Mista Brown (Tighten Up London) Interview

I remember when first Tim P mentioned he was putting a night on, something like a better version of 100% Dynamite, right in the heart of London’s Chinatown….. Many moons have passed since then

Although I wasn’t able to attend the very first one, I made sure I check one out in May last year. I was impressed big time by the quality of the tunes played and the overall “sound”; too many a times I’ve heard djs playing their best records regardless the what was happening on the dancefloor. A dj is not a show off! I was also lucky enough to catch Jonah (hope it’s spelt correctly) playing some killer rocksteady tunes…

So I thought why not interview them? Well, the spokesman Mistah Brown came forward with the following answers!

Chris Lane interview – Intro

I remember having met Chris about 10 yrs ago while living in London. We were both playing at Cello’s Coast to Coast, while the club was in Orchard St.. What struck me about Chris was is Reggae knowledge: he’s didn’t look one of those “I-know-it-all” kind of guy and he was quiet, just busy playing records. I thought he was just another Reggae collector.

Then a couple of years ago I was reading People Funny Boy and there you are! Mr. Chris Lane is in there, so I discover the fella went to JA well before it was fashionable to do so… He’s done a lot and he has seen a lot, so I decided to get in touch with him, with the help of Mr. Steve Rice. The following is a brief introduction to the man himself. Enjoy!!!

Chris Lane interview – Part two

Tighten Up trademark MC Champian is there to check that Island 7″…
- Please Chris, introduce yourself…born in the Angel, Islington, London 13^th January 1956. Always lived in London, grew up in the West End (Marylebone) now residing in South East London.
- How did you first got involved with reggae?…. like most ordinary kids at the time, I got into reggae as a young skinhead in 1968/69. Apart from the ‘pop’ hits like Desmond Dekker and Johnny Nash, the first ‘real’ reggae tune I remember hearing was ‘Mama Look Deh’ (The Reggae Boys) – my best mate’s big brother bought it from the Muzik City in Kilburn and we all sat around playing it over and over again trying to work out what it was they were singing about!