David collected his MBE this week, and here is the proof! To go along with the collection, Billboard.biz were kind enough to post a very nice article about the honour. Click here to check it out!

It was a tremendous honour and indeed a surprise for me to receive an MBE (Member Of The Most Excellent Order Of The British Empire) from The Queen in her New Year’s Honours List, for ‘services to broadcasting’ . I was proud, not just for myself, but for the music of Jamaica which I have been associated with since I began working with the BBC back in 1978. Jamaica is (at time of writing) still a part of The Commonwealth and its music has been an integral part of British pop music culture for over 40 years. The investiture ceremony will take place at Buckingham Palace on 14th February.

British honour for disc jockey Rodigan – Jamaica Observer
British selector gets award from queen – Jamaica Star

Salute!!

Click here to visit the shop and get more info

We’ve also got a fresh batch of the original ‘Give Me Some Signal’ White T-shirts (As modelled by Steel city’s finest Toddla T below), plus ltd edition screen prints also available from the store. Click here to get your signal on!

Had big fun when Ms. Dynamite came on my Kiss Radio show to play her all time top reggae tunes…what a lady. Congratulations to Shaggy for his well deserved Grammy nomination.

Dub fans do check out the ‘Java Java’ the dub album and ‘This Is Augustus Pablo’ album which have now been released for the first time on cd. Both albums are essential items in any serious reggae collection, and they sound even better almost 40 years later!

As Jamaican music producers continue the slide to making Carb-Pop Fusion (as though they all want to be on MTV) it becomes harder for us to find real reggae emulating from the island, but we live in hope.

Click here to watch part 1 of Irish and Chin’s featured interview with David Rodigan on his career in sound system clashing. Filmed in New York in November 2011.

Albums in the making from:

• Y T out of Ipswich, one of the UK’s finest and most original MC’s
• Macka B..an acoustic unplugged set
• Junior Gong..a new solo album
• Professor..a new artist from Don Corelon’s stable

New tracks on the street from:

• the Reggae Roast team, London’s premier young reggae enthusiasts,  they have a new single called ‘Sensi Skank featuring Ruben Da Silva.
• Agent Sasco has a very entertaining story to tell about being late for work..err, it is entitled ‘Late’.
• Check out Cecille’s new album ‘Jamaicanisation’.
• Major Mackerel is back in Jamaica and busy recording new material.
• Jeremy Harding of 2Hard Records has an excellent new rhythm out called ‘Deep Cover’.
•  From Hawai check out the new duet from Irie Love and Fiji entitled ‘It Is What It Is’

The Red Bull Music Academy Revolutions In Sound on Thursday 13th OCtober was awesome; the photos show the party ravers in my reggae pod high above the River Thames as we jammed in the sky whilst slowly revolving on the London Eye. Won’t ever forget that rave, for sure.

Big respect and multo congratulations to Alborosie on winning the award for ‘Best Reggae Act’ at the  MOBO’s in Glasgow. Well deserved considering all he has done to popularise roots reggae and dance-hall style. Do check out his excellent new album ‘3 Times Revolution’. 

I am looking forward to shows in October especially up in Manchester at the W.H.P. where they literally turn an underground car park into a nightclub at weekends for a limited season, it is wild. Also hot stuff coming up with the Rootikal family in East Village, London and shows in Cologne, Dortmund, Stuttgart  and Dublin. (please check out the dates page on this site)

Music-wize…..

Junior Gong has a storming new dancehall single ‘Set Up Shop’ which will be getting big forwards through autumn and into next year. It is a hit single, 100%.

Do listen to the Gregory Isaacs Tribute album produced by Dean Fraser; there are some fabulous interpretations of his songs from the new wave of young Jamaican artists, for example Cherine Anderson singing ‘’Soon Forward’ and Duane Stephenson singing ‘The Border’ and Busy Signal’s take on ‘Hard Drugs’.

In the light of the gang culture of England’s inner cities Macka B has hit with home with ‘Postcode War’ lifted from a forthcoming ‘Unplugged’ album.

Mr. Vegas has a new hit single on his hands, ‘Beautiful Life’ and Freddie McGregor has a roots rocker entitled ‘Jamaica Move Up’

Zion Train have an excellent new album with such thrillers as ‘Children Of The Rainbow’ featuring the voice of Aswad founder member Brinsley Forde.

Thanks for all the e-mails regarding my summer season of 10 reggae specials on BBC Radio 2, it was really good to be able to focus on some of the truly great vintage classics that have made reggae famous throughout the world.

As well roll into the autumn watch out for an impressive debut album by the hot new roots rock reggae band from Jamaica, Raging Fyah, the album’s entitled  ‘Judgement Day’.

The salute to Gregory Isaacs album entitled “We Remember Gregory..” is indeed a superb set of new recordings by Jamaican artists, by way of paying homage to the man who epitomised ‘cool’.

Sad to see the end of Dub Vendor as a retail outlet in Clapham after 35 years but the online business will continue, so do visit www.dubvendor.co.uk

Congratulations to Silly Walks Sound System, one of the original pioneering sounds in Germany who recently celebrated their 20^th Anniversary with a big party in their home town of Hamburg, it was a wild night with a whole lotta love in the house!

All info is below and at the store. Get these quick as stock is very limited. Signal! Click here to go to the shop now, or read on for more pics:

T-shirts:
Price £25 + P&P

Limited edition screen prints:
Price: £60 + P&P
Signed and numbered by David Rodigan.
Signed Limited Edition of 100
Fedrigoni Serio 200 gsm
2 colour print
Debossed logo

All products designed by our good friends at www.filthymedia.com