the disc jockey

The Disc Jockey 82 High Street Hastings 1958 – better photo

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photo © Hastings Public Library

Judy Atkinson… Remember it well. It had a section for “underground ” music

Chris Baker… Judy, Groovy Baby! (Or Booby Gravy, as usual kids used to say!)

Stuart Moir… Was there a disc jockey in Queens Road, I’m sure it was opposite Barclays bank

Mick O’Dowd… Yes there was right up until it closed. At one time he had one further up Queens Road nearly opposite Jack London’s Record Shop.

Paul Cullen… Yes there was, I think that it had three booths you could listen to music

Harry Randall… Paul, correct Alan had 3 altogether The first one Disc Jockey +1 was up Queens rd but also had one in old town and one in Kings rd St. Leonard’s 2 and 3 later just the one in Queens rd nearer the centre of town

Chris Baker… Harry, Alan Jensen and his partner (his name escapes me now!), who used to run the Disc Jockey in the High Street were a great help to my Mum, Brenda when she started writing Lyrics. She ended up collaborating with Wout Steenhuis, a brilliant Dutch multi-instrumentalist who lived in Broadstairs and did a lot of multi-track recording in the early 60s and 70s.

Alan Esdaile… Chris, you’re probably thinking of Johnny Hodgson. He was the original owner and Alan worked there and eventually bought him out.

Harry Randall… Chris, knew Alan when he first started out he lived in Battle Road above sweet shop opposite Jones Fish and Chip shop both long gone now

John Gale… My dad Tony , was a living in The Croft as a teenager in the mid to late 50s . He loved that.shop and bought his first drum kit from there .

Trevor Spears… It was on the same side as Jack London’s a little further up the road!

Michael Armitage… Who was the chap, who used to work in the Queens Road shop, then went on his own, just above M&S, further up the road? Lovely man – my dad spent a fortune with him, and I bought ‘The Savage’ by The Shadows there, while dad was buying Peer Gynt! I did buy my first ever guitar at the Disc Jockey though – I think it was £6.00, but better than the £4.00 one… And, in the early seventies, just after we were married and moved to a flat in Priory Road, I wanted to buy, ‘I know what I like in your wardrobe’ (Genesis). as a single, and the assistant patiently explained that it was only available on an album ‘Selling England by the pound’! I couldn’t afford £3.50 then…

Alan Esdaile… I think your thinking of Jack London, Michael, as Trevor just mentioned.

Liane Carroll… So lovely. I can’t remember what year it closed. Does anybody know? X

 

The Disc Jockey, Queens Road, Hastings – receipt 1973 and keep smiling postcard

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all supplied by Mo Elms

Donna Glover… My mum wrote this receipt she worked there

Shaun Pont… I remember Disc Jockey as being more expensive for singles (50p in 1973) probably because they were a chart return shop. Boots and Woolies sold chart singles for 40p and 45p around this time and Stylus were about 45p as well. Someone must have got a good deal!

Merv Kennard… That would be a djs discount.

Graham Matthews… Al always gave me a DJ discount when I was spinning a few in the 70’s.

Alan Esdaile… who remembers the Keep Smiling postcard that Alan put in the record bags?

 

Teenbeats at The Disc Jockey Hastings 1979

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Paul Gray… I was there and got my copy signed. Sadly long gone

Stewart Rockett… I came across Tommy just t’other day. Still cool.

Alan Esdaile… doesn’t change, still looks the same!

Mike Mitchell… You’re letting the side down there, Ken with that smile

Ken Copsey… More of an uncomfortable smirk than a smile! How did we manage to end up on the other side of the counter?

Allan Mitchell… Awesome!!

Dave Nattress… Always much revered and respected the Teenbeats, great band name, great image, fitted the time, (so-called Mod revival), and simply because they were on the face of it, the most commercially successful and “known” band to come out of the Hastings music scene since Stallion.

Stewart Rockett… From the book, ‘American Idol: The Untold Story’ By Richard Rushfield, referencing Simon Fuller, the Teenbeats’ manager…

The Disc Jockey Hastings – advert June 1979

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Sheila Devine… Found this carrier bag in my attic recently

Pauline Richards… I remember big Al

Simon John Paul Ham… I redrew Big Al.

Jane Dorsett… I worked in Chelsea girl, which was opposite Disc Jockey, was always in there

Ralph Town… Al was a lovely bloke and his wife even more so. A real tragedy.

Dave Nattress… Hi Jane – you OK. Catch you soon. Chelsea Girl – remember it so well.

 

Hastings Carnival 1973

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supplied by Hastings Old Town Traders via Matt Thomas

Maureen Fuller… 1973 was the year l was Hastings Carnival Queen the Carnival Parade started from the Bathing Pool with a band leading the way and all major stores had floats Debenhams, M&S ,Philpots,Wards, KB electicians and more to the fountain roundabout and then up Queens Road to Alexandra Park for fireworks and dancing

The Disc Jockey Press Ads – from Andre Palfrey-Martin Collection

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Andre Palfrey-martin collection

Phil Gill….My grandfather bought me my first electric guitar from the Disc Jockey in 1969 – a Vox Super Ac, 27 guineas…wish I still had it.

Pete Fisher….bought my first singles here, later albums, sheet music, and my first decent acoustc, a 12-string, which was pretty hard to play.

Alan Esdaile ….I used to ring up all the time and see if any jobs were going but was unsuccessful, as Alan mainly wanted girls working in the shop. Mind you thinking about it now I was also turned down by Woolworth and The Green Shield Stamp shop!

Jim Breeds….Some of my vinyl LPs still have their plastic zip lock sleeves with “The Disc Jockey” printed on them.

Pete Fairless….I used to go to Woolies record dept. to buy singles from Louise (Illman?) but with the Disc Jockey, Stylus, Record Shop, Smiths aand Boots all selling records, there was usually never a problem getting a new release. For albums, The Disc Jockey and Stylus were best but with the back up that Jack would always be able to track down anything obscure. Remember this guy?

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 Andre Martin…..Having looked back in archive – I think this Big Al character did not appear until 1974, that’s the earliest record that I have, round about Christmas that year. I am sure if I had come across [him] it before I would have saved.

Jim Breeds… I was at school with Tony Harris. I used to ask him in the shop what he thought I should buy this week 🙂

Dave Luck… Us oldies certainly remember the Disc Jockey, a proper record shop, and always packed on a Saturday.

Philip Meston… I  used to work with Tony Harris, not seen him for ages!

Andre Martin…  It would be good to he a Blue Plaque on the site of the Disc Jockey shop at the Memorial end of Queens Road to remember Alan and all that he did for young people in the 1960s & 1970s. I know he was a business man, but a very generous man as I am sure we have all experienced.

Mick O’Dowd…. Totally agree

John Storer… Remember going in there and asking for “Sticky Fingers” and everyone bursting out laughing! Also remember buying “New Rose” by The Damned in late 76 … Alan had heard of “punk” but had decided to keep the 3 or 4 punk singles he had in a tupperware box behind the counter for some reason. However, once he realised there was a market for this stuff, he would get in just about any single you wanted, even though most were being released on obscure indie labels. Most Saturdays I would leave with 3-4 singles and bought classics from Slaughter & The Dogs, Ed Banger & The Nosebleeds as well as the more “established” punk bands. Bought “Anarchy In The UK” there the day it came out (I do hope my sister still has it … an acquaintance recently sold his copy for an astonishing£12,000) and remember playing the Buzzcocks “Spiral Scratch EP” pretty much non-stop for 48 hours 🙂 Tony Harris became a good mate around that time. Last heard, he was living in Cambridge.

Peter Gladwish… As well as going to the Disc Jockey on a regular basis, to listen to all the latest records, I bought my first 12-string guitar from Big Al (c.1968) and I’ve still got it. Yes, he started selling a few musical instruments to supplement the lack of income from record sales!!!