Charity Shop DJ has teamed up with Dr Matt Connell of Nottingham Trent University to help bridge the generation gap through a shared love of music
Talking About Old Records Piloted in Staveley, Derbyshire
"Soon we started talking about music and we realised a lot of today’s music is in the same style as the older music. It’s just different bands singing the tunes" [Libby, 13]
The project took place over the summer of 2007 in the ex-coalfields communities of North East Derbyshire
The Staveley Seniors Forum and young people from the Aurora Music Project in nearby Killamarsh met through the Talking about Old Records project developed by Dr Matt Connell of Nottingham Trent University and Andy Jupp of Charity Shop DJ.
Read about the Staveley pilot project in The Guardian here
What We Did
Teenagers DJed for the elders using the Charity Shop DJ archive of old vinyl, and the elders brought along some amazing records of their own
Brian the Singing Miner, a local legend, had to be heard to be believed!
This was the teenagers' first gig. The elders got right behind them, dancing and enjoying themselves.
A meeting of minds over a box of old records
Following a heated discussion about the value of rap music, one older lady told us later that she had started to listen to it.
The youngsters subsequently declared a passion for vinyl records.
Everyone enjoyed themselves so much that the teenagers were asked back to DJ at the Staveley Seniors Christmas party.
What People Thought
"We got to know fellow members of the Forum better"
"I didn’t know what to expect and we were all quite nervous. Soon we started talking about music and we realised a lot of today’s music is in the same style as the older music. It’s just different bands singing the tunes." [Libby, 13]
"Lovely memories from way back dancing days"
"Very inspirational talking to young people. Excellent."
"Very beneficial, a great experience for the young and the older people involved"
"Hearing the older people's stories linked to certain songs gave us a snapshot of history"
Our thanks to Staveley Seniors Forum and the Aurora Music Project for taking part.
More thanks to North East Derbyshire District Council Arts Development Fund for supporting Aurora.
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| Talking About Old Records Staveley |
Matt Connell: Tel: 0115 848 6663 Email: matt.connell@ntu.ac.uk
Andy Jupp: Tel: 07803 164394 Email: andy@charityshopdj.com
© images copyright Sarah Gadd/ NTU. Text copyright Dr Matt Connell, NTU