How do you follow up a track like Voodoo Ray? Back in 1989, around nine months on from its first appearance in the clubs (and to coincide with its entry in the pop charts), Sounds sent John Robb to Moss Side, Manchester, to meet Gerald Simpson, aka A Guy Called Gerald, to uncover what the young producer had up his sleeve.

The following snippet is taken from the excellent Rock’s Back Pages library of classic interviews and articles.

…Gerald is moving the dance formulae away from the tedious pub band routines of just sampling James Brown. On his debut album, Hot Lemonade, samples have been culled from sources as bizarre as noise gods Negativland.

“I’m into all types of sounds. Negativland themselves use samples that suit the track, instead of using them for the sake of it. I work along similar lines.”

The search for more interesting sounds…