hi all..i have been asked to do some 40 and 50 year old birthday partys...but considering most of my cds are house/urban/techno/dance i think i need some pointers on what to get

if anyone knows of any albums with anything from 60's 70's 80's even present day..that is suitable

im sure they wont want to hear all about snoop-d-o-Double-gizzle and his 'friends'
jules

Have a look in the bargin bins at places like Tesco's Woolies HMV etc and search out compilation CD's with hits of the 60's 70's 80's. Also worth getting a bit of swing like Rod Stewart or Robbie Williams can be used for background music at the begining of an evening. ALso have a look through some boot sales you can pick up some music there.
Ebay is another place to have a search loads of music on there.

Word or warning very cheap compilation CD's can have re recordings of the original hit by the 'New and Updated' band which does not have the quality expected, or they put a live recording on which can leave a dance floor dead!

Hope that helps
Anne

Ebay definitely , there's good stuff on there most of the time, just remember to avoid the copies

Heres an idea... think of (or look up) what songs where around in the main "record buying/dancing to" years of the birthday person. Typically when they're in their teens and twenties...

So...40 year old...main music years (for non-DJ's) would be 25 years ago to about 15 years ago - so... 1980 to 1990 ish. So, Best hits of the 80's, Greatest hits of the 90's type cd's from the places mentioned above - but watch out for surprises. not all X year olds, follow this idea - especially, it seems the girlies...

"audition" these CD's way before the gig, and at the very least, note down which tracks are fast, medium, smootchie, and "buffet rated" (eg: would wreck the night if played at any time other than during the buffet...). If time permits, listen to the ones you've marked down as dancy/fast, and see if any seem to group together eg: That song should mix in well with... use such pairings as a loose guide... if someone requests one song from your "boppy electronicy" list, follow it with another from the same list.

Remember too, that many of the older birthdays can often be "HELLO!, I've not seen you for YEARS, hows everything...?" so, you might be on background music for a fair while, if they tell you that they'd like an hour or two of background music to catch up on old times etc, rather than dance. Don't get dis-heartened by this, they dont have to be dancing to enjoy themselves. I went to a gig (as a guest) back in January, we were all chatting and laughing and reminiscing (sp?) etc, until the DJ said something along the lines of "I dunno why you lot aren't dancin' - theres no discount for not dancin' yer know." (said through a stroppy face)...
He had an effect on the night, many conversations turned over to bad experiences of bad DJ's at various functions people had attended over the last X decades...

Totally agree with Spinner, you can't just assume with 40 year olds that they'll want 60/70/80s- you'll find they like a lot of newer stuff as well, its best to ask them for some guidance!

dads 40ish he helps me with those songs theres early 70s glam was popularwont go down the gary glitter subject so
wig wam bam
blockbuster
little willy
can the can
tiger feet
devil gate drive
cum on feel the noise
crazy horses
bye bye baby
then theres later 70s
night fever
dancing queen
disco inferno
body talk
boogie nights
born to be alive
celebrate
chain reaction
club tropicanna
ladies night
fantastic day
love plus one
staying alive
tainted love
there are loads of good 70's albums around quite cheap at the moment
good luck jamie

As Marky mark says, we could spend all night listing tracks from the 60's70's and 80's but because you don't know what order to play them in, it would be useless to you. i would be the same if someone asked me to do a dance or RnB night. as Marky says go out with a DJ who does no tracks from this era, if you can't - consider turning it down or passing it on. You can do your business more harm than good, carrying out a booking which you're unable to give the punter 100%. it may harm your business in the short term, but it will reap dividends in the long run.

The punter will respect you, and is likely to book you again for other functions say 18ths or 21st where your skills will be greater appreciated, if you were to turn around and say "look it's not my thing". From a personal point of view, with the description of your music collection, you are way out of your depth doing 40ths and 50ths, and I mean that with all the respect in the world.

A great set of CDs to get which are perfect for 40 plus birthday parties are the Party Animal Series..stuff like YMCA, Tight Fit Back To The 60's always goes down a storm, also at weddings

Also Mastermix do a great set of themed Cds with most of the stuff you will ever need for birthday parties and weddings etc


Another good tip, is to actually go to a good wedding disco, or go and see a covers band which caters for the age group you will playing for, take a notepad and note what they play and how they play them!

For over 40's discos play sets of stuff..ie 3 disco songs, three rock and roll songs, three glam rock songs, etc

How you play these songs in what order etc, is something which comes from experience, like many on here I have been to plenty of wedding party discos on my nites off to see the DJ sometimes fall flat on his/her face... anyone can play three house songs together, just match the drum machine and pitch up or down it's easy!

Learning to read a crowd of 40 or 50 year olds take time and experience....same with weddings

Plus crowds of that age expect some party games and stuff..have you done those before, if not learn!

and good luck!