DJ Derek

He’s 67, bespectacled, and has a penchant for woolly tank tops. He is also one of the UK’s most respected reggae DJ’s, with a collection of over 50,000 records and an encyclopaedic knowledge of the genre, as well as eliciting the admiration of Massive attack and Jamaican ska legend Prince Buster.

The Westbury in Kilburn plays host to DJ Derek tonight thanks to the No Fuss crew – who have previously featured Shy FX and Mr Thing. As he takes to the decks the Friday night revellers display a mixture of shock and admiration; many take pictures with their phones. In spite of this he appears totally non-plussed, no doubt used to the attention his quirky appearance elicits.

His legendary record collection encompasses his beloved reggae, ska, dancehall and rocksteady, however tonight he opts for the favourites that everyone knows, prompting the audience to sing along. In-between songs he speaks with his now characteristic Patois accent, which he claims in the past helped him become accepted as a white man playing black records to predominantly black audiences.

The former accountant hails from Bristol, a city that has spawned the likes of Tricky, Massive Attack and Roni Size amongst many others. From a young age he became interested in soul and rhythm and blues, whilst his peers were grooving to rock ‘n’ roll. Bob Marley and Toots and the Maytals were to be the order of the day for the music lover.

Then one day, unexpectedly he was asked to play some of his records at the Bamboo Club in the St Pauls area of Bristol, an area with a large Afro-Caribbean community. That day was over 30 years ago, and since then, the man formerly known as Derek Morris has released an album of his favourite songs entitled ‘Sweet Memory Sounds’, played at festivals such as Glastonbury and the Big Chill, and garnered a cult following composed of both young and old.

His devotion to music is evident as he carefully selects and introduces each record. Don’t let his sweet old man appearance fool you; as tonight’s performance at The Westbury shows, his ability to get a party going rivals the most youthful of DJ’s.

Catch DJ Derek at the Rhythm Factory, 16-18 Whitechapel Rd, London, E1 1EW on 26th of February as part of Bristol Takeover. Visit www.rhythmfactory.co.uk for more info.

To find out more about him visit his MySpace page: www.myspace.com/sweetmemorysounds