Maxine Bradshaw – a pivotal figure behind Carl Cox’s success.. [December 1990]
Behind every great man, the saying goes, is an even greater woman, and in the case of Carl Cox’s emergence from the illegal rave scene to become the global household name that he is today, that woman was his former partner Maxine Bradshaw…
This interview from Clubland magazine in December 1990 [taken from the It’s All About Flyers forum] introduces the pair, who first met each other in 1984.
As the article explains, ‘Maxine had a strong Brighton crowd and Carl was steadily building up a good London following. The continued to do promos at various events, mainly on the south coast. Maxine was by now actively pushing promoters to hire Carl to play at their events, and without realising it she had become his agent. She arranged a resident spot for him at the Sheffield Arms, which was part of Chris Hill’s Goldmine; also Spectrum at Heaven, not to mention the Ramplings’ now infamous Shoom…’
Indeed, it was thanks to Maxine that the ‘three-deck wizard’ first tried his hand at a third turntable, reportedly at a Sunrise event in Oxford.
A 2014 interview with Cox for Vice magazine, also highlighted the impact Maxine had on Cox’s early career, handing out business cards for the relatively unknown turntablist back in 1988.
“So in 1988 there was a party called Sunrise and these guys were really popular as organizers for acid house parties,” Cox recalled. “This one was at a place in Oxford for 15,000 people. I was still very unknown, but I started freestyle turntable mixing, and no one had heard that style before, so a lot of promoters who were there at the time were like, “Wow, who is that guy?” And my girlfriend at the time, Maxine Bradshaw, was handing out my business cards, like “Here’s Carl Cox, here’s Carl Cox.””
In fact, earlier this year, LiveMusicSpy caught up with Maxine, who still lives in Brighton, where she reportedly works as a property guardian. As she recalls, the role of managing Carl Cox may have come by accident, but it was one she relished.
“The role of the manager just came from nowhere, I don’t even know how it started. It would just be like; ‘I’m gonna take control of this. I’m gonna start booking you’. ‘Cause I was just able to sell him. It’s not easy to sell yourself, it’s easier for someone to sell you.”
Maxine, the dance music community raises a glass in your honour…
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