So, first of all Patrick, how old are you?

I'm 43

So, you were old enough to appreciate disco in the '70s?

Yes, I started with funk in 1979 then later in 1980 I started to collect disco. But I wish I had more money to buy records then. I can still see in my mind the record stores with all the disco 12 inches on the wall!

I know you talk about this in your book, but can you tell me how you got into this music?

My brother was living in another city, Nijmegen, which is 100 miles from me, and there were discos where they played Sister Sledge, Aleem and those kind of records. When hearing them I was infected by that music, and stil am. I also collected jazz rock at that time which I stil love.

You would be quite young then though?

Yes, 15

Did you go to clubs at 15?

Yes, I told my parents I was at a friend's!

Did you have any trouble getting in?

Not in Nijmegen because I was with my brother who is 8 years older than me. Here in the neighbourhood it was more a bar with a dancefloor and DJ. They were playing mostley funk there. Later a Discotheque was opened here called Galaxy with a lasershow and lighted dancefloor. They played more disco music there, I remembered hearing Jackie Moore - How Is Your Love Life Baby there which sounded great and was followed by Harry Thumann - Underwater which looked great with the lasershow and smoke and everything.

So, you started buying records you heard there?

Yes and on the radio. There was a Canadian forces station where they played imports and also the American forces were here in the neighbourhood (NATO). There was a program called Soul Show which also played some independent 12 inches, so I recorded that each time and when I visited the import store I could buy most of it there.

Do you know who the DJs were? At the clubs and on the radio shows?

Local unknown DJs. In Nijmegen Ben Liebrand was spinning in 1979 who is still a famous mixer now. On the radio there was Ferry Maat with his Soul Show.

This music must've been quite big where you are then?

No it wasn't big. There were only a few clubs and there was one import shop here in the neighbourhood. I had to go to Amsterdam and Antwerp to get records.

So I guess you would start by buying obvious titles?

I bought the titles which weren't in the charts, and which I liked the most.

Did a lot of obscure disco records make it to these stores? I mean other than Salsoul and West End and so on?

There was an Import store here in the neighbourhood (Maastricht - 15 miles from my place) called Sound Of Music which got new imports each week. All that was issued was there but only one or two copies of each, so if you were too late you would never get it. They didn't get only the major labels, but also the independents. There wasn't much second hand then, so I could only buy new ones. One of the first 12 inches I bought there in 1979 was Eddie Cheeba - Looking Good on Treeline, I heard that on the radio and rushed the day after to the store and bought that. I still love that record very much. You could also listen to each record which the owner played very loud on the speakers in the shop which was great. It's better to judge a record loud on the speakers than through the headphones. I have great memories on that period.

Would you say you started buying rare records by accident then? Or did you WANT rare records?

No I wasn't aware of that at the time. In the import store there were new titles each week and if you missed a few weeks you missed those titles. Because I only had money for 3 records a month I could only go once a month!

Of course, I forgot you'd still be at school.

Yes. Most of my collection I have bought in the last 20 years

OK. So when did you leave school?

1988

That would make you in your 20s??

I was 24. I don't know what you call it, but here it is called HTS (High school?) I'm an electrical engineer.

So, you didn't earn money until you were 24?

Yes, I started working at 24

So for nearly ten years you couldn't buy enough records!

That's correct and i'm still amazed by the things I didn't know from that period! But it's nice that you can still buy records from that time you didn't know. It makes collecting more fun.

Of course. So when you started earning wages - did you go on a record shopping spree?

Yes I went to the same shops but spent more money! Also at that time record fairs were starting so there were a lot of second hand records to find. All the Patrick Adams stuff I bought almost for nothing at that time. But I traded a lot of that for acetates the last few years.

Were you buying medleys and stuff when you first started?

No. My first records were David Bowie, The Cure etc. My first disco record was Full Tilt Boogie by Uncle Louie and the Bus Stop - Fatback Band.

Any others that stand out?

It was mostly albums: Osiris - O zone, Shotgun - III, JBs -Groove Machine, Mass production - In The Purest Form, Roy Ayers - fever (Love will bring us back togheter-my all time favorite), Con Funk Shun - candy, Dayton, Bar Kays, Chocolate Milk, Cameo, Jimmy Castor, Slave, Fatback, Brass Constructtion, BT express, Sun etc - I have all their albums. Like I told you I also love jazz-rock/funk from the perioud 1977-1980: Caldera, Donald Byrd, Seawind, George Duke, Stanley Clarke and more in that style. I also really liked all the Wayne Henderson productions from that time and bought all the records he produced (At Home productions).

Did you buy records before this?

Yes but not much. Only a few singles, nothing special.

So what was your first medley?

Bits and pieces 1

Was that a new release when you bought it?

Yes, it was played on a soul show on the radio and I went to Amsterdam to buy it there. This was in 1980.

How did you discover disco acetates?

On ebay. Ten years ago I won a medley on acetate, and then when I got that I was wondering what it was. Later that year I bought more and then saw the 10 inch re-edits and was curious what the history was behind them. After a few years collecting and putting them on my page I got in contact with John Morales and Rick Gianatos, so I learned more on the history from them. I wish I'd known them earlier, so I had more.

Do you actually know acetates and records you are looking for, or is it just a case of seeing what turns up?

No, it's always a guess what you get, or if it is from a famous mixer which I already have more from. During the last 7 years I have bought a lot of DJ collections with acetates, so I know from experience what could be interesting or not. 80-90% of the Acetates are company 12 inches which are the same as the vinyl copy, so there are only few which are good.

How did you get in touch with John?

He saw that I had his medleys on my page and contacted me in 2001. He didn't have those medleys and wanted them back. I mailed him and asked him to look at what acetates he had and I asked him, if it was ok to put all this info on my site. So I made a section on him and he got in the spotlight again and was asked by more sites.

How did you find the other guys in the book? Flores, Gianatos etc etc?

Most of them mailed me because they googled their name and came across my site.

Do these guys still have records??

Most of them don't have any records, mostly a few acetates. John sold all his records years ago but kept the ones he had mixed.

Have you been to the States digging then?

Never. But I'm going next year to see John.

Where do you find your acetates now?

Mostly ebay, and I have a few friend in the US and Canada who look for me, but it's getting harder and harder. The most common ones I have now though, so I'm looking for the special ones. You must know that 80% of the acetate mixes are album versions or bad edits and only 20% are good.

Are all the records in the book yours?

Most of the vinyl records in the book are mine, from the acetates I have only the ones I like. I've sold all the acetates which weren't good, so I have kept only the good ones. The best acetates are the francois K ones.

I guess you need to record all these to CD as soon as you get them?

No, I was planning that, but I've recorded only the good ones.

Really? Any acetate I get I record it as a matter of course, so I only need to play it once and not damage it any more.

Yes, I do too, but I collect them more than play them. The really good ones I put on CDs and those I play sometimes. I'm planning to issue a CD later this year with the best ones.

Why do you collect these things if you don't play them?

I collect them for the disco history, and the good mixes I record and play sometimes. For example I have some melting pot sound 7 inches (exactly the same as vinyl copy), I will never play them, but for the historical value I keep them. It's nice to have some of each label in the collection.

And you still buy records other than medleys and edits?

Yes. I buy more records than acetates and medleys. I don't find any medleys anymore, all I see I have already.

Are there still record shops for you? Or do you need to buy online now?

90% I buy online. Though I do go with some friends to record shops four times a year, and the Utrecht record fair twice a year.

When did you start your site? It's been around a while now.

I don't know anymore. I changed provider in the beginning and was starting making backups in 2001- so I can't find the exact date. The site was online a few years before then, so I estimate 1998-1999.

Why did you start the site?

I surfed around the net at that time and there weren't many sites about disco, and especially the bootleg mixes. So I started to make a site with them and updated that every two months. It was then, and still is, the only site this big with info about the bootleg mixes and disco acetates. It's not high tech with high resolution pictures, but I chose for it to be more informative. I was planning to make the site more professional, but can't find the time to do it (buying records - kids - making book etc). I also liked the peter brown productions, so after a few years I made a list of them and made a section on it. In a year I nearly completed the list and I was known all over the world - Discopatrick - yeah the site with P&P records! Even Peter Brown and Patrick Adams mentioned to people who asked them questions - check the list from that guy from the Netherlands. The only bad thing about it is that everyone wants to have the records on the list so prices got higher, and still are.

OK, so now the site's basically become a book - how long did it take you?

It took us about two years. One year went into putting the content together and another year went into the design and layout which my friend Patrick Vogt did. He's a graphic designer, music fetishist and record collector. Due to his creative input the book became what it is, a true eyecatcher. He wanted it to have this typical seventies and early eighties kinda look and feel. A lot of research went into finding out how things were put together back then. Remember, back in the days they did not have the same technology as we have today. Also the design techniques, layout style and typography were different. At the end it was the chemistry and the love for theÊmusic which made it all happen for us.

So you two were friends before the book was planned?

We got to know each other a year before we started the book.

How did you meet?

Patrick was looking for some songs, so he mailed me. Because he lives just ten miles from me we met up and from that time we became friends. We're also both friends of Freddy Fresh and we both love his book 'The Rap Records'. In fact, his book inspired us to publish ours.

So he shares your tase in music?

Patrick has also been collecting records since he was about 12 years old. His main focus was not only Disco though. He's also a big fan of Funk, old school Rap and Electro. Due to the fact he's five years younger than me, he did not experience the Disco era as I did. The making of the book however has made him love Disco even more.

I guess the book was expensive to produce?

Yes, we financed the book ourselves. The Limited Edition was especially expensive to be honest. It had to be something special and ultra limited, a future collectors item. Luckily the Limited Edition sold out within two months. We still have to sell a lot of books to cover the costs though, but we are very confident we will succeed.

It looks great, and I'm sure it will sell well.

Somebody had to do it - so we did. There isn't a book or web site on acetate history, so now we made it history.

Have you ever been a DJ?

Not profesionally. Friends of mine were DJs and if they were sick I took their place. That was around 1983/84. I enjoyed it, but didn't want to do it each weekend. I still DJ twice a year at a Funk party, where I can play my funk records from 1979-1983. It's a great feeling mixing the records live. But I've mixed at home from 1979 but never recorded it. When Lynn (Ebony Cuts) asked me to make a mix two years ago that was the first one I recorded. It was downloaded so many times and I got so many compliments I made a second one.

So, final question: What is your favourite acetate or edit?

I can't decide which to mention. Work that body - Taana Gardner (the instrumental part of the song which was probably used for performing). Law of the land (7 inch acetate on melting pot) - this is one of Walter Gibbons first edits, made in 1973 and is very primitive, but it's a piece of history. Let's Groove - Archie bell and the Drells - Disco Queen 10 inch (This one was often played on the radio in 1979, so it has a lot of memories). From the first two I don't have the acetate (only a recording) and hope I can find them some time in the future. If you ask me which is the best re-edit which was made in the early disco days, then it's Erucu - mixed by francois kevorkian (10 inch sunshine sound acetate).

PICTURES:

MELTING POT CUTTING ROOM
EARLY MELTING POT ACETATE
FRANCOIS KEVORKIAN ERUCU EDIT ON SUNSHINE SOUND ACETATE
RICH FLORES AT THE PRESS
MELTING POT ACETATE PRESS

FOR MORE INFORMATION, OR TO BUY DISCO PATRICK'S BOOTLEG GUIDE TO DISCO ACETATES, FUNK, RAP AND DISCO MEDLEYS, GO TO DISCOPATRICK.COM
OR CHECK THE LIST OF RARE PETER BROWN PRODUCTIONS AND EARLY ACETATES AT PATRICK'S DISCO & FUNK PAGE.