Back in 1989, the world knew very little about Derrick May. Other than the spin put out about the Belleville Three by journalist Neil Rushton, he was in many ways an unknown quantity. Many who were into house and techno could name his tracks, but few knew the man behind the records.
For years, literally the only glimpses we got into their characters and the way they ticked was the few interviews given to the press. Journalists writing these had a difficult balancing act – they wanted enough material to make for an interesting read, but they also needed to keep that person on side. Musicians and egos are often close friends – especially so in the case of Derrick May.
An easy way to find out is to ask the people who they’ve worked with. Such as veteran house and techno producer Cisco Ferreira. In 1989, he released a song called “Why Don’t You Answer” on a three-track EP for Transmat’s sub-label Fragile. As I understand it, Ferreira only found out about the release several months afterwards and never got paid for it.
Rumours persisted for many years that May was something of a womaniser. This was a topic he addressed in an interview with Muzik Magazine in June 1998, where he declared a wish to change his ways, saying he didn’t “want to f*** little girls anymore”.
And back in early 2018, Alan Oldham – a friend of Derrick May – posted this photograph…
Cisco Ferreira – a man who, incidentally, has been horrified by the revelations about May – responded with this…
Anyone reading these comments at the time might have rolled their eyes or raised an eyebrow. But such words have a very different meaning now…
