Stu Allan

Born 6th February 1962 & Died 22nd September 2022 (aged 60). DJ & producer originally from Anglesey who moved to Manchester in 1982. Having been inspired by Soul, Jazz Funk & early Electro / Hip Hop music, he attended club nights by local DJ Greg Wilson at Legend in Manchester. This further fueled his interest of buying imports from Spin Inn records while honing his DJ mixing skills on the mobile circuit part time as he worked odd jobs. Following an interview by Piccadilly Radio 261 presenter Tim Grundy he found work making mixes for other Piccadilly Radio djs between 1984 & 1986. This eventually led to him presenting a radio show called 'Souled Out' covering for Lee Browne for six weeks who got some work compering a Motown tour. The first record Stu Allan played was [m5279] but this drew the attention of the station managers who criticised the type of black music he was playing, however it proved popular as the ratings increased. So in July 1986 he became a permanent fixture presenting 'Souled Out'. He presented two radio shows, one on a late Saturday / early Sunday morning (1am till 6am) co-hosting with Chris Buckley called the 'All Night Beat', & another by himself playing more specialist music late on a Sunday night into Monday morning (11pm till 2am) carrying on 'Souled Out', which was split into three hourly segments playing upfront new releases from Soul, Hip Hop & House music, & included a run down of the latest top ten chart for each hour sponsored by Spin Inn Records in Manchester compiled by Kenny Grogan. He often featured an end of year best of mix that he edited together himself, aswell as broadcasting the winning mixes from the DMC championships & exclusive mixes from local guests such as the pause tape mixes of Paul Mulhearn & Mr Spin, mixes from Chad Jackson, Owen D, Johnny J, Dolby D, DBM & others. This became a popular show, especially the Hip Hop segment that he called 'Bus' Diss' when he moved to an earlier slot on the 13th September, 1987 on Sunday evenings (Bus' Diss at 7pm, Souled Out at 8pm, House hour at 9pm). The success he had playing black music on the radio also carried through into the late 1980s underground Manchester club scene, with his residency at Legends in Sale (Manchester), as a guest dj at The Gallery (Manchester), Segers in Leigh, one off 'Bus' Diss' events at the International 1 & as supporting dj to Hip Hop acts at The Hacienda. Following a rebrand & shift in frequency, Piccadilly Radio became Piccadilly Key 103. 'Souled Out' & 'Bus Dis' came to an end & by 1992 Stu Allan started to focus more on the emerging rave scene & producing music. He had a new show on Sunday evenings called Move '92, '93, '94, etc, to cater to this new audience playing a mix of House, Hardcore & Happy Hardcore, aswell as another more mainstream dance show on Saturday evenings presenting the 'Bacardi Beat Dance Chart". During the 1990s he became more popular further afield on the Hardcore scene djing mainly around the north & midlands, playing at Angels in Burnley, Liberty's in Sale (Manchester), The Eclipse in Coventry, Quest in Wolverhampton, Pandemonium in Birmingham, Shelley's Laserdrome in Stoke-On-Trent, Dizstruxshon in Howden, the Doncaster Warehouse, Uprising in Retford, Rejuvenation in Leeds, Fantazia in Blackpool & securing a residency at Bowlers at Trafford Park (Manchester), while also playing in Ibiza at Club Kinetic. Between 1999 to 2000, Kiss 100 approached him to mix & produce the now legendary 'Kiss Mix' (Mon to Sat evenings) which became the most listened to shows at that time in London for 14 to 24-year-olds. In 2005, he had a show named 'Hardcore Nation' on Pure Dance. As of September 2012, Stu Allan started to broadcast on Unity Radio 92.8FM in Manchester. He founded OSN Radio in late 2015, and hosted a weekly show Old Skool Nation every Friday night from 8pm till 10pm (UK time), which was followed by the Old Skool Nation After Party from 10pm till around midnight. The shows was usually broadcast live until October 2021. A more in depth interview with Stu Allan by Greg Wilson focusing on his earlier 1980s period can be found here https://electrofunkroots.co.uk/interviews/stu_allan.html Also for a more detailed feature on his popular Hip Hop show 'Bus Diss' see https://groovement.co.uk/2021/07/stu-allan-souled-out-bus-diss-radio-show-by-mr-spin/