"Sir" Norman Jay - 17/06/02
One of the most recongisable faces of the Carnival, Norman Jay, has been awarded an MBE for his influence on the London club scene and his authority on black music and dance culture. He said getting the MBE came as a huge surprise and is a sign of "changing times" that dance music is recognised as influential.

Biography

Born in Notting Hill to West Indian parents, Norman Jay nurtured DJing ambitions from the age of 8. Encouraged by a gospel-oriented family, his first gig was the 10th birthday party of one of his cousins. The exciting R&B coming out of late 60s black America - Sly Stone, Aretha Franklin and James Brown, had a profound effect and by the late 70s, Jay was enthusiastically collecting the likes of Motown, Stax, Atlantic, Jazz funk and Salsoul disco and ’The Sound of Philadelphia’. He experienced the rise of the disco phenomenon in New York, visiting the clubs including the legendary Paradise Garage, forging friendships with the likes of Larry Levan, Timmy Regisford, Tee Scott, David Morales and Tony Humphries.

It was around this time that Jay and his brother, Joey built the now infamous Good Times sound system at the Notting Hill Carnival. By now his reputation as an underground DJ was on the rise, attracting crowds whenever he played out. This led to an invitation from an old friend, Gordon Mac, to start up a pirate radio station, Kiss, named after its New York forerunner. Untrained in any aspects of broadcasting, he presented his first show in October 1985. He attracted to the station the likes of Jonathon More and Matt Black (Cold Cut), Jazzie B. (Soul II Soul), Dr. Bob Jones, Danny Rampling, Trevor Nelson, Gilles Peterson and Judge Jules. It was this DJ partnership that led directly to the emergence of the ’Rare Groove’ scene, named after Jay’s Original Rare Groove Show on Kiss. Affectionately known as the ’Godfather’, his Shake & Fingerpop crew along with Judge Jules’ Family Funktion outfit were the leading purveyors of this scene, playing mainly funky black music from the 70s and mixing it up with the best of brand new music coming out of the US, including the earliest house records.

They were responsible for the first warehouse parties staged in London, inspiring many of the UK’s biggest club and radio DJs. By the 90s Jay had become a respected name on the dance scene. He was headhunted by Polygram to launch a new label with Gilles Peterson - Talkin Loud - signing the likes of Omar, Bryan Powell, The Young Disciples, Galliano and Incognito. After three years there and several at Kiss, he left both to pursue his increasing DJ commitments around the world, annually touring the globe. He now regularly plays for the likes of Mick Jagger, Michael Caine, George Michael, Will Smith, Bruce Springsteen, Jay Kay, Paul Weller, Lenny Henry (who reputedly modelled his pirate radio DJ character on Jay), Vivienne Westwood, Jean-Paul Gaultier, Tommy Hilfiger and several other high profile figures.

He also became the first DJ to play the Cannes Film Festival. Jay has been awarded numerous Best DJ awards including Club DJ Of The Year (Blues & Soul Magazine) and is continually featured in the upper echelons of Mixmag’s annual Top 100 DJs In The World countdown.

read interview with Norman Jay