James Hamilton’s Disco Pages 1975-1982 is as close-in as you can possibly get to the evolution of UK club culture as it unfolded through the disco and jazz-funk years, and on into the more electronic early 1980s, his weekly Record Mirror column required reading for any self-respecting British DJ. A giant in both physical stature and reputation, Hamilton was once the single most influential UK dance music industry figure, due to the sheer reach of his column – a mantle later taken up by Pete Tong, given the scope of his radio presence.
His relevance waned with the rave explosion, by which point dedicated dance music magazines that he’d helped inspire had negated the previous essential nature of his column. He died in 1996, a forgotten figure for the following generations of DJs, unaware of the weight of his contribution – his name conspicuous by its absence from a history he did so much to help create.
A weighty hardback tome, in excess of 500 pages, the book includes over 5000 record reviews, from (then soon to be) classics to rare gems and curios – a comprehensive history of dance music in itself, complete with a multi-source index for quick off-the-shelf reference. Monthly and end of year charts list all the most popular club tracks of the period, whilst Hamilton’s news section provides a rolling lowdown on developments within the DJ/club realm and the wider dance music industry.
As far as the UK experience is concerned, this is the principal reference book for the era, fundamental to our understanding of the British lineage and its unique unfolding. As Pete Tong would comment on James’ death, “No-one has ever got close to him in terms of respect as a journalist. I think the reason he had authority was because he’d been around for so long, he was drawing on such a wealth of knowledge that even if you didn’t agree with what he said, you had to respect his opinion.