JOCK'S RAP
- Mandi James
New Musical Express, 15 December 1990

You may need no introduction to THE SPINMASTERS, but Darren [Daz] Partington
and Andrew [Andy] Barker have a reputation which precedes their current 
status as popstars. They have been the names behind the wildest nights in the
Northern hemisphere and are currently reviving flagging enthusiasm, stirring
the atmosphere to fever pitch and drawing people back into the clubs.

Andy and Darren began DJing when they hit double figures, cutting vinyl [as
part of The Hitsquad M/Cr] at the local Salvation Army Youth Club when most
of their peer group were in bed before sundown. Before Manchester's
Thunderdome disappeared in a fiery inferno and became a target of gun-toting
villains, The Spinmasters were drawing crowds of over 1,000 [1 000 not 1.000]
to their Saturday night/Sunday morning communion.

Enter the Soundgarden, it's low ceilings, high atmosphere, beer slopped floor
and (hyper) ventilation taking the politics of dancing right back to basics.
Good solid tunes, good soggy clothing and good, packed dancefloor.

"A lot of people have said they hadn't bothered going out since the Thunder-
dome, they've migrated straight to the Soundgarden. We're playing probably
the hardest music in town which caters to a real specific crowd."

Scaring the pants off the uninitiated and sending old faithfuls potty, The
Spinmasters' night at the Soundgarden is a welcome change to one dimensional
dance floors and dot to dot DJing. And if weekend binges aren't enough to
sate your appetite, Spinmasters host a Tuesday night radio show on 
Manchester's Sunset Radio. [When i last heard, it was weekend evenings on
Manchester's KISS FM].

Although confined to limited airwaves, the show has hit cult status and is
gradually seeping all over the country [via digital quality CD bootlegs] -
playing the hottest selection of "them tunes what are bangin'" and stitching
the tracks together with chaotic humour, surreal adverts and the legendary
problem page.

PARADISE 10  [Spinmasters' Fave Rave spins]

 1. IN YOUR [YER] FACE, 808 State, Tommy Boy [ZTT] 
 2. MAGNIFY MANIFESTATION, DI, Tam Tam
 3. ULTIMO, Imperio Atahualapa, DFC
 4. FATHER FORGIVE THEM (TRENT'S MIX), Holy Noise, Hithouse Records
 5. THE CALLING, Fade II Black, Network
 6. Q, Mental Cube, Debut
 7. SPLIFFHEAD, The Ragga Twins, Shut Up And Dance
 8. FERRARI, Project 1, Tam Tam
 9. KEEP IT UP (CHILLING REMAKE), YBU [featuring Anneli Mrian Drecker], SSR
10. WHITE LIGHT, Secret Desire, Vinyl Solution

 * Spinmasters play at Trance, Man Alive Club (Wednesday) & The Soundgarden,
   Back Picadilly (Saturday)