Norman Jay Interview
He is the Godfather of Club Culture and we were luck enough to chat to the King of Carnival about how he went from illegal raves and pirate radio to accepting his MBE from the Queen!
You’re a pretty widely respected DJ in the world by now, and back in 2002 you even managed to get on the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Birthday Honours List for “DJ-ing and services to music”How did that feel?
It was such a surreal experience, the gravity of it didn’t really dawn on me for a few days. It is something I am very proud of.
How was the Queen then?
M’aam was very charming, in the 30 seconds I had with her. She is very well informed because she’s given a brief on everybody - she did several hundred people on that day! Really I should get that moment put up on YouTube! I got mine on the same day Mick Jagger got his.
And you’ve been musical all your life. Apparently you were lucky enough to have musical parents who supported what you wanted to do, do you think this has affected your success?
Yeah, obviously you are a very fortunate person if you have friends and family that support and understand what you are doing. I am grateful they did, but even if they hadn’t I would have gone on and done it anyway.
You’re known for coining the phrase ‘rare groove’, we love this and that you don’t necessarily limit yourself musically. What do you say to artists and even fans who automatically dismiss all other genres of music?
To each his own. Experience has taught me not to be dismissive of something until you have done it yourself. The very nature of music means you can hate 99 records and then one comes along and blows your mind! You can’t lie to yourself and pretend you don’t like something when deep down inside you really do. I like to be true to myself musically. Secretly I have loved crap records as well - its all part of being part of this business. I am lucky that I have been able to indulge in my hobby and turn it into a career.
You originally started out as an underground DJ, featuring at massive warehouse parties and getting yourself known on Gordon Mac’s pirate radio station KISS FM. Those must’ve been crazy times, right?
I’m still underground! I’m still an underground DJ! I choose to regard myself as underground, if you’re not mainstream and in all those magazines and on the TV then by definition you are underground. I flirt with the media - it’s how I survive. I didn’t enter this thing to be famous. I just like to share my love and passion for music and that is all. The audience are the stars!
Your Good Times sets at Carnival are legendary. Do you enjoy playing those sets as much as we enjoy them? Is Carnival one of the highlights of your year?
I love them even more... I love them because you love them. If we were getting it wrong there would be nobody on that corner but we must be getting it right. I guess some people might say that it is because it is free and yeah, it could be that but everyone needs to enjoy it to stay and if you don’t like it, you have the opportunity to leave. We are a people sound system - we love the crowds and I see them as family. And yeah, Carnival is definitely the highlight of my year, around the world I do gigs at places like the big chill and places in Australia but nothing compares.
We hear you’re doing not one but TWO New Years Eve parties, it’s like a New Years Eve festival! How are you organising that? It sounds like it’s going to be a crazy night!
I have done up to five or six in one night before! But I got out of that pretty quickly because I felt like I was short changing the fans. So we are going to do one gig in North London and one in South London - each side of the Thames - we have got a huge following in both. So it’ll be accessible to everyone except us! We’ll probably get on a motorbike to get to the other side quickly! It is going to be a great London line up! We are using this as a platform to showcase new music too. It’ll be a bit of everything - not just one genre - even a bit of cheese so everyone can have a little fun and lighten up!
Where has been the strangest venue you’ve performed at?
I played in a cemetery in the Czech Republic for a Halloween night in a graveyard a couple of years ago, it was mental! I mean I’ve played in a 12th Century monastery, I’ve even played at one of Obama’s inauguration parties in Washington - they wanted a DJ that played block music to reggae and everything in-between.
What is at the forefront of your mind when you wake up every morning?
Thank God I have made it. Thank God I am alive.
If you were invisible for the day what would you get up to?
Boy, you wouldn’t be able to print that! I would try and help people that were less fortunate than me. I would help but they wouldn’t need to know who had helped them.
So what’s next on the agenda for Norman Jay?
To stay alive and stay healthy. Just having and giving other people the best times of their lives.
You can catch Norman Jay at TWO of his New Years Eve parties- one in Islington and one in Clapham. For tickets go to www.ticketweb.co.uk
You’re a pretty widely respected DJ in the world by now, and back in 2002 you even managed to get on the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Birthday Honours List for “DJ-ing and services to music”How did that feel?
It was such a surreal experience, the gravity of it didn’t really dawn on me for a few days. It is something I am very proud of.
How was the Queen then?
M’aam was very charming, in the 30 seconds I had with her. She is very well informed because she’s given a brief on everybody - she did several hundred people on that day! Really I should get that moment put up on YouTube! I got mine on the same day Mick Jagger got his.
And you’ve been musical all your life. Apparently you were lucky enough to have musical parents who supported what you wanted to do, do you think this has affected your success?
Yeah, obviously you are a very fortunate person if you have friends and family that support and understand what you are doing. I am grateful they did, but even if they hadn’t I would have gone on and done it anyway.
You’re known for coining the phrase ‘rare groove’, we love this and that you don’t necessarily limit yourself musically. What do you say to artists and even fans who automatically dismiss all other genres of music?
To each his own. Experience has taught me not to be dismissive of something until you have done it yourself. The very nature of music means you can hate 99 records and then one comes along and blows your mind! You can’t lie to yourself and pretend you don’t like something when deep down inside you really do. I like to be true to myself musically. Secretly I have loved crap records as well - its all part of being part of this business. I am lucky that I have been able to indulge in my hobby and turn it into a career.
You originally started out as an underground DJ, featuring at massive warehouse parties and getting yourself known on Gordon Mac’s pirate radio station KISS FM. Those must’ve been crazy times, right?
I’m still underground! I’m still an underground DJ! I choose to regard myself as underground, if you’re not mainstream and in all those magazines and on the TV then by definition you are underground. I flirt with the media - it’s how I survive. I didn’t enter this thing to be famous. I just like to share my love and passion for music and that is all. The audience are the stars!
Your Good Times sets at Carnival are legendary. Do you enjoy playing those sets as much as we enjoy them? Is Carnival one of the highlights of your year?
I love them even more... I love them because you love them. If we were getting it wrong there would be nobody on that corner but we must be getting it right. I guess some people might say that it is because it is free and yeah, it could be that but everyone needs to enjoy it to stay and if you don’t like it, you have the opportunity to leave. We are a people sound system - we love the crowds and I see them as family. And yeah, Carnival is definitely the highlight of my year, around the world I do gigs at places like the big chill and places in Australia but nothing compares.
We hear you’re doing not one but TWO New Years Eve parties, it’s like a New Years Eve festival! How are you organising that? It sounds like it’s going to be a crazy night!
I have done up to five or six in one night before! But I got out of that pretty quickly because I felt like I was short changing the fans. So we are going to do one gig in North London and one in South London - each side of the Thames - we have got a huge following in both. So it’ll be accessible to everyone except us! We’ll probably get on a motorbike to get to the other side quickly! It is going to be a great London line up! We are using this as a platform to showcase new music too. It’ll be a bit of everything - not just one genre - even a bit of cheese so everyone can have a little fun and lighten up!
Where has been the strangest venue you’ve performed at?
I played in a cemetery in the Czech Republic for a Halloween night in a graveyard a couple of years ago, it was mental! I mean I’ve played in a 12th Century monastery, I’ve even played at one of Obama’s inauguration parties in Washington - they wanted a DJ that played block music to reggae and everything in-between.
What is at the forefront of your mind when you wake up every morning?
Thank God I have made it. Thank God I am alive.
If you were invisible for the day what would you get up to?
Boy, you wouldn’t be able to print that! I would try and help people that were less fortunate than me. I would help but they wouldn’t need to know who had helped them.
So what’s next on the agenda for Norman Jay?
To stay alive and stay healthy. Just having and giving other people the best times of their lives.
You can catch Norman Jay at TWO of his New Years Eve parties- one in Islington and one in Clapham. For tickets go to www.ticketweb.co.uk
