Rodigan to bring reggae beats to the Roadmender

The legendary David Rodigan is back at the Roadmender this month for another night of reggae and dancehall tunes.
David RodiganDavid Rodigan
David Rodigan

For more than 35 years, Rodigan has been one of the top names in his genre.

In August, the legendary DJ hosted an Island Records special on BBC Radio 2’s reggae show and earlier this year he released his autobiography, My Life In Reggae.

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The key to Rodigan’s success has been an unsinkable passion for reggae, which first took a hold of him as a schoolboy when he heard ska music in the early 1960s.

He developed an obsession with the music of Jamaica that generated an encyclopaedic knowledge of the island’s every artist, every song and every rhythm track.

His earliest experience of DJ-ing was during lunch breaks once a week in the gym at Gosford Hill School in Kidlington, Oxford.

After leaving school, he landed a place at the Rose Bruford College of Speech and Drama in 1971, where he spent three years studying to become an actor.

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He worked extensively in repertory theatre and appeared in a number of TV productions and he also performed his one-man show Zima Junction at literature festivals and theatres in the 1970s.

Rodigan began his reggae broadcasting career in 1978 on BBC Radio London.

He moved to Capital Radio in 1979 and remained there for 11 years broadcasting his legendary Roots Rockers show every Saturday night.

His credibility was ensured when he began clashing with Jamaica’s champion DJ, Barry G on JBC Radio in Jamaica.

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He then went on to clash with all the top Jamaican sound systems in the West Indies, the USA and England and in 2012 he won the ultimate clash victory when he took the Champion Trophy at World Clash Reset in New York.

In 1984 he joined the British Forces Broadcasting Corp where broadcast his weekly reggae show for 25 years until 2009 and in 1990 he joined the newly legalised Kiss 100 .

In February 2013 he joined the BBC to present a new weekly reggae show on Radio 1Xtra and also a summer season of classic ska, rock steady and reggae on BBC Radio 2.

Rodigan was inducted into the Sony Radio Academy Hall Of Fame in 2005 and has also won three highly coveted Sony Radio Academy Gold Awards.

He plays his unique collection of customised dub plates and classic recordings across the world.

He headlines the venue on Saturday, December 23. Doors open at 10pm, tickets cost £18 before fees.

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