes us on a wild journey through underground culture. He recounts jumping out of his window to escape being grounded for a TV appearance, only to be handed a ticket to a Sex Pistols gig in Middlesborough by Steve Jones himself. We follow him to London, where he immersed himself in the squatting scene, the industrial noise of Test Department, legendary clubs like The Beat Route and Flim Flam, and the anarchic warehouse parties of the Mutoid Waste collective. This is a story of creative reinvention, from homemade clothes and experimental cassette tapes to forming the beloved band Holy Joy, launching a groundbreaking radio show on Resonance FM, and creating avant-garde theatre. It’s a firsthand account of 80s and 90s London, a city of chaos, community, and relentless creativity, and a powerful reminder to always "keep the faith".Some great subcultural links mentioned in this episode:https://www.boredteenagers.co.uk/speed.htmhttps://briangibson.yolasite.comhttps://www.instagram.com/cindy_stern_11/https://www.instagram.com/soulboyssoulgirls/Support the showhttps://www.youtube.com/@ControlledWeirdnesshttps://open.spotify.com/artist/20nC7cQni8ZrvRC2REZjOIhttps://www.instagram.com/controlledweirdness/https://controlledweirdness.bandcamp.com/Theme song is Controlled Weirdness - Drifting in the Streetshttps://open.spotify.com/track/7GJfmYy4RjMyLIg9nffuktHosted from a South London tower block by Neil Keating aka Controlled Weirdness. Tales from a Disappearing City is a chance for Neil to tell some untold subcultural stories from past and present, joined by friends from his lifelong journey through subterranean London. Neil is a veteran producer and DJ and has been at the front line of all aspects of club and sound system culture since the mid 80’s when he first began to go to nightclubs, gigs, and illegal parties. His musical CV includes playing everywhere from plush clubs to dirty warehouses as well as mixing tunes on a variety of iconic London pirate radio stations. He has released music on numerous underground record labels and was responsible for promoting and playing at a series of legendary early raves in the USA at the start of the 90’s. He still DJ's in the UK and throu...
