PAST NEWS
SWINGIN' 69
On turning 69, Scratchy launches into ‘Swingin’ 69’, the banner under which Scratchy’s gigs over the next year will fall. The first weekend kicks off on Friday Sept 10th with a special guest appearance on Rupert Orton’s Pink Lemonade programme on Totally Wired Radio at 4pm UK time. Later that evening Scratchy joins his Gypsy Hotel compadre Paul-Ronney Angel of the Urban Voodoo Machine on P-R’s 77th Gypsy Hotel TV live broadcast on facebook. Sat Sept 11th, 20 years after he woke in New York to the sight of smoke pouring out of one of the towers of The World Trade Centre, Scratchy hosts the first Swingin 69 DJ event at Paper Dress Vintage, where he will be joined by fellow vinyl spinners Diddy Wah, DJ Bioux and Evil Elvis, from 1-7pm. On a date that is filled with so many memories, in a world that has changed dramatically in the past two decades, not least over the past couple of years, today will be more about the kind of perseverance and friendship that keeps us going and the human spirit that defies intolerance, hatred and bigotry. What better way to do that than with great music and company!
SWINGIN': Back at the Shack by the Track
Join Scratchy on Sun 6 June for a swingin’ afternoon and evening mix of seven decades of universal blues, beat, surf, rockabilly, rhythm & blues, latin, reggae, ska, gospel, garage, soul and rock'n'roll!
Swingin' selector Scratchy will be joined in the Shack by fellow DJs Natty Bo and El Roy.
OGQ's EXOTIC SUNDAY DJ TRIP
Scratchy is delighted to be joining his pals Tina & Simon of Oh!Gunquit
to spin some globalista tunes at 'OGQ's Exotic Trip' in the Paper Dress Vintage yard on May 16th. Be There or Be Nowhere!
45 YEARS OF SCRATCHY SOUNDS
APRIL 17th 2021 AND WE'RE BACK...
Jerkin' and Twistin' us out of the dark, on the first Saturday after the long winter lockdown, Scratchy and Diddy Wah return to the Paper Dress Vintage Backyard Shack with a DJ All-Dayer, on which they are joined by fellow vinyl fetishists, Joey Hill and Hey Paula. With the PDV shop open and the Bohemia Place Market in full Afro-Caribbean swing, London E8 is the place to be, on Saturday April 17th 2021.
NOVEMBER / DECEMBER 2020
FLICKERS OF LIGHT
On the eve of Lockdown 2.0, Scratchy put in a 5-hour session in the Paper Dress Vintage Backyard Shack, whilst Kitty Daisy and Lewis played a storming couple of rootsy sets inside the venue.
Scratchy is part of the gang bringing London out of Lockdown 2.0 in the Paper Dress Vintage Backyard Shack for the launch of the latest Oh!Gunquit album, 'Why Haven't You Watered The Plants?'.
AUGUST 2020
FIRE DOWN BELOW CLUB
Scratchy will be back on the decks after a five month enforced break, for a Bank Holiday Saturday Special, teaming up with fellow ace DJ Diddy Wah for Fire Down Below in the Paper Dress Vintage Backyard Shack.
Saturday August 29th: Kicks off at 3pm and goes late. Who knows when the next show will be. So book your tables and join the party!
The 20-20 LUCKY SEVEN JAPAN TOUR
Despite the difficulties involved, Scratchy was delighted to return to Japan for a seventh time this March and honour most of his commitments.
Wed March 18 SHINJUKU @ CAFE LAVANDERIA 「Clandestino」
Thurs March 19 HIGASHI MURAYAMA @ FOGGY 「Shank CB200」
Fri March 20 SENDAI @ GALLO「Rebel ❷ Top・Scratchy & 藤井悟」
Sat March 21 UTSUNOMIYA @ SNOKEY RECORDS「Viva Mexico Cabrones」
Mon March 23 CHOFU @ CROSS
Tue March 24 SHINJUKU @ MOTION 「Fight For Rights vol.88」
Scratchy deeply regrets he had to cancel the following final two shows and sends his apologies. This was unavoidably due to having to return to London prematurely, because of the global impact of the coronavirus and the rapidly changing situation in the UK. Hopefully another chance to play Drink 'Em All and Rumba Loco will present itself in the future:
Fri March 27 SAPPORO @ PROVO「Drink`Em All Sapporo vol.3」
Sun March 29 MATSUYAMA @ BAR CAEZAR 「Rumba.Loco Club」
MUSEUM OF LONDON CALLING
Some artefacts from Scratchy’s personal archive are on display, as part of the the new exhibition at the Museum Of London, honouring The Clash and their album 'London Calling’, that was released 40 years ago. Scratchy has also contributed to the Scrapbook, the hard-back companion piece to the latest edition of that classic album. Both the exhibition and the book have been curated and designed by artist Robert Gordon McHarg III.
Scratchy commented, “It’s good to know that there was actually some method in the madness of hoarding and saving these dust-collecting momentos, through all the moves and miles that have intervened over years that have passed. I’m delighted a few of them are being unearthed for this incredibly important celebration. The two years I spent as the band's tour DJ was a period of my life that I particularly cherish. It had a major impact on the road I have travelled down over the four decades since and, no doubt, will continue to do so, during whatever lies ahead.”
Just as some of these kept items came in handy for the sleeve of the Scratchy Sounds compilation, released by Trojan in 2004, so, now, a few more get to see the light of day. And there’s still more to come.
The exhibition openedon Friday November 15th 2019 and runs until April 19th 2020 at the Museum Of London.
Entrance to the exhibition is free.
Scratchy was on hand on the launch night, to conjure up a flavour of his Clash tour sets spinning some of his punk, reggae, ska, r&b and rock’n’roll records.
The road keeps rolling on.
The latest Scratchy Sounds for Radio Kaos Italy features a selection of the bands who opened up for the Clash, during the two-year period he joined them on the road and is now available on Mixcloud.
FEBRUARY 2020
LONDON A GO GO
Scratchy will be out with his vinyl six-guns a-blazin' around London, this February. Kicking off on the first of the month, he'll be joining those celebrating Porky's Prime Cuts, records cut by the master mastering engineer, George Peckham, at The Three Compasses in Dalton. Scratchy returns to Brave Sir Robin on the seventh with his night, Diggin' The Roots. The following weekend, Saturday night he keeps the party going at Khalid Siddiqui's '50 Years Of Action' event at Paper Dress Vintage and the next afternoon lays down some 'Good Time Religion - Groovin On A Sunday Afternoon' once again at Brave Sir Robin and is back there again the following Sunday.
Kicking off this Bank Holiday Sunday, Aug 25th, I’ll be embarking on a month of rather splendid dates around Ol’ London Town. All starts with compering and flipping the discs on the main stage of the Clerkenwell Festival. August end on the 31st in Leytonstone with Oh! Gunquit and Miraculous Mule for What's Cookin'. But come Sept 7th, I’ll be back on the turntables of Brave Sir Robin, where I'll comfortably slot into the space right by the bar, on the eve of turning 67. A week later, Saturday Sept 14th, I join the bill alongside fellow guests Paul-Ronney Angel and 7inch Max to celebrate the launch of The Future Shape Of Sound new single launch. After that night's testifying down by the river, there's a perfect chance to ease our tormented souls back down to earth with another date at Brave Sir Robin, for a Sunday afternoon JA-style session of Ska, Dub & Roots Reggae. Back for the first time in a while at the Constitution with my Club Limbo buddies, the following weekend starts here on Friday Sept 20th, before rounding off my Go Go month with a 5-hour session at Mirth, Marvel & Maud. If still standing, on the 28th I’ll take the groove 40 miles west and slide along the M4 for a rearranged Purple Turtle garden party and give Reading a dose of what it’s all a-go-go about.
Til then though, London’s a-happening baby!
Sun Aug 25th: Clerkenwell Festival (main stage), EC1
Sat Aug 31st: Oh Lord It's Oh! Gunquit & Miraculous Mule at What's Cookin', E11
Sat Sept 7th: Brave Sir Robin, N4
Sat Sept 14th: The Future Shape of Sound Single Release Party, Underdog Gallery, SE1
Sun Sept 15th: Roots In The Afternoon, Brave Sir Robin, N4
Fri Sept 20th: Club Limbo presents The Blue Carpet band at The Constitution, NW1
Sat Sept 21st: Mirth, Marvel & Maud, E17
Sat Sept 28th: DJ Scratchy Punky Reggae Garden Party (The Clash DJ), Purple Turtle, Reading
SUMMER 2019 IS HERE: ...and there's dancing in the streets
Summer is underway and Scratchy has already appeared at Africa Oye in Liverpool on the Trenchtown stage, a wonderful free festival where he was able to see a majestic set from the legend that is Horace Andy, as well as being blown away by relative new-comers, the dynamic BCUC from South Africa. Back in London, at the Somers Town street festival, he kept the Cock Tavern stage linked and locked, the day ending with a great performance from the Peter Perrett Band, which also featured a few songs where Peter was joined by John & Alan of The Only Ones.
Rain stopped play on Scratchy's July Garden Party gig at the Purple Turtle. Worry not Reading, the date has been rescheduled for September, a month that will also see Scratchy back at Club Limbo at the Constitution.
Still to come, Scratchy will round off July on the 27th, returning with a bunch of 45s to the decks of Brave Sir Robin. August then finds Scratchy in Andalucia and Ariano. From Aug 8th to 11th, Scratchy will be part of the rotating line-up, alongside his Texan carnales, Los Skarnales, each night playing a different white town as part of the Pueblos Blancos Festival, taking in Montejaque, Grazalema, Villaluenga del Rosario and the spectacularly gorge-ous Ronda. The following week, it's off for a third time to the Ariano Folk Festival, to play the main stage alongside Gaye Su Akyol and Natty Bo & The Top Kats.
AUG 14th - 18th 2019: Ariano Folkfestival
This August, Scratchy will return to play the wonderful Ariano Folkfestival for a third time.
MAY DAY 2019: Scratchy joins 'Caribbean Dandy' and launches new website
Coinciding with the launch of this revamped website, it is with immense pleasure that we can also announce that Scratchy has been invited to become part of the Tokyo-based DJ Collective Caribbean Dandy, whose members he has regularly worked alongside over the course of the six tours he has made to Japan.
Satoru Fujii a.k.a Satol F. (Clandestino), Tetz Matsuoka a.k.a Prince Matsuoka (Club Ska), Kaz Sudo (Afro Boogaloo Ska Academy), Txako (Japonicus) and Amemiya ksk (discos Papkin) all have their own unique talents, style and specialities, but are bound together in a commonality of spirit and shared love of global mestizo music. Scratchy’s broad and deep, roots rockin’ rhythms and blues foundation to The Rock and The Roll of The World, further complements the mix of sounds, as well as characters, that goes into making Caribbean Dandy so special.
Scratchy says: "I am so proud that my brothers and sister of Caribbean Dandy, are not only my friends and family, but have seen fit to bestow on this veteran, such an incredible honour and I look forward to hooking up with them around the globe, wherever and whenever is possible"
MARCH 2019: Hanami Return Tour
March 2019, Scratchy will be setting sail on his sixth outing around Japan.
The Hanami Return Tour will once again be seeking a sky full of the sakura cherry blossom. Along the way, Scratchy will be hooking up with many of his ol' friends from the Japonicus, Caribbean Dandy and Club Ska DJ posses, whilst playing in places both new - Higashi Murayama, Yamagata and Utsunomiya, which is famous for its Gyozas - as well as revisiting Kiryu, Sendai and, of course, slotting in some Tokyo gigs as well.
SAT JAN 19th 2019
Scratchy kicks the year off with a long overdue return to Helsinki to play alongside Finnish legends Pelle Miljoona Oy, themselves now reaching forty years since they first came together. Veritable new-comers!