Frank Broughton
Frank Broughton (left, with Bill Brewster, right) learned how to get paid for words while living in strange parts of New York. He interviewed every rapper known to science for Hip-Hop Connection, moved on to profiling celebs for magazines that couldn’t afford air tickets (i-D, Mixmag...), and had some heavy nights after squeezing dance music pieces into big-paying US mags (Details, Rolling Stone...). He then fell in with Time Out who let him write a hymn to his adopted city in the shape of their 1996 New York Guide and made him Clubs Editor of Time Out New York. Frank took to this position with the dedication it deserved and was fried in no time.
He returned to London and started writing books with Bill Brewster, another Lincolnshire New Yorker. The duo raided their hard-drives for The Manual a coffee-table dance culture history for the Ministry of Sound; cooked up The Time Out Book of Interviews and then got serious with their calling-card opus 1999’s Last Night A DJ Saved My Life. Amazingly, no-one had written a decent history of DJing and they resolved to see off all-comers. Following this, they extended the Broughton-Brewster franchise with the best-selling DJing manual How to DJ (Properly) and there are more titles in the pipeline. They also collaborate to throw some very fine ‘Low Life’ parties.
When magazines sold themselves out to bikini covers and microcelebs Frank sold himself out to copywriting. He got a good price and can now hold his own in brand development and market segmentation meetings. His imperative tone has been appreciated by such clients as Toshiba, BT, Seagrams, Playboy TV, One 2 One, T-Mobile, Britannia Music and boo.com. Frank lives in Elephant & Castle. He has no pets.
FREELANCE (since 1990)
Face, i-D, Details, Guardian, Hip-Hop Connection, Rolling Stone, Mixmag,
Mixmag US (now Mixer), Time Out, Time Out New York...
BOOKS
Last Night A DJ Saved My Life: The History of the Disc Jockey (1999, 2000)
The Manual (Ministry of Sound) (1998)
Time Out Interviews 1968-1998 (1998)
Time Out Guide to New York (1996)
How to DJ (Properly) (2002)
STAFF JOBS
Clubs Editor, Time Out New York
Deputy editor, i-D,
Deputy editor, Mixmag USA
(briefly) Editor of ill-fated style mag Blah Blah Blah
Frank (and Bill) on the RBP podcast
69 articles
List of articles in the library
Report by Frank Broughton, Mixmag, March 1992
Back in October Mixmag covered the exploding LA Rave scene. Since then New York itself, city of metal, noise and chaos, has gone techno mental. ...
Tony Humphries: Turntable Legends Part 2: Tony Humphries
Interview by Frank Broughton, Mixmag, April 1992
THE BIG man has cricked his back. He's drugged out on 'Bufferin', 'Excedrin', 'Anacin', and major doses of 'Extra Strength Tylenol' after waking up in ...
Todd Terry: Ay Bop A Dobey: Todd Terry
Interview by Frank Broughton, Mixmag, May 1992
"I'M FLYING down to Florida tomorrow, but I don't like hot weather so I guess it's gonna be terrible — I don't exactly need a ...
Junior Vasquez: Out in New York
Report by Frank Broughton, Mixmag, September 1992
Despite a million AIDS warnings, New York clubbers are going wild. Clubs like the Roxy and the Sound Factory are packed with acres of exposed ...
Tony Humphries: Goodbye New York, hello London
Interview by Frank Broughton, Mixmag, February 1993
Tony Humphries moves to London ...
Profile and Interview by Frank Broughton, Mixmag, May 1993
ALLAH — NUMBER one deity in the world of Islam. Almighty soul controller, master and one God. Inspiration and divine power behind the words of ...
David Bowie, Pete Rock & CL Smooth, The Rolling Stones, Run DMC: Pete Rock and CL Smooth
Interview by Frank Broughton, Mixmag, May 1993
MANAGER ADOFO Muhammad is talking up his brother and CL Smooth's success. "The unique sound is all incorporated in Pete Rock's flow — his art. ...
Brand New Heavies, The Pharcyde: Pharcyde
Interview by Frank Broughton, Mixmag, May 1993
LAYERS OF sophisticated jazz are slinking their way through your speakers. Smokey strains of Blue Note beats collide with the mastery of John Coltrane, Donald ...
Guru, Run DMC: Run DMC: Down With The Kings
Interview by Frank Broughton, Mixmag, May 1993
It ain't a respect thing (even if it should be). It's the real thing. The kings are back. The gold, the fresh trainers and the ...
The Pharcyde: From Manor to Cabin: The Pharcyde's Bizarre Ride
Profile and Interview by Frank Broughton, i-D, 1994
BACK AT THE HEIGHT of hip-hop’s dyslexia, when f’s were ph’s or not at all, there arrived a group from darkest LA who called themselves ...
Puff Daddy: Sean 'Puffy' Combs
Interview by Frank Broughton, i-D, 1994
"IT'S ALL GOOD."Puffy’s conversation is peppered with this little nugget of current street-talk. ...
Funkadelic, George Clinton, Parliament: George Clinton: Funky 54
Retrospective and Interview by Frank Broughton, i-D, February 1994
PARLIAMENT-FUNKADELIC, P-Funk, The P -- Specially designed afronauts capable of funketizing entire galaxies. Their mothership long ago made its terrestrial connection and they are amongst ...
How Technology Will Kill The Music Biz
Special Feature by Frank Broughton, i-D, June 1994
In the future, there will be no record companies or record shops. In fact there will be no records. Instead, sound will be transmitted straight ...
Grateful Dead: March of the Deadheads
Report by Frank Broughton, i-D, August 1994
The Grateful Dead are the focus for the surviving remnants of America's counterculture: the Deadheads, a colourful bunch of travelling hippies who have created a ...
Laurie Anderson Media Manipulator
Interview by Frank Broughton, i-D, August 1994
SHE’S A MULTI-MEDIA story-teller, spinning yarns around the flickering campfire of technology. Her songs are swathes of hypnotic synthesised tones, with eerie voice filters focussing ...
Interview by Frank Broughton, i-D, September 1994
A new remix album and video? The perfect excuse for a celebratory night of rock'n'roll excess with Queen B. ...
Russell Simmons: Hip Hop's Top Dog
Profile and Interview by Frank Broughton, i-D, September 1994
With faith in the power of undiluted black culture, Russell Simmons harnessed the sound of the underground and turned hip hop into a billion dollar ...
Barbara Tucker: Work It, Girlfriend
Report and Interview by Frank Broughton, Mixmag, December 1994
A clubland fixture, both on record and on the dancefloor, Miss Tucker proves that if you want to make it in New York you better ...
Interview by Frank Broughton, i-D, 1995
WILD LUCK, cynical suspicion, deep fraternal love and dodgy Scottish accents: in the true life story of a musical group called Garbage all these things ...
The Chemical Brothers, Orbital: The British Invasion?
Report by Frank Broughton, Blah Blah Blah, 1995
With the Chemicals and Underworld making waves stateside, is dance music finally reaching mainstream America? ...
Todd Terry: Time For Todd Terry
Report and Interview by Frank Broughton, i-D, 1995
"BATTLING PEOPLE: that’s what keeps me going." The man in the bomber jacket lays it down straight. "I got to beat everybody. It’s me against ...
Naughty By Nature: Poverty Rap
Interview by Frank Broughton, Hip-Hop Connection, February 1995
Yet another Newark success story? Most definitely. Those naughty lil' devils, Naughty By Nature, are poised to return with a new album backed by a ...
Frankie Knuckles Interviewed in NYC
Interview by Frank Broughton, djhistory.com, 27 February 1995
Anyone with even a passing knowledge of dancefloor history knows Frankie Knuckles respectfully as the 'Godfather of House'. Together with his childhood friend Larry Levan ...
Interview by Frank Broughton, i-D, March 1995
She's 15, she's pregnant, she's married to the scandalous R Kelly. Or so the rumours go. But really, the only thing you need to know ...
Interview by Frank Broughton, Mixmag, April 1995
You may have heard that deep trance track with the manic laughing. That's Josh Wink, the coolest, wildest, funkiest trance doctor in America. When Josh ...
Ron Hardy, Frankie Knuckles: My Kind Of Town: The History of Chicago House
Retrospective and Interview by Frank Broughton, i-D, April 1995
IT’S 1981. Frankie Knuckles, a New York DJ relocated for the last four years in Chicago, is driving south through the outskirts of his adopted ...
Mary J. Blige, Jodeci, Craig Mack, The Notorious B.I.G., Puff Daddy: Puff Daddy: Born To Be Bad
Interview by Frank Broughton, i-D, May 1995
A multi-platinum music mogul at just twenty four, Sean "Puffy" Combs is the face of future hip hop. meet a Bad Boy made good. ...
Gang Starr, Guru: Guru: Reality Bites
Interview by Frank Broughton, Hip-Hop Connection, July 1995
For most other artists, one project like Jazzmatazz in a lifetime would be enough. Not for Guru. Jazzmatazz 2: The New Reality collects up many of the first LP's ...
Montell Jordan: This is how HE does it
Report and Interview by Frank Broughton, Mixmag, July 1995
Montell Jordan, six foot eight of elegant, chart topping, soul-swinging, street talking star, is holding forth on a basketball court in Southern California. Telling jokes ...
Junior Vasquez: The Sound Factory
Report and Interview by Frank Broughton, i-D, October 1995
As the legendary club closes, the mainstream begins to encroach on New York's nightlife heritage. ...
BT (Brian Transeau), Deep Dish: DC: White House House
Report and Interview by Frank Broughton, USA Update, 1996
In the wake of Deep Dish's UK success, the American capital is claiming its own sound. ...
Profile and Interview by Frank Broughton, i-D, February 1996
SHE'S A REAL brat: acting like a child, making demands on everyone around her, whining and squealing when she doesn't get her way. It's enough ...
Interview by Frank Broughton, i-D, February 1996
HE WAS RAP'S FIRST KNICKER-WETTING SENSATION, A PROWLING PANTHER WHO BROUGHT THE SWEAT OF TEEN SEXUALITY INTO THE HIP HOP ARENA. TEN YEARS LATER, HE'S ...
Interview by Frank Broughton, i-D, February 1996
He's been a junkie, a beatnik, a Rock & Roll Animal. But these days, Lou Reed is taking a walk on the mild side. ...
Josh Wink: Lands Techno at a Major Label
Profile and Interview by Frank Broughton, Rolling Stone, 31 October 1996
JOSH WINK stands in a Manhattan office building's elevator, displaying a dark scab on his leg. "I call it my Ibiza tattoo," the 26-year-old Philadelphia ...
Comment by Frank Broughton, i-D, November 1996
Tupac Shakur was murdered last month in a drive-by shooting. Was rap's rising star a menace to society or just to himself? ...
Interview by Frank Broughton, Rock's Backpages Audio, 13 July 1998
Tony Elliott talks about founding Time Out at university as a project in 1968; reading the underground press but not being a dope-smoking hippie; his awareness of both the pop, art and political scenes, and the need to package a variety of information; extending the editorial content, and the people he interviewed; their successes and failures, and missing punk and club culture; political and investigative journalism, and run-ins with the law; increasing lifestyle emphasis after the 1981 strike, and the magazine's philosophy and brand.
File format: mp3; file size: 67.6mb, total interview length: 1h 10' 26" sound quality: ***
Afrika Islam, Kurtis Blow: Kurtis Blow and Afrika Islam (1998)
Interview by Frank Broughton, Rock's Backpages Audio, 27 September 1998
The pioneering DJ talks about inspirations like Pete DJ Jones; about being a B-Boy; attending Kool Herc parties; starting out as an MC and the rise of rap... until he gets into a shouting match with Afrika Islam. Beef!
File format: mp3; file size: 25mb, interview length: 27' 18" sound quality: ****
Interview by Frank Broughton, Rock's Backpages Audio, 30 September 1998
The pioneering DJ drives around the Bronx, pointing out the hip-hop sites while talking about the rec rooms, block parties, B-boys, breaks and everything that went into the form's invention.
File format: mp3; file size: 59mb, interview length: 1h 04' 28" sound quality: ***
The Cold Crush Brothers' Charlie Chase (1998)
Interview by Frank Broughton, Rock's Backpages Audio, 1 October 1998
From discovering the breaks to the most enthralling stage act in hip hop's first decade, Cold Crush Brothers' Charlie Chase — a rare Hispanic DJ — takes us back to the park jams and the PALs, and the DJs like Bam, Flash and Theodore.
File format: mp3; file size: 54.4mb, interview length: 59' 27" sound quality: ****
Interview by Bill Brewster, Frank Broughton, Rock's Backpages Audio, 2 October 1998
The pioneering hip hop DJ talks about his early days, acting as Grandmaster Flash's record boy; playing his first party in 1975 with the L Brothers; inventing needle drops and scratching; the emergence of the rapping MC; the move downtown and out into the wider world, and the pleasures of touring Japan!
File format: mp3; file size: 71.7mb, interview length: 1h 14' 41" sound quality: ****
Interview by Frank Broughton, Rock's Backpages Audio, 2 October 1998
The Winley Records man talks about writing for the Clovers, Ruth Brown and more for Atlantic Records in the '50s; starting his label (and being cursed out by Billie Holiday); hearing rap via his daughters; cutting Afrika Bambaataa's first sides, and putting together the Super Disco Brake's series of breakbeat albums.
File format: mp3; file size: 34mb, interview length: 37' 10" sound quality: ***
Interview by Bill Brewster, Frank Broughton, Rock's Backpages Audio, 3 October 1998
The Godfather of Disco takes us right back to NYC in the '70s and his legendary Loft parties: the gay/straight, black/white clientele; the search for perfect sound; the community of like-minded DJs and much more.
File format: mp3; file size: 73.5mb, interview length: 1h 20' 19" sound quality: ***
Interview by Frank Broughton, Rock's Backpages Audio, 5 October 1998
From teenage dancing to Grandmaster Flowers in Brooklyn to Larry Levan at the Paradise Garage, via the early days of hip hop, making Wild Style with Charlie Ahearn, bringing uptown DJs to downtown clubs and art galleries — Freddy was there and tells all about it.
File format: mp3; file size: 74.1mb, interview length: 1h 20' 53" sound quality: ****
Interview by Bill Brewster, Frank Broughton, Rock's Backpages Audio, 5 October 1998
Sal Abbatiello, proprietor of the South Bronx club, Disco Fever, tells the tale of the DJs, MCs, hustlers, gangsters and the kids who made it the hottest club in early hip hop: Grandmaster Flash, Kurtis Blow and a cast of thousands.
File format: mp3; file size: 43mb, interview length: 46' 59" sound quality: ***
Interview by Frank Broughton, Rock's Backpages Audio, 6 October 1998
The "Master of Records" tells the story from the first parties in the Bronx River Projects throught to 'Planet Rock' and beyond: Kool Herc and the breaks; gang culture and the Zulu Nation; hip hop's Jamaican roots; Kraftwerk, and Bam's eclecticism; the evolution of the MCs, and the downtown-uptown connection.
File format: mp3; file size: 65.8mb, interview length: 1h 11' 50" sound quality: ****
DJ Kool Herc: Adventures on the Wheels of Steel: DJ Kool Herc and the Birth of Hip Hop
Book Excerpt by Bill Brewster, Frank Broughton, 'Last Night a DJ Saved My Life', 1999
Take a Break Face your partner, holding hands. Tap one foot behind the other and bring your feet together again. Repeat with your other foot. (Your ...
Interview by Frank Broughton, Rock's Backpages Audio, 29 January 1999
The pioneering disco DJ remembers the revelation that was David Mancuso’s Loft; opening his own club the Gallery; DJing at Studio 54; his proteges Frankie Knuckles and, in particular, Larry Levan; and the end of the party and the rise of AIDS.
File format: mp3; file size: 62.3mb, interview length: 1h 08' sound quality: ****
Interview by Frank Broughton, Rock's Backpages Audio, 2 February 1999
The NME's NYC correspondent on the rise of hip hop and its impact on the downtown scene; clubs like the Roxy and the Funhouse; the dancefloor movers: Bambaataa, Arthur Baker, Jellybean Benitez and more.
File format: mp3; file size: 48.8mb, interview length: 53' 19" sound quality: ****
Interview by Frank Broughton, Rock's Backpages Audio, 4 February 1999
The pioneering disco DJ remembers the clubs, most importantly the Sanctuary; talks about his inventions: slip-cueing, beatmatching and the seamless mix; and on the scene, the drugs, the other DJs, dating Liza Minnelli and getting beaten up by the Mob!
File format: mp3; file size: 68.2mb, interview length: 1h 14' 30" sound quality: ***
Interview by Frank Broughton, Rock's Backpages Audio, 22 February 1999
The House music pioneer on the founding fathers of the music; DJs like Ron Hardy and Frankie Knuckles; the clubs — the Music Box, the Warehouse, the Power Plant; starting making tracks; key songs like 'I've Lost Control' and 'Move Your Body'; the Trax Records rip-offs, and Marshall's own definition of House.
File format: mp3; file size: 75.2mb, interview length: 1h 22' 08" sound quality: ****
Interview by Frank Broughton, Rock's Backpages Audio, 7 April 1999
The superstar DJ in wide-ranging discussion about DJ'ing and dance culture, from getting into hip hop and House to stadium tours with U2; the impact of Ecstasy; the performing DJ; remixing, and the techniques behind rocking a dancefloor.
File format: mp3; file size: 52.7mb, interview length: 57' 31" sound quality: ****
Interview by Bill Brewster, Frank Broughton, Rock's Backpages Audio, 6 May 1999
The dance music legend on the power of the DJ and the club as a place or worship; his pioneering club night Shoom, and the eventual corruption of the rave scene; becoming a radio DJ, and the evolution of the Superstar DJ.
File format: mp3; file size: 27.7mb, interview length: 30' 17" sound quality: ****
Profile and Interview by Frank Broughton, The Face, October 1999
His home was The Loft. He played house before it existed. And New York's David Mancuso has a nun to thank for it all ...
Norman Jay: Good Times: The Stately Sound of London
Sleeve notes by Frank Broughton, Nuphonic Records, 2000
"IT'S VERY SIMPLE," says Norman Jay behind his shades, as we drive round the hallowed sites of the Notting Hill Carnival. "Good Times is about… ...
Interview by Frank Broughton, Rock's Backpages Audio, 13 July 2000
The legendary DJ talks in depth about growing up black in London: the racism of the police; underground soundsystem culture, and blues parties. He goes on to recount the history of his Good Times soundsystem; the impact of visiting New York in the early '80s; the Notting Hill Carnival riot of '76, and his own involvement in Carnival from their first try as a soundsystem in '79 up until the present day, with digressions into the meaning of dance and DJ culture.
File format: mp3; file size: 91.4mb, interview length: 1h 35' 13" sound quality: ***
Interview by Frank Broughton, Rock's Backpages Audio, 27 August 2000
From being a teenage record nut to the age of the superstar DJ, Tenaglia describes his travels in a lifetime in dance music: the great NYC clubs; his fellow DJs; the dynamics of the dancefloor and his philosophy on the ones and twos.
File format: mp3; file size: 94.8mb, interview length: 1h 43' 34" sound quality: ****
Danny Tenaglia: The DJs’ DJ: Danny Tenaglia
Profile and Interview by Frank Broughton, DJ Magazine, September 2000
THEY RAIDED Vinyl last week. The cops shut down the party, made some arrests, confiscated (allegedly) $15,000 of door money and (also allegedly, legal fans) ...
Interview by Bill Brewster, Frank Broughton, Rock's Backpages Audio, 20 March 2001
One of the first to spin the same record on two turntables, Pete DJ Jones roamed the five boroughs with his mobile set up from 1970. Here he talks about (and plays!) the records; his influence on Grandmaster Flash and the early hip-hoppers and his MCs like Lovebug Starski.
File format: mp3; file size: 61.4mb, interview length: 1h 07' 01" sound quality: *****
Paradise Garage and the Lost Art of DJ'ing
Sleeve notes by Frank Broughton, Bill Brewster, Strut/Nuphonic Records, 2002
PUTTING A ROOMFUL of people in the moment. Amazing them, surprising them, challenging, even confusing them; pushing, electrifying, loving them; carrying them with you towards ...
Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five: The True Life Adventures Of Flash
Sleeve notes by Bill Brewster, Frank Broughton, Nuphonic Records, 2002
Chapter 1 FLASH ISN’T THE type of guy to start talking about "How it feels...", but that’s just what you want to ask him. How does ...
Essay by Bill Brewster, Frank Broughton, Mixmag, 2002
NOTE: This is the extended "directors' cut" version of the piece originally published in Mixmag. * ...
Grandmaster Flash & the Furious Five: Grandmaster Flash
Interview by Frank Broughton, The Guardian, 26 January 2002
A RECENT SURVEY suggests that up to 62% of the world's population is now a famous DJ. In hotspots like Shoreditch, it's easier to find ...
Interview by Bill Brewster, Frank Broughton, Rock's Backpages Audio, 30 August 2004
The techno pioneer tells the whole epic story: his childhood in Detroit; meeting Kevin Saunderson and Juan Atkins; discovering Chicago house and seeing Frankie Knuckles and Ron Hardy DJ; making 'Nude Photo' and 'Strings of Life', and being recognised in the UK. Plus a whole lot more...
File format: mp3; file size: 153.4mb, interview length: 2h 39' 48" sound quality: ****
Soul II Soul's Jazzie B (2005)
Interview by Bill Brewster, Frank Broughton, Rock's Backpages Audio, 2 February 2005
The original Funki Dread goes deep into his roots, from a family background in reggae sound systems to Soul II Soul at the Africa Centre, via bunking off school to go to Crackers; DJs like George Power and Paul 'Trouble' Anderson; setting up S II S, and the original warehouse parties. Riveting stuff.
File format: mp3; file size: 87.2mb, interview length: 1h 35' 15" sound quality: *****
Audio transcript of interview by Bill Brewster, Frank Broughton, Rock's Backpages Audio, 4 February 2005
This is a transcript of Bill and Frank's audio interview with Fabio. Listen to the audio of this interview. ...
Fabio, Grooverider: Fabio (2005)
Interview by Bill Brewster, Frank Broughton, Rock's Backpages Audio, 4 February 2005
The Drum & Bass pioneer talks about his Brixton background, blues parties and sound systems; his love soul as well as reggae, and lunchtime funk dances at Crackers; collecting records, and starting to DJ; Tim Westwood and the emergence of electro hip hop; pirate radio; Paul Oakenfold's house nights, and meeting future partner Grooverider; nights like Spectrum and Rage; techno, break beats and jungle; the dangerous jungle club nights; evolution of Drum & Bass, and Garage; taking the name Fabio, and his memories of the big outdoor raves like Sunrise.
File format: mp3; file size: 71.7mb, interview length: 1h 14' 39" sound quality: ****
Interview by Bill Brewster, Frank Broughton, Rock's Backpages Audio, 23 February 2005
The pioneering House DJ tells the whole story, from a tin bath in Notting Dale to Shoom and beyond: his youth in Slough; discovering the club Crackers; the soul all-dayers and weekenders; the warehouse scene and rare groove; the dawn of House and Ecstacy; the opening of Shoom; his and Andrew Weatherall's Boy's Own fanzine; Danny Rampling; the emergence of the superstar DJ... and House's longevity.
File format: mp3; file size: 117.9mb, interview length: 2h 02' 50" sound quality: ****
Report and Interview by Frank Broughton, GQ, 8 November 2012
As the fallout from the Jimmy Savile abuse allegations continues, dance music historian Frank Broughton asks whether the next revelations may be his connections to ...
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