Legendary Leeds DJs reunited for 45th anniversary special

Paul Schofield and Ian Dewhirst created and ran the jazz, funk and soul nights at Leeds Central for three years from November 1977 until 1980.

Fast forward to 2022 and the spin wizards are set to celebrate 45 years since the first exhilarating night with all their friends on the decks

Although from different sides of the Black music scene, Paul DJing contemporary soul at Primo’s from 1972, and Ian a top Northern Soul DJ playing at Wigan Casino and Cleethorpes, they became good friends.

In 1977 disillusioned with the way club owners treated their customers and DJs, they went looking for venues in Leeds where they could play the music they loved and eventually came across Central Dance School on Central Road in Leeds city centre.

Within three weeks, the club opened and became an overnight success.

Ian recalls: “On Friday nights, it was THE hottest club in the North of England, quickly building a huge reputation for the music, atmosphere and crowd. Coach trips came from all over the UK. The Central was exciting: it was music, it was fashion, it was people.”

Paul added: “It was one of those places you went to purely for the music – not the décor or the air conditioning (but there was a ceiling fan…) The atmosphere was intense and the music was incredible, a wonderful fusion of Jazz, Funk and Soul. It had a lasting impact on the people who came.”

The Central was at the forefront of the music scene and the forerunner in many ways of the rave and house scenes in the ‘80s and ‘90s. Ian and Paul went on tour together, playing massive venues, like the Blackpool Mecca, Manchester Ritz and Birmingham Locarno. When they called it a day, Ian went on to do record company A&R before becoming resident DJ at The Warehouse in Leeds and Paul went on to be an executive in the travel industry.

The pair will hit the decks on Sunday, November 27 at Bohemia 3pm to 9pm) at The Woods on Stainbeck Corner in Chapel Allerton.

“We are over the moon that Ian and Paul will be gracing the decks at Bohemia, it really means a lot to us,” said Bohemia’s founders, Mike and Steve Walwyn.

Bohemia was set up by Mike and Steve in September 2019, along with resident DJs Mark Warner, Mally and Shaun Cottle. It has been running at the Woods in Chapel Allerton, Leeds ever since, bringing a unique mix of Soul, Motown, Northern, Jazz and Latin together, and proving a massive hit with locals and non-locals alike. It takes place on the last Sunday of the month from 3pm to 9pm and has attracted some great guest DJs too, including Paul Schofield, Colin Curtis, Jacob Miller, Gip Dammon, Diane Leyton and John Kane.