soho radio

for a long time i’ve been dreaming about a return to freeform radio.. something loose and less shrill with proper music people spinning records rather than professional personalities, and as i walked past the tiny soho radio station one day last summer, my jaw nearly hit the pavement when i clocked dennis bovell the record producer inside hosting a show. i walked in waving my camera, gesturing that i’d love to take a quick photograph. he was kind and welcoming… looked right into the lens and shook my hand firmly n’all… lovely strong forthright demeanour. it was one of my first outings with an SLR camera so i guess technically it’s not a perfect shot, but dennis surely is.

there are two records of his i adore..the first is the slits version of ‘i heard it through the grapevine’. the other is linton kwesi johnson’s ‘inglan is a bitch’. here it is… a fab groove. even though written very much from a black mans perspective, it hit a nerve with all youth around 1980 when england was one gritty gritty mess.. still is, only in a weirder way now, thanks to brexit bacteria.