ALL OUT WAR is the manifestation of Musician/Producer/DJ Solid State aka Richard Hardcastle.
Richard Hardcastle, a musician since 1982 and DJ since 1988, joined his first ‘proper’ band in May 1985 aged 16. He was recruited to play guitar and programme synths and drum machines in Sheffield bands One Stop the World and Jass, which variously featured Pulp’s Nick Banks, Jive Turkey’s Matt Swift, All Seeing I’s Dean Honer, and WARP’s Rob Gordon. Then, inspired by the black electronic dance sounds played by Winston and Parrot at Jive Turkey (original home of the WARP Records sound) he began Djing House, Rap, Soul, Funk and Disco and promoted his first dance club, ‘Kangaroo’ in 1988, which was featured alongside Jive Turkey in an NME ‘Acid House Special’ that November.
Richard then played the Sheffield warehouse and college scene for a couple of years and adopted the DJ name ‘Solid State’ in 1990. As Solid State he first gained DJ recognition for his Palais residencies, playing at hugely popular nights such as .Compulsion and Jam Factory during 1990-93 with Brother In Rhythm Dave Seaman, and Sasha, and played peak-time pirate radio shows on SCR and Fantasy FM.
In December 1992 he started a new club night with Notts legends DIY and Pat Barry, with whom he would later collaborate on vinyl releases. Pat introduced Solid to the deeper side of Disco and Balearic music, beginning a fascination with pre-House club music that that lay the groundwork for Society a decade later.
In 1993 he was involved in bringing New York legend Tony Humphries to Sheffield in an exclusive Ministry of Sound-sanctioned event which was the first of its type outside London. He then played extensively the free party scene with Smokescreen (aka the Inland Knights) and his old hero Winston Hazel through to 1994.
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