Martin Green From Smashing Club DJ to Cultural Curator; Inside the Archives of LGBTQ Pop & Art Icons
Martin Green(Smashing)
42:07•448 views
How do you stop extraordinary artists and their stories from being forgotten? DJ, curator and collector Martin Green discusses preserving queer culture through music, art and exhibitions.
In this conversation with Steve Blame for POP The History Makers, Martin recalls discovering David Bowie, finding like-minded people at art school, and building a DJ career around film soundtracks, lounge music and overlooked records.
He explains how working with James Lawler led to exhibitions championing artists such as Duggie Fields, and shares the stories behind exhibiting Marc Almond’s collages and exploring Holly Johnson’s life, music, paintings and archive.
We also discuss Leigh Bowery, Outlaws, London’s alternative club scene, and how unconventional artists reached mainstream audiences. Martin reflects on the relationship between music and identity — and why these cultural histories deserve to survive.
00:00 Introducing Martin Green
01:43 Childhood, family records and film soundtracks
04:35 Music as an escape and the beginnings of collecting
05:11 Discovering David Bowie
06:55 Roxy Music, art and the New Romantics
07:54 Finding like-minded people at art school
08:45 Why art schools mattered to music
11:39 Becoming a DJ
12:15 Barbarella, lounge music and unusual records
13:45 Finding his scene in Soho
15:30 Weekly DJing and the acid-jazz community
16:34 Becoming a curator with James Lawler
17:18 Duggie Fields and the exhibition that sparked a partnership
18:42 Connecting record collecting with curating art
20:14 Marc Almond: music, performance and visual art
21:53 Discovering and exhibiting Marc Almond’s collages
24:25 Artists who lead you into other creative worlds
26:12 Marc Almond’s influence on queer identity and goth
28:16 Holly Johnson’s music, paintings and archive
30:10 Queer history and reaching new audiences
32:42 Leigh Bowery and recognition for outsiders
33:31 How alternative artists reached the mainstream
36:16 Has music’s cultural importance changed?
38:00 Connecting radio, music and exhibitions
38:31 Planning exhibitions and securing funding
39:41 Steve’s MTV memories with Leigh Bowery
40:41 Sharing the experience of an era
41:34 Creativity through difficult times
Subscribe for more conversations with the people who shaped music, art and popular culture.
#MartinGreen #MarcAlmond #HollyJohnson #QueerCulture #PopTheHistoryMakers
