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From the decks of Ben Drayton

Written by Ben Drayton

Over the past twenty odd years, Sydney DJ Ben Drayton has given us more on the dancefloor and in our clubs than mirror balls and handbag anthems - we asked Ben to write a few words on his influences and journey.

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When I first hit town in the mid eighties, I was already in love with music; soul, funk, disco, rock, the early years of hip hop, dub, reggae and new wave, thanks to a smart and tasteful big sister and some formative years spent living in Kenya. I naively thought everybody loved what I loved, so when I showed up at five past ten on a Tuesday night in 1985 at the Shift, for the first time ever, I was sure no one was going to dance to the unlistenable rubbish Hi NRG that was playing at the time. Twee and gutless. Well, the place filled and they did and it soon became clear that this was the yardstick by which every local DJ was judged. My reaction was instinctive; "if this is gay, take my membership and cut it up, I'm not gay".

Luckily for me I chanced upon other musical tastes and flavours off to the side of the mainstream, DJs like Steve Allkins, Bill Morley, Robert Racic and heard of their forebears, Lee Ryger and Steve Cribb, to name only two. Some of these guys I found via angry letters written about them in the gay press, declaring their lack of talent and ridiculing those who hired them. Their willingness to stand against that swirling tide of shit to provide better dance floors and communities to like minded people I found to be truly heroic and inspirational. I'd found home. Maybe this town was worth living in after all.

To everyone that was there before me, a heartfelt thank you, you paved the way, to my contemporaries, nice sharing the ride with you and to the new kids who are taking on this challenging, maddening, fantastic thing, welcome to the party, hope you stick around, we need you!

Ben x

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