David Rodigan

David Rodigan
MBE
Birth name David Michael Rodigan
Also known as Roddy, Ram Jam
Born (1951-06-24) 24 June 1951
Hanover, West Germany
Origin Oxford, Oxfordshire, England
Genres Reggae, dancehall
Occupation(s) Radio presenter, DJ, actor

David Michael Rodigan MBE (born 24 June 1951) is an English radio DJ who also performs as a disc jockey for his sound system. Known for his selections of reggae and dancehall music, he has played on stations including Radio London, Capital 95.8, Kiss 100, BBC Radio 1Xtra, BBC Radio 2 and BFBS Radio.

Early life

Rodigan was born on a military base in Hanover.[1] He attended Gosford Hill School, Kidlington, Oxfordshire.[2]

Career

He has stated that his passion for Jamaican music was initiated by watching Millie Small perform her 1964 hit My Boy Lollipop at the Ready Steady Go! TV show as a school boy.[3] By the age of 15, Rodigan was DJing at school dances and youth clubs. Leaving school in 1970, he spent a year studying economics before leaving to study drama. Despite pursuing an acting career, Rodigan kept his passion for music alive, selling records in Oxford then Putney, before obtaining a job on Radio London in 1978 to alternate with Tony Williams on the Reggae Rockers programme. A year later he was offered a permanent slot at Capital Radio to present Roots Rockers, which ran for 11 years. In 1990 a change in management and music policy at the station led to David leaving to start a new show for Kiss FM when it relaunched that September as London's first legal 24-hour dance music station. He hosted the Sunday night slot from 11pm till midnight until November 2012, when the slot was moved to midnight and he resigned in protest over what he called the "continued marginalisation" of the reggae genre.[4]

Rodigan has clashed established soundsystems like Killamanjaro,[5] Stone Love, Barry G[6] and Bass Odyssey.[7]

He has acted as tour DJ for reggae and dancehall artists including Shinehead. During the 1970s and 1980s, he worked as an actor and appeared in a variety of TV programmes, including a part in the Doctor Who serial, The Mysterious Planet. In 1984 he joined BFBS (British Forces Broadcasting Service) where he broadcast his weekly reggae show for 25 years until 2009.[2] In 2006, Rodigan was added to the Radio Academy hall of fame. Vocal samples of Rodigan can be found on the dubstep track "Hard" by Breakage,[8] on the introductory track of Caspa's 2009 Album Everybody's Talking, Nobody's Listening, and on the intro to Alborosie's debut album "Soul Pirate", and the main vocal of Sukh Knight's "Ganja",[9] plus countless other jungle/drum & bass tracks. Ad-Rock mentions Rodigan by name on the 2011 Beastie Boys track 'Say It'.[10]

He is the DJ for RamJam FM in Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City.

Rodigan was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2012 New Year Honours for services to broadcasting.[11] He has hosted a two-hour Sunday evening show on BBC Radio 1Xtra since 17 February 2013, and has hosted summer series on BBC Radio 2 since 2011. Rodigan said: "I am absolutely delighted to be joining BBC Radio 1Xtra where I can share my passion for both new cutting-edge reggae and classic cuts, reflecting a genre of music which continues to play a paramount role in urban bass culture music."[12]

For 2014's Red Bull Culture Clash, Rodigan joined forces with Chase & Status, Shy FX and MC Rage to form the soundsystem Rebel Sound. They went on to win the clash, defeating fellow crews Stone Love, Boy Better Know and A$AP Mob.

References

  1. ↑ IMDB entry
  2. 1 2 "Biography: Rodigan's Reggae". Rodigan.com. Retrieved 4 July 2014.
  3. ↑ Archived 27 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine.
  4. ↑ "Kiss FM DJ resigns over reggae 'marginalisation'". BBC News. 22 November 2012.
  5. ↑ "daintycrew.com". daintycrew.com. Retrieved 4 July 2014.
  6. ↑ "David Rodigan in Antwerp on Saturday 19 February 2000". Reggae-vibes.com. 19 February 2000. Retrieved 4 July 2014.
  7. ↑ Köhlings, Ellen; Pete Lilly (January 2007). "Riddim Soundclash - All About The Music". Riddim. Retrieved 22 January 2012.
  8. ↑ "YouTube". YouTube. Retrieved 3 July 2015.
  9. ↑ "YouTube". YouTube. Retrieved 4 July 2014.
  10. ↑ "Say It by Beastie Boys on SoundCloud - Hear the world's sounds". Soundcloud.com. Retrieved 4 July 2014.
  11. ↑ The London Gazette: (Supplement) no. 60009. p. 21. 31 December 2011.
  12. ↑ Barnes, Anthony (8 January 2013). "Reggae DJ David Rodigan lands BBC Radio 1Xtra show". independent.co.uk. London. Retrieved 10 January 2013.
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