LIGHT years before drum machines, synthesizers, loops, computer generated dance tunes and the era of the superstar DJ, Greg Wilson was firmly in the groove.

The North-West spin master was always at the cutting edge, breaking the new electronic, post-disco records emerging out of New York, a sound he dubbed ‘Electro-funk’.

It was the channel that brought the Hip-Hop movement firmly into the UK mainstream with monster sounds like Planet Rock by Africa Bambaataa’s Soul Sonic Force, a track that is still readily sampled today.

“Electrofunk announced the computer age, with its rap, dub mixes, scratches and use of innovative samples, and when you listen to Bambaataa and then Grand Master Flash it was black punk,” said Wilson as he looks forward to another guest appearance at this summer’s Beat-Herder Festival.

“It was a Hip-Hop reaction, like punk was, to the big, established bands and suddenly there was these guys out in the street who were saying we don’t need Earth, Wind and Fire anymore.

“We can just get a turntable, a slab of vinyl, a small sound-system and create our own sound and they did.

“When you look at the video of the Message by Grandmaster Flash, shot in the Bronx, it looks almost surreal now; the decaying buildings, people living their lives on the streets of New York and this grim narrative about inner city violence, drugs and poverty.

“It was so radically different from what had gone before.

“It was a raw, no holds barred statement of that time.”

Wilson added: “Struggle, I think, is a necessary part of life, without it we don’t have that friction that oils the wheels and drives us forward and most great music comes through adversity.”

The original doctor of dance, Wilson held sway over the decks at Manchester's legendary Hacienda until he retired from DJ work in 1983.

In recent years, though, he has returned to spinning tunes with unsurprisingly incendiary results.

He has taken the study of DJ-ing to an academic level, setting up his own website, Electrofunkroots, to document this crucial era in the evolution of dance music and regularly conducts lectures across the world on music and DJ culture.

“It’s the maverick characters of the golden era that are missing now, but they were pretty much extinct by the end of the 1980s; when the accountants took over,” he added.

“The best DJs are the ones who are gifted mixers and intuitive programmers.

“Mixing is important, of course, but a lot of people have realised that the fundamental skill needed to be a DJ isn’t mixing ability, but programming ability.

“When I started out DJs really thought on their feet, reading the crowd as they played.

“You had to be able to sense the vibe and change direction when necessary.

“In the post-rave era, many DJs began to rehearse a set playlist, and spontaneity took a back seat and the possibility of spur of the moment surprises, which often provided the magic of it was lost.”

Wilson says the Ribble Valley festival has become one of his favourites, adding: “Amongst the blizzard of new technology I think people are beginning to discover the beauty of sharing a physical space with each other at a festival, and Beat Herder is one of the very special ones.”

The Beat-Herder Festival in Sawley runs from Friday, July 15 to Sunday, July 17. Greg Wilson will be appearing on the Trash Manor Stage on the final day. Tickets from 0844 888 4420 or Beatherder.co.uk