A Guy Called Gerald
| A Guy Called Gerald | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Gerald Simpson |
| Born | 16 February 1967 |
| Origin | Moss Side, Manchester, England |
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| Labels | |
| Associated acts | 808 State |
| Website | guycalledgerald |
| Juice Box Records | |
|---|---|
| Founder | Gerald Simpson |
| Defunct | 1998 |
| Genre | |
| Country of origin | United Kingdom |
| Location | Manchester, England |
Gerald Simpson (born 16 February 1967), better known as A Guy Called Gerald, is a British DJ, record producer and musician.
He is best known for his early work in the Manchester acid house scene in the late 1980s and the track "Voodoo Ray". At that time, he specialised in techno music produced using equipment such as the Roland TB-303 bass synthesiser and the TR-808 drum machine. His style developed during the early 1990s, and his 1995 album Black Secret Technology would become a "much-touted candidate for 'best jungle album ever.'"
Simpson was influenced by his Jamaican roots; his father's blue beat, ska and Trojan reggae record collection, his mother's Pentecostal church sessions and the Jamaican sound system parties in Manchester's Moss Side area where he grew up.
He absorbed jazz fusion and electro funk at clubs, youth clubs and shebeens such as Legends, St.Alfonso's, British Legion and the Reno in Manchester, where the dancefloor in the early 1980s inspired him to study contemporary dance. Manchester was a hotbed of dance music with black club nights open every night of the week and Simpson spent his time joining in the vibe. Around 1983 with electro booming and early hip hop, breakdancing and b-boy culture making its way from the US, he left dance college to immerse himself in electronic music production. At this time music from Detroit and Chicago – from producers such as Juan Atkins, Derrick May, Kevin Saunderson was being played by Stu Allen on Piccadilly Radio and imported directly into Manchester's specialist record shops.
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