REMEDY has been hosting inclusive dance parties in Bedford since 2025. On Saturday (25 April), they are back at Dom Polski and this time, they have one of the UK’s most influential DJs and tastemakers hosting the party: Colin Curtis.
Colin’s legacy is immense. He has influenced the likes of Giles Peterson, Mr Scruff, Pete Tong and Luke Uno Bomber, and he was the first to introduce the UK to Disco, Jazz-Funk, Jazz Fusion, Electro and House Music.
Ahead of his upcoming REMEDY set, we asked the REMEDY team to interview Colin about his career, club culture, and why dancing together is important for community.
REMEDY: One legendary chapter of your career was your residency at Mecca, an old ballroom converted into a nightclub in Blackpool. You led a musical revolution there in the 70s, introducing new sounds every week.
What inspired you to introduce new sounds to the dance floor?
Colin Curtis: At the time, new releases from the States that were played on the radio were mainly ballads or James Brown records.
I wanted to introduce records to the Northern Soul crowd who liked rare records… so each week I’d buy 30 to 50 newly released singles to play.
I started to get a lot of stick and push back, but the more stick I got, the more I played them. For example, when I played Gill Scott Heron’s The Bottle, everyone pushed back and now it has become one of the greatest Northern Soul records. [It] changed the game.
To push the music forward, you have to introduce new music: it doesn’t necessarily have to be brand new; this could include records that are unknown. The DJs with the biggest bollocks will have the biggest success in pushing novel records.
REMEDY: After your time at the Mecca, you moved onto play an integral role in pushing the jazz-funk and fusion.
Colin Curtis: The whole Jazz scene started in Birmingham with Graeme Ward.
I took the idea back to Manchester because I liked the dancing: the dancers were expressing themselves to long disco tracks where you’ve got the percussive breakdowns. It would allow dancers to interpret it in a more balletic style.
REMEDY: And your residency at the Berlin Club further expanded the horizon of what could be played at a club night.
Gilles Peterson, who came to your night, has said it was a source of inspiration for Dingwalls.
Colin Curtis: I think what Gilles took away from the Berlin Club was that it is important to play records across the genres: Philadelphia disco, Brazilian music, Jazz. Peterson turned up to my club, was inspired by this, and did something unique with it.
REMEDY: You were also pivotal in introducing House music into the UK.
Colin Curtis: What attracted me to House Music was that it was dancing music with an attitude. Just like the Northern Soul records, House music had something to say about the times: it was spreading a message about what was happening in the streets of New York and Chicago.
I was one of the first to start playing house music in Manchester.
At the time, we didn’t know what to call it; was it shed, was it garage music? What was it?
You’ve always got to keep an open mind to what is new and how you can incorporate it into your style without losing your integrity. Open-minded venues like the Jive Turkey opened the door for a new generation of DJs like Mr Scruff and Luke Una Bomber.
REMEDY: You’ve played an important role in shaping the tastes and sounds of dance floors across the UK, and you’ve always championed underground sounds. Why do you think it is important for people to come together and dance?
Colin Curtis: The scene that we know was not just built on music and resident clubs. People who wanted to dance and belong formed a framework for the music that was played at these clubs.
I think what people find at a club or a dance is a feeling of belonging.
People are connecting with like-minded people and coming together to bust a move. It doesn’t matter whether you are good or crap at dancing. We are all here to have a good time and connect on a social level.
Colin Curtis will be at REMEDY at Dom Polski, Ashburnham Road, on Saturday, 25 April. Get your ticket from their website here.
