I discovered Goldie as a teenage break-dancer in Wolverhampton: this is what he was like
Martin Jones recalls the first time he met a teenage Clifford 'Goldie' Price at his flat in Heath Town, Wolverhampton.
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"I had never met anyone with so much energy,'" recalls Martin, then a 30-year-old youth worker, who had just organised what was believed to be the UK's first open-air break-dancing competition.
Today, millions of people around the world will watch the men's break-dancing events at the Olympics. But 40 years ago Martin helped introduce the dance craze to mainstream Britain – and discovered the young man who would become one of the most influential music producers of his generation.
It was August, 1984, and Martin had organised Thriller in the Park, a Michael Jackson themed competition at the amphitheatre in Cannon Hill Park.
"We invited some of the top break-dancing crews from the Midlands to that, including Coventry Future Shock, who battled the first time with Birmingham Roc 6.
"The BBoys from Wolverhampton arrived late, they wanted a battle with Future Shock."
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At that time, the BBoys had 10 members, and among them was 19-year-old Clifford 'Goldie' Price. Goldie's street name was not a reference to his now-familiar gold teeth and love of bling jewellery. That was still to come. The real story is that he used to have long, flowing dreadlocks, which earned him the nickname Goldilocks. When he had his hair cut, his name was also shortened as well.
However, when it came to photoshoots, at this time Goldie was usually in the background. Because despite the BBoys name, the crew's unique selling point at the time was that one of its members was a girl. Pauline 'Bubbles' Hudson usually took centre stage.
Remembering his first encounters with future rap and R 'n' B legend Goldie, Martin says: "He was one of the most creative dancers I had ever seen.
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