Norman Jay
Norman Jay MBE (born Norman Bernard Joseph)[1] is a British DJ. He first came to prominence playing unlicensed or "warehouse" parties in the early 1980s, such as Shake 'n' Fingerpop.[2] His diverse and deep musical knowledge and his refusal to be restricted to playing from any single genre distinguishes him from his peers. He is commonly attributed to coining the phrase "rare groove".
Background and career
Born in Notting Hill, London, to Nigerian immigrants, Jay established himself through the London pirate radio station Kiss FM, on which he presented shows alongside founders Gordon Mac and George Power. Kiss 100 was launched legally in September 1990 and Norman hosted the first of what became his Musiquarium shows. Shortly after he joined Gilles Peterson at his record label Talkin' Loud.
In April 1997, after a long involvement with Kiss, Jay joined BBC London, where his Giant 45 show gained a loyal following up until February 2008.[3]
His Good Times Sound System, which he started with his brother Joey Jay, is a major attraction to those who attend the two day August bank holiday Notting Hill Carnival. Good Times now attracts an estimated 15,000 revellers a day during the carnival. Good Times has also extended into a series of compilation CDs.[4]
Jay describes himself as a primarily house music DJ, but the Good Times sound includes 1970s and 1980s funk, soul and jazz-funk, previous carnival tracks have typically included Estelle's 1980; and tracks featured in recent radio shows have included Billy Griffin's "Hold Me Tighter In The Rain" and more contemporary tracks in the form of Heavy's track "Wonderlove".
On BBC Radio 2, Jay presented the Funk Factory,[5] transmitted every six weeks of the year. In addition to this, he was one of 20 DJs who played one track each at the 2005 BBC Worldwide Awards,[6] which produced three specials for BBC Radio 1 over Christmas and New Year, hosted by Gilles Peterson.
He is an established regular at the Big Chill festival.[7]
Jay is also a Tottenham Hotspur supporter and was awarded the MBE for services to music in 2002.[8]
References
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Miguel Cullen, "Norman Jay Interview", Clash, 10 February 2011.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Funk Factory, BBC Radio 2.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
External links
- Norman Jay on TwitterLua error in Module:WikidataCheck at line 28: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).
- BBC London profile
- Carnival 2006 interview
- Kiss100FM - First Legal Broadcast - 1 September 1990
Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
