Herbie Laidley, better known as Mastermind Herbie, is a DJ and

record producer A record producer or music producer is a music creating project's overall supervisor whose responsibilities can involve a range of creative and technical leadership roles. Typically the job involves hands-on oversight of recording sessions; ensu ...

who has worked under a variety of

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true meaning ( orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individual's o ...

s, including The Rapologists and Mastermind. He was also a founder of Mastermind Roadshow - a

sound system Sound system may refer to: Technology media * Sound reinforcement system, a system for amplifying audio for an audience * High fidelity, a sound system intended for accurate reproduction of music in the home * Public address system, an institution ...

also featuring Kiss FM DJ's Dave VJ and Max LX and others which formed in

Harlesden Harlesden is a district in the London Borough of Brent, north-west London. Located north of the Grand Union Canal and Wormwood Scrubs, the Harrow Road flows through the centre of the area which goes eastwards to Central London and west towar ...

. He is most famous for mixing the '' Street Sounds'' collections of early electro, as well as for a variety of remixes over the years. In 1983, Herbie was mixing the seminal '' Street Sounds Electro 1'' (Street Sounds, 1983), for label owner Morgan Khan. It was one of the first releases to bring this new style of music to British ears, and spawned a successful series - ten volumes were released by the time of the final volume ''Street Sounds 10'' (Street Sounds, 1985) - and several similarly styled associated collections (Street Sounds Hip Hop Electro, Street Sounds Hip Hop, Street Sounds Crucial Electro). Khan was brought a track produced by Greg Wilson, "Style of the Street" by Broken Glass, which Khan appreciated so much he decided to put out an album called '' Street Sounds UK Electro'' (Street Sounds, 1984). In order to create the impression of a thriving UK electro scene, Khan asked Greg and his group to come up with six tracks under a variety of pseudonyms for the album, whilst Herbie also created a track for the album - "Hip Hop Beat (Street Mix)", under the pseudonym of The Rapologists. The album reached number 60 on the UK charts, and Herbie's tune was also released as a single - "Hip Hop Beat" (Billy Boy Records, 1984) - featuring scratches from Whiz Kid. Herbie went on to produce a remix of "White Lines" for

Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five were an American hip hop music, hip hop group formed in the South Bronx of New York City in 1978. The group's members were Grandmaster Flash, Kidd Creole (not to be confused with Kid Creole), Keef Cowboy, ...

which was released as a single and on the album ''Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five'' ( Sugar Hill Records, 1984), as well as remixes/production for artists including Loose Ends, Harlequin 4, Numarx,

DJ Jazzy Jeff Jeffrey Allen Townes (born January 22, 1965), known professionally as DJ Jazzy Jeff (or simply Jazz), is an American DJ and producer. He was one half of the hip-hop duo DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince, along with Will Smith. He is credited, ...

and the Fresh Prince,

Cookie Crew Cookie Crew were an English rap music duo formed in Clapham, South London in 1983. Career Their career took off after winning a national rap championship and recording two sessions for the John Peel BBC Radio 1 show. They gained a recording ...

and

Neneh Cherry Neneh Mariann Karlsson (; born 10 March 1964), better known as Neneh Cherry, is a Swedish singer, songwriter, rapper, occasional disc jockey, and broadcaster. Her musical career started in London in the early 1980s, where she performed in a numb ...

. Following his co-production of the Neneh Cherry single " Buddy X" (Circa Records, 1993), Herbie resides in London.

References

External links

Mastermind Herbie
at

Discogs Discogs ( ; short for " discographies") is a database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. Database contents are user-generated, and described in ''T ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Herbie The Mastermind English DJs English electronic musicians English record producers British hip-hop DJs English electro musicians Living people British electronic dance music DJs Year of birth missing (living people)