John Kennedy
John presents Up from the Underground, on Sunday nights.
I first
started DJing when I was a student. Me and a friend were bored with things
that were on offer so we thought we'd start our own club night. It was
called the Plastic Factory and it was a mish-mash of different music,
a real cross section. Then I got involved in a little station a guy called
Sammy Jacobs was running over the Reading Festival weekend in 1991 and
I was asked if I wanted to get involved in a station he was doing in London,
and then Xfm came into being.
What was the first record you bought?
"The soundtrack to Walt Disney's 'Robin Hood'. I think Robin Hood
was played by a fox. I was given a Woolworths voucher by my aunt and I
went and bought it. When I was a bit older, I sold it. I'd really like
to have it now. I can still whistle the tunes. It was great. It had this
little narration bit and few little folky tunes."
What was the first gig you went to?
"It was a local mod band called the Merton Parkas, playing the Wimbledon
Theatre. It made the front of the local paper because the first 20 rows
of seats were smashed by young mods. It was in the days when everything
seemed tribal - you had to be a mod, skinhead, punk, jazz funkateer or
heavy metal kid. I was a part-time, occasional mod for a few weeks."
What advice do you have for someone who
wants to be a DJ?
"I stumbled into DJing; started a club night by playing records I
had. I was the kind of bloke who would annoy people at parties going 'Oh
listen to this, we should listen to this!' so it seemed like a constructive
outlet for that. You've got to be able to sit in a studio for a few hours,
on your own and play music. Perseverance is the real key to this line
of work. Just keep at it and keep enjoying it. If you keep doing it then
something will happen."
Got any questions or comments for John Kennedy?
