Apparently he gave early. Nice of him.
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My old boss just pointed out Richard wrote Oakenfolds biography. CONTROVERSIAL. Tbh it should be pointed out that Richard Norris seems like a genuinely lovely human being.
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I’ve not read that bio, but how is it controversial?
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Guessing he means because Norris just rubbished Oakey’s whole backstory which has been the foundation of his career
Is Richard Norris’ book worth a read?
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Here are a few translated excerpts from the book Luis Costa and Christian Len wrote in 2020:
P193
Alfredo: the one I got to know was Nancy who was a friend of theirs. They [not specified] started to DJ after seeing me play at Amnesia and they copied me completely! Every single track! And then they gave it the name “Balearic”.
Leo Mas: I was there too through summer 1987, every night from midnight till it closed. I read about them in a magazine because they were clearly interested in what we were playing. Paul kept coming to the booth to ask what we were playing. I clearly remember him asking about Elkin & Nelson Jibaro…
P194
Alfredo: Balearic was nothing more than just a way of playing music. I played soundtracks, tv, jazz… the Pink Panther, The Color Purple…
P195
Pippi: It was just the music that was around at the time. Here they had this way of thinking… in London it was different at that time, which is why the English liked it. Amnesia’s fame really started when the English turned up
Cesar de Melero: this whole Balearic thing is really tedious! In 1987 these English guys arrived and gave the music this label: Balearic. We were already playing it at KU, Pacha, Amnesia, but it wasn’t balearic, the name didn’t exist! The stuff being heard from 1983-87 I could try and explain it to you… but it certainly wasn’t Balearic. I was playing stuff like C’Est la Ouate by Caroline Loeb at 3am at Pacha and I had people dancing slowly. There was stuff Alfredo came to be associated with and I was thinking ‘fucking hell but I played that myself a thousand times’. I’m not having a go at him and we’re great pals, but I know he would include me in the story of balearic beat…
P196
Nelo: The whole Balearic thing is something they wanted to sell… I was playing the woodentops and nitzer ebb at Glory’s. The tracks they stuck on Balearic Beats Vol 1 were things David El Nino and I were playing at KU depending on the night. But the English were masters of marketing and knew how to sell it to the world… I got to know them, Rampling, Oakenfold, and Holloway and even collaborate with them. Nicky was a really nice guy, Paul not so much…
Kenneth Bager: Pippi, Cesar, Alfredo, Nelo and Leo were the five who created this special sound.
p 197
Pippi: Kenneth is very balearic. He was there from day one. We initially didn’t know who he was and had to chuck him out the booth [smiles] But he was the only one who totally got it.
p209
Faruk Gandji: Sadly in 1987 some people turned up who wanted to commercialise our music in England and our island then turned into a goldmine…
Leo Mas: We had no idea that the music we were playing in Ibiza had been repackaged and sold on Balearic Beats Vol 1 on FFRR until Oakenfold brought us a copy in Sept 1988 and we saw the tracklist…
Cesar de Melero: On Balearic Beats Volume 1 - which passed through my hands but which I then binned - there is no mention of me, Alfredo, Nelo nor David El Nino…
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Thanks @Hierbas for the translation. Interesting read!
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Btw love the use of the word ‘mush’. Growing up in the Hampshire countryside in the 70s/80s it was a common phrase. I can only hear it said in a country accent, ‘alright mush?’
Didn’t know it was still around.
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Trying to find this book now… are they all in Spanish?
yes it is. No word on a translated edition yet…
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Is it ok to call March 2024 Balearic History Month?
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Forty K and counting folks!! x
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1 of 100 T shirt with 100% of proceeds going to Alfredo
https://www.instagram.com/p/C58OAZnMu99/?igsh=MWdsYmwwNXV6MmhrbQ==
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Really interesting. I take it there isn’t a fully translated version of the whole book?