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PODCAST

Tales From A Disappearing City

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 80’s. His musical CV includes playing everywhere from plush clubs to dirty warehouses as well as mixing

music music history

All Episodes

116:10

Episode 32 - Dirty Punk to Holy Joy: 80s and 90s...

Tales From A Disappearing City ·

2025/12/01

Send us a text From 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 follo...

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133:35

Episode 31 - Strictly Kev & DJ Food - special guest -...

Tales From A Disappearing City ·

2025/07/23

Send us a text In this episode, Neil sits down with Kevin Foakes (aka Strictly Kev and DJ Food) - legendary DJ, graphic artist, and archivist of UK counterculture - for a deep dive into four decades of music, raves, graffiti, and psychedelic experimentation. Kevin's journey is a masterclass in underground creativity, spanning from Adam and the Ants fandom to hip-hop graffiti, from acid house squats to Ninja Tune's golden era. After discovering hip-hop through the legendary Subway Art book, h...

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188:02

Episode 30 - Free Party: A Folk History. Spiral...

Tales From A Disappearing City ·

2025/06/05

Send us a text In this episode we take a deep-dive into Britain's underground festival counterculture with filmmaker Aaron Trinder, creator of the groundbreaking documentary "Free Party: A Folk History." Aaron reveals how the free festival culture of the 60s and 70s collided with the explosive rave scene of the late 80s and 90s, creating a movement so powerful that the government literally rewrote the law to stop it. From the legendary Castlemorton Common Festival of 1992 - a 50,000-str...

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86:28

Episode 29 - Planet Wax: Record Shop & Vital...

Tales From A Disappearing City ·

2025/05/14

Send us a text In the second part of our chat, we continue our conversation with Chris (aka Dexta), following his journey from aspiring DJ to co-founder of Planet Wax, the New Cross institution that has become a cornerstone of London's underground dance music scene. "Record shops aren't just about selling vinyl—they're about creating a space where the culture can breathe," Dexta explains. In this episode, we discuss how Dexta founded Diffrent Music in 2010 with his friend Jamie. This experime...

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85:38

Episode 28 - Cereal Box Beats, UK Garage, Radio &...

Tales From A Disappearing City ·

2025/04/24

Send us a text In the first of a two-part conversation, we sit down with Chris (aka Dexta), co-founder of Planet Wax, a legendary record shop, bar, venue, and radio station in New Cross dedicated to underground dance music and its surrounding culture and community. This episode explores Dexta's journey through the UK music scene from the late 1990s to early 2010s. Growing up in North London, his musical passion began with compilation albums and cassette tapes, with a particular affinity for T...

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96:20

Episode 27 - 80's Ibiza, Ecstacy & Acid House -...

Tales From A Disappearing City ·

2025/03/26

Send us a text In part two of our conversation, Ian St. Paul shares his remarkable journey through some of the most influential moments in dance music history. Beginning with his first trip to Ibiza in 1984, Ian recounts how what started as a holiday transformed into a life-changing adventure that would shape club culture for decades to come. The conversation traces Ian's evolution from running bars in Ibiza to becoming a pivotal figure in London's acid house scene, where he founded legenda...

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63:35

Episode 26 - 70's London Soulboy Scene & Paradise...

Tales From A Disappearing City ·

2025/03/05

Send us a text In this captivating first installment of our two-part conversation, Ian shares his remarkable coming-of-age story: from his teenage years in South London's vibrant soul scene of the 1970s to living in New York from 1980 to 1983, concluding as he departs for Ibiza in 1984. Ian St Paul stands as a genuine pioneer of London's underground music scene. Raised on the Roundshaw Estate in South London, he discovered soul records at age 13, igniting a lifelong passion for music. He quic...

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94:10

Episode 25 - Pushing Boundaries: Playing Across...

Tales From A Disappearing City ·

2024/12/11

In part two of my conversation with DJ/producer Warlock, we explore his fascinating musical evolution and contributions to UK electronic music. The episode traces his journey from playing UK hardcore in the early 90s to embracing the harder European techno scene as well as a multitude of other underground genres and styles over the years.Jason shares his experiences working at Kickin Records alongside Peter Harris, where he handled A&R and compilation licensing. He then discusses co-found...

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78:47

Episode 24 - Raves, Record Shops and Pirate Radio...

Tales From A Disappearing City ·

2024/11/13

Join me for part one of my two-part conversation with Warlock. A raw, unfiltered journey through the golden age of pirate radio, and the birth of jungle. In this episode, Jason takes us deep into the underground scene of early 90s London. From running pirate radio in student halls to getting caught by the DTI live on air. This episode is a raw slice of UK dance music history.Some of the many topics discussed include:His journey from Watford to Stafford and eventually down to LondonInvol...

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75:26

Episode 23 - Squat Parties, Record Shops and Techno -...

Tales From A Disappearing City ·

2024/09/25

This is the second part of my two-part conversation with Jerome Hill, a DJ and producer renowned for his exceptional skills behind the turntables. Since his first gig in 1990, Jerome has been mixing and scratching a wide variety of sounds, always bringing a selection guaranteed to energize any party.In this episode, we discuss several key topics, including:Club UK: A nightclub in Wandsworth, London, active in the early to mid-1990s, where Jerome was introduced to the harder sounds of techno t...

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83:56

Episode 22 - Early influences: Skating, Breakbeats...

Tales From A Disappearing City ·

2024/09/05

Join me for part one of my two-part conversation with Jerome Hill, a DJ and producer renowned for his top-notch skills behind the turntables. Since his first gig back in 1990, Jerome has been mixing and scratching up an eclectic storm, always armed with a selection guaranteed to rock any party. Jerome also runs a diverse range of record labels across multiple genres and styles. These include:Don't for fucked up party technoSuper Rhythm Trax for acid, bleeps, and house groovesHornsey Hardcore ...

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96:26

Episode 21 - Acid Techno, Squat Parties and Sound...

Tales From A Disappearing City ·

2024/07/31

Join me for the second part of my conversation with Gizelle, a key figure in London's 1990s underground acid techno scene. Starting in 1990, we explore the evolution of acid house and the emergence of multiple new genres in the UK music landscape. In this episode, Gizelle shares her experiences on:Her involvement with the Zero Gravity collective and underground party organisationProtests against the Criminal Justice BillEarly music production, collaborating with Henry (Dave the Drummer) and G...

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66:25

Episode 20 - Lovers Rock, Charisma and Acid House -...

Tales From A Disappearing City ·

2024/07/10

Join us for the first part of our captivating conversation with Gizelle, a pioneering female DJ who witnessed the birth of London's acid house scene. From her roots in Lovers Rock to becoming a trailblazing DJ, Gizelle takes us on a nostalgic trip through late 80s and early 90s club culture. In this episode some of the many topics we discuss are:Gizelle's musical beginnings with Charisma, a Lovers Rock groupHer first DJ gig at Winston's Bar in Deptford (1987)Discovering and incorporating acid...

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61:39

Episode 19 - Black Market Records, Jungle and...

Tales From A Disappearing City ·

2024/06/05

In this second instalment of our two-part conversation, we discuss Rachel's expanding career as a DJ, playing at more venues in London, including the influential Movement at Rumba and Herbal in Shoreditch. We talk about her job at the legendary Soho record shop Black Market and how she immersed herself in various scenes across multiple genres and subcultures. This includes helping to set up the London Underground venue at the Glastonbury Festival, playing in clubs and warehouses, and performi...

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62:02

Episode 18 - 90's London Subculture. Fashion, Clubs...

Tales From A Disappearing City ·

2024/05/15

Welcome to Episode 18, where I sit down for a lively chat with Rachel, better known as Miss Pink. Our connection dates back to the mid-1990s, a time when I frequented record stores like Ambient Soho on Berwick Street and Black Market Records on D'Arbly Street, places where Rachel's passion for music shone brightly. Throughout the 90s, she made her mark as a revered jungle DJ, spinning tunes at underground warehouse raves and mainstream venues alike.In this first instalment of our two-part

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60:27

Episode 17 - Underground Raves, Electro and Releasing...

Tales From A Disappearing City ·

2024/04/24

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58:00

Episode 16 - 1980's Electro, Scratching and Making...

Tales From A Disappearing City ·

2024/04/03

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77:35

Episode 15 - Breakdancing, Acid House and Pirate...

Tales From A Disappearing City ·

2024/02/21

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37:49

Episode 14 - Berlin Riots, Anarchy and Techno -...

Tales From A Disappearing City ·

2023/12/20

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55:51

Episode 13 - Punk, Anarchy and Acid House in 1980's...

Tales From A Disappearing City ·

2023/11/29

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32 results

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