CHARLIE GILLETT – A PROFILE
March 24th, 2005 by rui
Charlie ws kind enough to tell us about his experience at The Big Chill 2005:
[b]How did you enjoy playing your set? How did you find the crowd, the
crew and the atmosphere?[/b]
Two very enjoyable sets
Playing the main stage on Saturday afternoon, the test was, how many
people can the DJ keep on their feet, when there’s such a temptation to
lie down and bask in the sun? It makes such a difference to the DJ if
he/she can see a reaction, so a million thanks to everybody who kept on
dancing.
The next day at the Fat Tuesday tent, there were hundreds of people in
front of me when I started, but most of them had shifted out of sight by
the time I finished. When I peeked around the corner to see where they
had gone, there they still were, they were just moving up the slope to
keep in the sun as it set.
It’s great when people dance to records they’ve never heard before, in
styles they never heard before. If they don’t know the moves you’re
supposed to do, they make ‘em up. What more can a DJ ask for?
But I’ve got to remember to check the CD players before I play a CD.
The first CD started playing backwards, because the previous DJ had not
reset the player to neutral.
I’ve posted what I can remember of my playlists in the feedback forum of
my website, www.soundoftheworld.com where it would be great to read any
comments and questions.
[b]What did you think of The Big Chill festival as a whole? Did you
have a good time? Which acts did you enjoy watching?[/b]
This was my third Big Chill, and each one seems a bit better than the
one before. The range of music played by the DJs gets wider, and the
quality of live acts gets better.
Fat Freddy’s Drop were my favourites among the live bands, and some of
John Stapleton’s selections on the main stage made me laugh – he even
played a single from Eric Burdon’s spaced out phase, which I never
expected to hear again.
I’m sorry I missed Son of Dave – those who had seen him for the first
time still their jaws on the floor when I got top the Fat Tuesday tent
just as he finished.
What are up to now?
Each year I do an annual round up of music from around the world on a
double CD. Last year’s album World 2004 has the hard-to-find original
12″ version of ‘Hope’ by Fat Freddy’s Drop, and a track by Tinariwen.
This year’s album is called Sound of the World, and will be out in
September – it includes the even-harder-to-find 12″, Midnight Marauders
by DJ Fitchie and Joe Dukie (featured in Fat Freddy’s Drop set).
Both albums are on Wrasse, available from the website
www.wrasserecords.com .
I do a two hour show 8.00 to 10.00 every Saturday Night on BBC London
(online and archived at www.bbc.co.uk/london) and a thirty minute show on the BBC World Service (archived under ‘programmes’ at www.bbcworldservice.com).
Links to both shows are on the home page at www.soundoftheworld.com.
Charlie Gillett – Biography
Charlie’s been on the radio in London since 1972, and for the past ten years has had a two hour show every Saturday on BBC London 94.9. He also does a weekly show on the BBC World Service.
Among the artists he has championed in the past couple of years are three playing at this year’s Big Chill: Fat Freddy’s Drop, Tinariwen and Seasick Steve and the Level Devils.
With Gordon Nelki, Charlie is co-director at Oval Music, whose hits include Lucky Number by Lene Lovich (1979) and 19 by Paul Hardcastle (’85). Would You…? by Touch and Go, a worldwide hit in 1998-99 for Touch and Go, was produced by David Lowe, based locally in Malvern.
