What moved and inspired us...

The Explosive power of The Nicholas Brothers and the hi-di ho’s of Cab Calloway in ‘Stormy Weather', the grace and style of Gene Kelly in ’Singing In The Rain’, the razzmatazz of Sammy Davies Jr at ’The Sands’, the vivid Technicolor of the 1974 Bollywood classic ’Sholay’ and the Latin Rhythms of Tito Puente. The morbid screams of ‘Ghostown’ by The Specials, the relentless and self proclaimed cool of Kid Creole and the Coconuts and finally the sweet taste of Minneapolis humour with a dash of chilli source from Morris Day and The Time.

And the west-coast underground dance masters who changed the world forever...

The Lockers

In 1970, a young Afro-American by the name of Don Campbell was becoming well known amongst street dancers in Los Angeles for creating a new dance totally by accident.  It was named ‘Campbellocking’ after the way he would hesitate in between moves when he was trying to learn new steps.

  By the Early '70s Don Campbell started dancing on the TV show 'Soul Train', He became very popular so they asked him to bring in other dancers who he would hang out with in clubs like ‘Maverick’s Flat’ on Crenshaw Boulevard .  Later they all got kicked off the show for asking to be paid, (Soul Train was a non paying gig) Don got the guys together and with the help of Toni Basil a known TV choreographer who was famous for the shows "Shindig" and "Hullaballoo". They created ‘The Campbellock Dancers (later to be renamed The Lockers ) the group made many TV appearances including 'The Carol Barnett Show’ and Saturday Night Live.

Without a doubt, The Lockers was definitely the most influential street dancing group of all time. 

(Pictured Here) Don Campbellock, Leo ‘Fluky Luke’ Williamson, Greg ‘Campbellock Jr’ Pope, Adolfo ‘Shabba Doo’ Quiñones, Fred ‘Penguin’ Berry, Bill ‘Slim the Robot’ Washington and Tony Basil.

The Electric Boogaloos

I n 1977 Fresno California there lived a group of dancers who were influenced by the lockers.  This group known as The Electronic Boogaloo Lockers came together to create a new dance partially inspired by robotic movements. The group was led by Boogaloo Sam Solomon (who created the concept of popping), Darnell 'Twist-O-Flex' McDowel, Tick'n Will Green, Joe 'Slim' Thomas and Nate 'Slide' Johnson. It was the combination of all five of these individuals that were the key in developing what has become to be known as Popping and Boogaloo.

It was in the second incarnation of the group after Boogaloo Sam moved to Long Beach that the group was renamed The Electric Boogaloos. This group included Boogaloo Sam's younger brother Timothy 'Popin Pete' Solomon (who took the dance to a whole new level) Creepin Sid, Robot Dane, Puppet Boozer and Scarecrow Sally.

Popin Pete, Robot Dane, Boogaloo Sam and Creepin Sid.

Later the line up changed once more with the departure of Boogaloo Sam, this was the start of the third incarnation of The Electric Boogaloos - Popin Pete, Robot Dane and Skeeta Rabbit. This line up appeared in the ground breaking music video by Talking Heads 'Cross Eyed And Painless' (1980).

Chain Reaction

In 1974 after watching The Lockers on 'Saturday Night Live',  Thomas 'T-Bopper' Guzman-Sanchez was inspired to learn the dance.  He went on to form the group 'Chain Reaction' with his younger brother Paul 'Coolpockets' Guzman-Sanchez, Mike 'Deuce' Donley and Bob 'Bosco' Winters. They were one of the first groups to dance both styles (locking and popping) CHAIN REACTION were famous for their intricate routines and double time style. The group also appeared in the movie' XANADU' it was the first time that Locking and Popping would feature in a major film production. In 1980 (the year MTV launched) Coolpockets featured in Rod Stuart's promo 'Young Turks', it went on to become the 1st to take the best music video of the year.

As the group developed, it was the unison routines and this clean Doubled Up style of Locking that set them apart.

Later would come 'The LA Rockers' (Antony Thomas, Terry Bixler, Jazzy J and sometime collaborator Rene Elizondo) who were direct descendents of the Chain Reaction style. The LA Rockers would go on to appear in the classic Janet Jackson's music videos 'Nasty', 'When I Think Of you' (1986), 'Miss You Much' (1989) and 'Alright' (1990).

Jeffrey Daniel

Jeffrey grew up in Los Angeles and was a huge fan of The Lockers, in the early seventies being underage he would sneak into clubs like 'Maverick's Flat' to watch their true magic live.  He also began dancing on the TV show 'Soul Train' where he danced with his partner Jody Watley.  

By the mid-seventies they became the main dancers on the show and it was at this point that they were approached by Dick Griffey of Solar Records to form the R&B group 'Shalamar' with Gerald Brown and later Howard Hewett (Hits include A Night To Remember & Friends).  It was at the Shalamar shows that Michael Jackson first became a fan of Jeffrey Daniel's dancing (He would later go on to choreograph Michael in the music video's Bad & Smooth Criminal).    

It was a performance on 'Top Of The Pops' (UK's biggest chart show) back in 1982 that Jeffrey would be remembered here in the UK.  With Jody Watley not feeling well Jeffrey decided to do a solo performance that changed the lives of many people.  He came out to 'A Night To Remember' and Popped all the way through, it was the first time that the UK & Europe had seen anything like it.

Other influential dancer's that came out of the Los Angeles area at this time include Bruno 'Pop n Taco' Falcon, Michael 'Boogaloo Shrimp' Chambers and Ana 'Lollipop' Sanchez. All of whom appear along side Adolfo ‘Shabba Doo’Quiñones in the movies 'Breakin 1 & 2' and Chaka Khan's music promo 'I Feel For You' (1984).

The west-coast influence on the UK dance scene...

Before Jeffrey Daniel's performance on 'Top Of The Pops' in 1982 and the start of the west-coast street dance movement, there was already a huge Jazz funk boogie scene established, so it was only inevitable that the first groups that were formed would reflect that. When Jeffrey bought 'Eklypse' over in the summer of 1983 the influence they had on the London scene on that short trip would be priceless and would change the way the UK danced forever.

The London style of Locking will always be synonymous with Casper Canidate and his 'Orange County style', which he passed down to the few individuals (Dennis Charles, Fury, Feathers, Danny Francis and Sinbad 'Gurp' Phgura) who were lucky enough to hang out with him. They all went on to form their own groups which in turn would influence generations to come.

Some of the early UK dance groups:-

Sidewalk, Shazzam, Torso, Phoenix, Twilight East and House Of The Quite Storm.