Before we start with today’s business, I must offer my most profuse apologies for yesterday’s unexpected absence. I found myself much busier than on a normal Saturday and simply ended up running out of time to post anything. Normal service resumes here and now…

Anyway, the dance music world got something of a surprise on Thursday when the nominations people at the Grammy Awards suffered an unexpected bout of good taste by putting some decent records in their list of topics, which ran to something like 4000 in number.

One of those who was mentioned was Booker T, real name Gary Booker. He’s been in dance music for nearly 30 years and his remix credits are extensive – Quincy Jones, Gabrielle, Camille Douglas, All Saints, The Brand New Heavies, Angie Stone and Sounds Of Blackness are just some of the names in it.

He’s now been nominated for a Grammy for his remix of “Back To Life” – although this isn’t the first time he’s reworked the group’s music. Booker previously produced remixes of “Pressure Dome” and “I Don’t Care” back in the 1990s. But sure enough, it hasn’t taken long for the promoters and managers booking him to notice.

Take a look at this flyer for an event taking place in a few days time…

Notice the words “Grammy nominated remixer producer”? It’s hard not to. Expect to see a lot of this over the next few weeks. Whether it helps sell any more tickets is difficult to establish.

But an industry source tells me that Booker could now capitalise on his good fortune – and this applies whether he goes on to win or not. According to my source, “Booker T can now command more money for remixes. This kind of thing can open a lot of doors, winner or otherwise. And yeah, he could probably raise his DJ fees – if the phone starts ringing more than it used to, it might be the only way he can make it more manageable”.

Complaints about only being given 30 minute sets look set to become a thing of the past…