Chad Jackson - Biography
Chad Jackson started behind the decks before it was even trendy to be
a DJ, and today can be credited as one of the people that popularised
the art of DJ Mixing and remixing around the world. He was one of the
first ever globally known superstar DJs.
Back in the late 80s, a flyer with his name on it meant queues outside
clubs like Legends in Manchester and the infamous Wigan Pier. Chad was
one of the first British DJ to start DJ mixing in the early 80s. His regular
live and recorded mixes on Manchester’s Piccadilly/Key 103 radio
station had the whole of the North West of Britain with their fingers
on the tape-deck record button. The original cassettes are highly prized
today, with people inundating Chad’s website for copies of these
famous mixes.
This soon led to Chad being headhunted by Manchester’s legendary
Hacienda club, who asked Chad to become resident. Chad was one of the
architects of the scene that followed, introduced the crowds, including
many who would go on to create the ‘Madchester’ scene, to
the newly emerging house music sound and creative DJ mixing techniques.
While at the Hacienda he started producing remixes exclusively for use
on the legendary DMC DJ only collections showcasing his eclectic taste,
including Grace Jones, Prince, Public Enemy, Deelite and Fatboy Slim,
many of which are highly collectable on sites such as Ebay today.
In 1987 he proved his mixing abilities by becoming the Technics/DMC World
DJ Mixing Champion at the Royal Albert Hall in London, having secured
the UK title a year before. This success led to him being one of the first
DJs to undertake a world tour, including stop-offs in New York to become
the first European competitor in the Battle For World Supremacy at New
York’s New Music Seminar, Russia, Japan, Brazil, the Cannes Film
Festival and an MTV Christmas Party!
By 1990 Chad’s focus had turned to studio production, with the
creation of his Inner World Audio recording studio – in which numerous
productions and remixes took place, remixing the likes of De La Soul,
Norman Cook’s Beats International, Kirsty McColl, Bizzare Inc, Run
DMC, and Mantronix.
His first solo work followed and Chad Jackson’s ’Hear The
Drummer Get Wicked’ went straight to the top of charts around the
world, No 1 in the UK Dance Charts, No.2 in the UK National Chart.
When MP3 arrived, Chad saw the possibility of a long-lingering death
for his beloved vinyl. Ministry Of Sound also saw that possibility, and
together they toured the major UK Universities, performing perhaps the
first ever computer MP3 mixing demonstrations, in workshops designed to
promote the arrival of digital mixing.
This gave Chad a taste for the rewards of education, which has led to
his current lecturing positions as a tutor of Music Production, Music
Information Technology, DJ Skills & Music Culture at many acclaimed
establishments including the Academy Of Contemporary Music in Guildford,
and Point Blank Music College in London. Many of his past students are
currently having great success in many areas of the industry.
Recent original production projects include ‘Energise’ on
Fabric Live – Plump DJs’, ‘Do You Do Voodoo’ on
Audio Therapy and ‘Get Your Boogie On’ with Cut La Roc’s
Rocstar label.
Also ‘Brake’ and ‘Rock’ on the Acetate label,
‘Nova Symphony’ by Feedback (No 1 Update Buzz Chart) and Drumscape
‘Peptide Bass’ and ‘Transmission’.
He is currently producing a new project, Group Therapy, with old friend
DJ Dave Seaman. The first two releases in the bag ‘My Own Worst
Enemy’ and ‘Faith Again’ have received widespread DJ
acclaim and heavy chart action. 2005 saw a No1 Music Week Club Chart from
Dave and Chad (under the Brothers In Rhythm guise), for a remix of Tears
For Fears new single ‘Closest Thing To Heaven’.
For more information:
http://www.chadjackson.co.uk
http://www.myspace.com/djchadjackson
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