Curley 1973 -1998

On the 3rd Janary 1998 whilst asleep in Italy, Curley peacefully passed away from a heart problem not even he knew he had.

Within our creative dance culture there are few people with the active energy and dedicated commitment necessary to keep the scene fresh, vibrant and at the cutting edge. Curley possessed all these powers and spread them like a virus, infecting all who crossed his path with a positive feeling and uniting us all in confidence for the future.

Ehen in London CUrley influenced the free parties in a big way. His preference for DJ time would be late in the morning, a time when the party would be fading, most DJ's would demand the so called "peak time" of around three or four o'clock when the dancefloor was booming. Just before his set Curley, a big black Dutchman with an even bigger smile, could be found shaking and waking the mass of weary bodies piling up around the edge of the warehouse. Lo and behold, 10 o'clock on a cold Sunday morning, daylight flooding a dancefloor filled with intense eyes, satisfied faces and a wave of bodies locked into the hypnotic rhythms and euphoric beats that signified the sound of Curley. His magnetic personality, electrifying ability and fierce passion for music, machines and mayhem inspired all, from the closest friend to most casual acquaintance. As an artist, DJ and producer Curley travelled throughout Europe influencing many other artist, labels and sound systems, to name all of them wold be like reciting a telephone directory.

No party will ever be the same without him, few had more fuel for life than Curley and his presence will be dearly missed. Yet his spirit lives on and will continue to inspire in generations to come. He has departed our world and moved to that big old studio in the sky, up there amongst the technology that is out of this world Curley is beaming down on us, transmitting his special style of audio frequencies that will give us courage and creativity we need to take us to a better future.

May he rest with pride.

A tribute for Curley is planned for April 18th in London. Info: 0181 959 7525 (it happened, it was good - stevvi). An outdoor party and compilation album are also being planned for the summer. All profits from above will go towards Curley's young son, Ixl.