Respond to this challenge by either using the prompt word leavin’, or going with the above picture, or by means of the song ‘Tear It Up’, or by going with another song that was sung by The Cramps or Johnny Burnette, or a song that is about having a wild, high-energy time while dancing and partying, or another early rock and roll or rockabilly song, or a song where someone mentions they are leaving, or you can go with whatever you think fits.
Thursday Inspiration #338 Tear It Up
Some prompts whisper an idea.
This one practically turned the speakers up and shouted at me. 🔊😂
When I saw Jim’s invitation to write about dancing, partying, wild nights and music, my mind immediately travelled back more than thirty years.
Back to my DJ days.
But actually, the story started before I ever stood behind the decks.
Before the DJ Booth
I’ve always loved music.
And I mean almost all music.
My taste has never fitted neatly into one genre. I can listen to opera and classical music, rock and metal, pop, Eurodance, house, techno and EDM.
Before I started DJing, I loved going out dancing.
Weekends meant clubs, live music and concerts. Sometimes there were international acts, but very often we went to see Norwegian artists and bands.
I didn’t need a famous name on the poster.
If the music was good and there was somewhere to dance, I was happy.
There was something about a dance floor that allowed everything else to disappear for a while.
The working week was over.
The music started.
And we danced.
Then I Ended Up Behind the Decks 🎧
Eventually, instead of only dancing to the music, I became one of the people responsible for playing it.
During my DJ years, there was a little gang of us—the sound technician, my younger brother, friends and me.
And almost every weekend, we did it all over again.
Music.
Lights.
Smoke machines.
Speakers.
Lots and lots of speakers.
Some of which may not have survived the experience.
🤣🤣🤣
Our sound-check track was Magic Affair’s In the Middle of the Night.
That intro was perfect.
If those opening beats came through the speakers properly, we knew what the sound system could do.
Unfortunately, sometimes we discovered what the speakers couldn’t do as well.
My poor sound technician.
I still don’t know how many speakers we ruined. 😂🔊
The Denmark Shopping Trip
In 1994 we even went to Denmark and bought equipment—speakers, lights, smoke machines and everything else we thought we needed.
Most people probably return from a holiday with photographs and souvenirs.
We returned with a mobile nightclub. 🤣
And naturally, we couldn’t possibly wait until we got home to test our new speakers.
We tested them at the campsite.
I can only apologise, thirty-two years later, to anybody who happened to be enjoying a quiet camping holiday nearby. 😂
Music Never Left
Those days eventually became memories, but my love of music never went anywhere.
I’m still the person who wants to turn up the volume when an old dance track comes on.
I’m still the person who can hear the first few seconds of a song and suddenly be transported back to a particular club, dance floor, concert or moment in my life.
That’s the magic of music.
It doesn’t only remind us of what we listened to.
It reminds us of who we were when we listened to it.
So Jim, when you gave us a prompt about tearing it up on the dance floor, you opened quite a memory box.
For a moment, I’m back there again.
The lights are flashing.
The smoke machine is going.
The bass is shaking the room.
My brother and friends are there.
My long-suffering sound technician is probably worrying about the speakers.
And DJ Maggie is behind the decks thinking…
It could use a little more volume.
🔊🔊🔊🤣🎧
1994 Sound check track 🔊🎧
Today I use this song as my sound check 🎧🔊
With love, coffee, poetry, and stardust,
— Maggie The Afterlove Voice 💫
My new song “Silenced,But not broken ” is on all streaming platforms.
Lyrics video :
https://ditto.fm/silenced-but-not-broken
If you want a reading, send me an email:
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