Music

'A wonderfully creative DJ': readers' tributes to Andrew Weatherall


‘A really important artist for a whole generation of Brits’

Damn, I really can’t believe this … Weatherall deeply impacted me, my life course and, of course, my musical tastes. His work with Primal Scream on what eventually became Screamadelica opened up a whole new world of music, which led to me making lifelong friends and becoming who I am today. Thinking about it he probably impacted my actual life more than any other artist, something I hadn’t realised until learning of his passing. A really important artist for a whole generation of Brits. marmalade166

‘You could always count on Andy to push it all a little bit left field’

Bloody hell. What a shame … one of the pioneers. The Boy’s Own parties and Shoom will remain fondly in my memories. Crazy hedonistic times. The wonderful “ East Grinstead “ party probably the best of all. You could always count on Andy to push it all a little bit left field. Good times, good people. hucklehuckle

‘Someone who always did what he wanted’

More years ago than I care to remember he played my home town as the “support” for Airstream. Two local guys who thought they knew it all wandered up to the DJ booth and told Weatherall: “I own that record … you’re playing it at the wrong speed.”

“How much did you pay in lads? A fiver?” Hands them their money back and tells them they can go now. Brilliant moment from someone who always did what he wanted. I’ve pretty much retired from clubbing but my last excursion was to ALFOS. Still had it. Crankyguy

‘A great influence on the soundtrack of my life’

Genuine loss to the music world. A pioneer who gave me so much inspiration and good times. A great influence on the soundtrack of my life. Thanks AW. A safe onward journey to you. PiesRnice

‘Andy Weatherall changed my life twice’

Andy Weatherall changed my life twice: once with Loaded, and the second time many years later, when I was writing for much-missed dance mag Muzik. We ran a regular feature called Do Us a Tape, where we’d get DJs to do just that. Usually it was just a bunch of “now” tunes they’d thrown together on a C90, but when I turned up to Weatherall’s studio, he’d prepared a double CD called The Reasons Are which was full of tracks that had influenced him. On it were Big Youth, African Head Charge, Hendrix, Miles Davis, Beefheart, Model 500, PiL … loads more.

We spent a good three hours playing and talking through each track, with Weatherall saying things like, “You can practically hear the damp in the studio on this track,” and me becoming increasingly aware that my musical horizons were being expanded there and then. Simply put, to hear him enthuse about the tracks that had inspired him changed the way that I thought about music for good, and had a profound effect on my record collection.

After the interview he played me a mix he was doing of Primal Scream’s Autobahn 66. The combination of the exclusivity, the studio sound system and the fact that I was standing next to Weatherall … I was practically levitating. JoeMeek

‘Truly one of the greatest talents of his era’

Truly one of the greatest talents of his era. He could turn his hand to anything and make it sound amazing. Two Lone Swordsmen, one of my favourite albums when travelling, was genius though it sounded just as good played at 45 v 33, I think it was intentional. whatwouldattleedo

‘Enjoy the big rave in the sky!’

One of the greatest, loved his Sabres of Paradise stuff and of course Screamadelica but for me his My Bloody Valentine remixes such as Soon and Glider have always held a special place … God bless Andy and enjoy the big rave in the sky! phoenix13

‘A wondrous addition to music’

What Andrew W did with Screamadelica is a wondrous addition to music that will ensure that that album is played for many generations to come. As a DJ hobbyist, I have played it to people both here and abroad, along with their later effort Vanishing Point, and more often than not it gets people moving and embracing the mood. Both great albums. Hope he keeps spinning as he’s movin’ on up. Yodafoney

‘Andy, you were really one of a kind’

I had the pleasure of playing a gig with Andy at Brixton Academy, he wiped the floor with me. A wonderfully creative DJ with no boundaries, a giant sense of the ridiculous in life and a friend to all, he really just couldn’t stop with the tunes … bye bye Andy, you were really one of a kind. stevebarker

‘Everything he touched he made better, more interesting, more weird’

Awful news. Safe to say he was a hell of a lot more than just the producer of Screamadelica – which is essentially a Weatherall album with Primal Scream as guests. Morning White Dove, the album he made with One Dove is just as good. Everything he touched he made better, more interesting, more weird. His brilliant remixes show that he saw things in music that no one else did, and his 1993 Essential Mix remains an education in the art of being a DJ. Devastating. Dava007



READ SOURCE

Leave a Reply

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this site, you accept our use of cookies.