SPOTLIGHT SUNDAY

Welcome back to another edition of our much loved Spotlight Sunday!

This week we were joined by the one and only DJ & Co Founder of Ngage Radio, DJ Soul Guerrilla or as he’s fondly known here as SG!

DJ Soul Guerrilla lives in a little village called Pelsall which is about 4 miles from Wallsall. People often call him a brummy as they think he has a Birmingham accent but actually he isn’t. He lives in the Black Country with his wife Steph, youngest son, Ethan and their Labrador dog, Molly.

Dj Soul Guerrilla grew up listening to his parents playing records all the time but when was that moment that he realised he wanted to be a DJ?

“I was going to youth club about 12/13 years of age, people like DJ Leekie, whose still a good friend of mine and still broadcasts, he was doing the local rounds at the youth club. Another DJ that influenced me was a guy called Dave Bishop,  he started playing all the Electro tunes about 1984/85  and that’s when i really started getting into trying to do it . I could never afford any decks so i’d be messing about with my record player, trying to scratch. Id set two record players up and try mix them that way. I seriously got into DJing in 1988 when i could first afford to buy equipment. I got a job and started working when the illegal rave scene was just kicking off at the time so i managed to get on a few gigs there and it escalated from there over a few years. I then set up doing mobile gigs as well as in ‘legitimate’ places and not doing it illegally in fields and warehouses”

Wow! We can imagine how exciting it would of been back then being able to put your mixes out there for other people to enjoy and shouting your name.

As you may or may not know DJ Soul Guerrilla’s name is actually Neil and over the years he’s had a few DJ names like ‘Neil T’ ect but where did the name DJ SOUL GUERRILLA originate from?

“The name Soul Guerrilla comes from probably one of the greatest movies of all time, The Commitments movie. Just before i joined a different radio station i was looking for a DJ name and i was watching The Commitments and there was a line in there where he’s talking about the band and where they’re playing and he says:

“We’re the guerrillas of Soul, we don’t announce gigs, we strike and sink back into the night”

DJ Soul Guerrilla does some fantastic shows here at ngage radio, Indie Anthems, Tuesday Tipple, Hump Day House and Feel Good Friday to name a few,  but there is a particular show that he just absolutely loves doing. Every Sunday at 12pm you’ll find him in the Rave Cave broadcasting the Original Soulful Sunday Show, kicking off every show with the Dobie Gray hit ‘The In Crowd’ so we wanted to know more about the history of the Soulful Sunday Show and the loyal listeners that have followed the show around with him.

“I did Soulful Sunday for the very first time around 2016/17 and ive took it to pretty much every station I’ve gone to. There’s a lot of listeners that have followed me from station to station and its a firm favourite with everyone. There are a few stations that still use the name but its the show that’s followed me and people have followed me with it. I feel privileged that others stations would still use the name ”

Wherever DJ Soul Guerrilla has gone to the show has always gone with him but so have a great bunch of loyal listeners to who he fondly refers to as ‘The In Crowd’

“The In Crowd are listeners who have followed me for a long time who tune in every Sunday at 12. The more shows we’ve done the more new listeners come on board and so the In Crowd gets bigger and bigger each week’

DJ Soul Guerrillas shows span a wide range of music genres and we wanted to find our more about his favourite genres of music and the music knowledge that comes with that. Did you know he has also had his music knowledge tested on a quiz a couple of times on a well known Radio Station as well as winning the prize!

“I’ve got a couple of favourite genres,  i sort of live in a parallel universe really everyone knows my love for Soul and House music which i find crosses over into each other. Samples and vocals are used in house music and this is the case right back from the 60’s and then into 70’s. Soul music progressed into Disco and later on progressed into House music, Original and Modern soul is still very much alive. The parallel side to that is my love for Indie music, i absolutely adore Indie music. Some of my favourite bands are The Smiths, New Order and Joy Division, then a little bit later on towards the late 80’s, early 90’s, Depeche Mode, Rage Against the Machines and Green Day. Its very much poles apart from Soul music but its just such a great sound”

There is no denying DJ Soul Guerrillas music knowledge is huge and what a great list of bands he gave us but what bands has he seen live?

“i love supporting live music as well as seeing unknown bands to be honest and supporting them as well. There are some great ones about, in the local area, but scattered very few and far between. There’s very little venues now in the area for small gigs but i used to go to live gigs every week at one time. The best gig I’ve ever been to has got to be Depeche Mode at Crystal Palace, 1994. They were supported by The Sisters of Mercy, it was an open air gig and it was absolutely incredible. I’ve seen Depeche Mode 16 times now and ill be seeing them for the 17th time this summer when they play at Twickenham, for me, they are the last great live band left on the planet for big stadiums”

Its so great to find out the best gigs DJ Soul Guerrilla has been to but we are also itching to know, what’s been the worst!

“The worst gig I’ve been to, has got to be, Ian Brown. I absolutely love the Stone Roses but Ian Brown live singing is terrible. I saw one of his gigs 10/12 years back, maybe even longer and his vocals were just absolutely appalling. So that was definitely the worst gig for me”

Here at Ngage Radio we have the most incredible team built from the ground up by our two station managers. Danny Drayton and  DJ Soul Guerrilla. A lot of people think that these two have know each other for many years as they have such great love and respect for each other but you’ll be surprised to know they have only known each other the last two years! We wanted to know more about how they met!

” Ive know Double D for two years. We met on a former Radio Station that we were on together. We were kind of on the management team there and this is where the groundwork for Ngage Radio came about. We were involved in this previous station  and we were trying to take it forward as we saw the potential that was there. It was very heavily listener based but with regards to the development of the station, it wasn’t going anywhere. We were trying to push and improve the website, and an app, just trying to take it to the next level but we were kind of restricted. It was like we had the racing car but we didn’t have the keys for it and it got to the point where we were frustrated knowing we could do this so we decided to set up a new radio station together and do it right. So that’s pretty much how me and Double D met”

I’m sure everyone will agree in congratulating both of you in the success that is, Ngage Radio.

When our DJ’s are performing their shows they give listeners the chance to text in their song requests to be played on air. We have a huge community of listeners that get involved with all our shows and all our DJ’s really appreciate our listeners, tuning in, texting the studio as well as dropping in those song requests but what DJ out there would DJ Soul Guerrilla love to do a set with?

“There are two DJ’s for two different reasons. The first one would be of course, Norm from Fat Boy Slim. He’s a fantastic DJ and producer whose stood the test of time. I’ve seen him do some fantastic gigs, he dips in and uses old soul records and northern soul and reproduces them, giving them a fantastic sound. He’s got an incredible presence when he’s on stage  so to perform with him would be an absolute dream.

The other DJ for totally different reasons would be a DJ called Ian Levigne. He’s a soul DJ and one of the original DJ’s at Blackpool Mecca. His take on northern soul is brilliant, he introduced the crossover disco stuff into the northern soul scene which was quite frowned upon by the Wigan casino goers. He still DJ’s today, he’s got a you tube channel and has found some fantastic records over the years. They would be the DJ’s  id love to do a set with but for two totally different reasons”

Someone needs to drop Norm from Fat Boy Slim a message because that is one duo DJ set we want to see!

When DJ Soul Guerrilla isn’t in the Rave Cave he works extremely hard but often finds himself last minute flying abroad for work so we asked him about some of the best places he’s been to

“Its not very often i get time off but i have been fortunate when I’ve been to China. I’ve managed to visit the Great Wall of China as well as the Forbidden City which was an incredible experience. Its one of the most favourite places I’ve travelled to when I’ve been working and the food is incredible”

“My favourite holiday destination which Mrs SG wont be happy with is just going to Cornwall. I absolutely love it. Its a great holiday for me whether its rain or shine but if we are going on a sunshine holiday then i would say i enjoy visiting Turkey”

Either holiday destination is great when you’ve got a nice cold one in your hand and if you know DJ Soul Guerrilla you’ll also know he’s very fond of a cold one poured from his very own PD machine which leads us onto our quick fire questions very nicely.

Favourite Keg on the PD:

“My favourite keg on the PD has got to be Spaten as a general drink but i do love a drop of Orchard Pig Cider on there as well.

Favourite Football Team:

” The mighty Walsall FC in League 2. I’ve been a season ticket holder of Walsall for over 30 years. Its part of my life”

Favourite pair of trainers:

“Adidas Trimm Trab, they’re a classic trainer from the 80’s but i still manage to get them these days as they release them now and then. I’ve got about 5/6 pairs of Trimm Trabs but about 60 pairs of trainers in total and most of them are Adidas”

Favourite Radio Station:

“Ngage Radio all the way”

We’ve really loved being able to have a little more insight into the world of DJ Soul Guerrilla and we hope you have to!

Don’t forget you can catch DJ Soul Guerrilla on Tuesdays at 7pm back with the Indie Anthems and Wednesday for the Hump Day House show. Finish off the week with Feel Good Friday on Fridays at 4pm and then end the weekend the best way with the Original Soulful Sunday at 12 on Sundays!