Eddie Rhead is back for part two – and this time we’re going even deeper into Hardcore Uproar, K-Klass, Blackburn raves, Glasgow all-nighters and the wild journeys that came with the early house scene.
We start with Eddie’s infamous moment outside Cream in Liverpool, after reading a Mixmag interview where Mr C from The Shamen slags off the North and acts like London invented house music. By pure chance, Eddie’s parked outside Cream doing a driving job when Mr C walks out – and instead of an autograph request, he winds down the window and shouts: “Hey Mr C, come here… you’re a c**t!” Then speeds off, giggling.
From there we head straight into the music. Eddie talks about being one of the very first people to hear Hardcore Uproar by Suddi & Jonathan – sat in a car at a dodgy house party in East Manchester, listening to a tape they’d literally finished that week. He remembers how it fit the moment perfectly: Blackburn raves, Hacienda mid-weekers, an instant anthem that blew up everywhere and even soundtracked the 1990 World Cup highlights. He also shares the sad story of Suddi’s mate Jonathan and his girlfriend losing their lives in Ibiza – one of the first big tragedies of that scene, when everyone still felt invincible.
Then we get the K-Klass memories. Eddie recalls standing on the Hacienda dancefloor next to Paul from K-Klass when “Rhythm Is a Mystery” dropped for the first time. The piano comes in, the place goes off, and Eddie turns to him and asks, “Is this your record?” Paul hides under his long blond hair, clearly emotional, as his tune instantly becomes a future classic.
Eddie also talks about:
• How house music educated a generation – from South Soul samples to New York piano house and Detroit techno
• Blackburn and Glasgow raves, including Slam in the Park and Slam all-nighters at the Scottish Exhibition Centre
• Coaching it up from the Hacienda to Glasgow, getting off his head, getting lost in a van, nearly setting it on fire, and somehow always finding his way home
• Tenerife beach raves, dodgy generators, tripping on a cliff road and deciding he has to get a flight home early
We then jump to Eddie’s life now with The Modernist – the not-for-profit he helps run in Manchester with a shop and gallery on Port Street, a magazine and books celebrating modernist architecture and design. He tells the brilliant story of how Johnny Marr discovered The Modernist, became a supporter, and even wore one of their badges on American TV – sending orders flooding in from around the world.
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