Gilles Peterson is a masterful and legendary broadcaster who was a huge influence on me in the mid-’80s. Back then, on my first pilgrimages from Northern Ireland to London, Gilles was quietly rewiring my teenage brain. I was there to buy vinyl and tapes, gutties and garms [sneakers and street-wear] learn more about Hip-Hop & Rap, and attend gigs. While the majority of my peers were arguing over chart hits, he was introducing my Irish ears to what was then simply known as Rare Groove – opening doors to jazz, soul, funk, Brazilian music, leftfield electronics and countless records I’d never have discovered otherwise.
I was a b-boy, so Hip-Hop was always my first love. But breaks were the gateway drug. Every b-boy ended up tracing those breakbeats back to their original sources, whether we realised it or not. Before long, James Brown led to the Meters, the Incredible Bongo Band led to everything else, and suddenly the musical universe became infinitely bigger than Rap alone. For me, Gilles was one of the people holdin’ the map.
If I wasn’t on the dance-floor while Gilles was behind the decks at Dingwalls in Camden, alongside the mighty Patrick Forge at The Wag in Soho, or one of London’s other era-defining club nights, I’d be hunting down his Radio London broadcasts whenever I was in the city. Those nights weren’t just clubbing – they were an education. Every set sent me home with a mental shopping list of records to hunt down and a head full of ideas that stretched far beyond the confines of Rap. Anyone paying attention came away a little wiser.
Years later, in 1992, I moved to London. I’d still follow Gilles wherever he was dropping gems. The best part? I didn’t have to cross London to get to hear Gilles spin. Bar Rumba was part of the Trocadero complex and I was the Night Manager at the HMV in the Trocadero in the heart of Central London at exactly the same time that Gilles Peterson and James Lavelle’s legendary That’s How It Is nights at Bar Rumba, 36 Shaftesbury Avenue, it became my weekly education in music. They were becoming essential Monday-night destinations. I’d finish work and head there every single Monday. When I wasn’t out gallivanting around town, or working, I’d stay at home and record the radio: Gilles mid-week, Westwood and the rest at the weekend. As it turns out, I wasn’t the only obsessive taper.
Back home in Belfast between 1999 and 2005, my old-school crew Alex Thompson had been recording the shows, religiously. A few years ago he handed his archive over to me, adding hundreds more broadcasts to my own collection. Since then I’ve been slowly working through the mountain of tapes, digitising what is an absolutely staggering archive.
If anyone has tracklists, playlists, guest indexes or archived information relating to Worldwide broadcasts between 1998–2005, I’d genuinely love to hear from you: craig@randomrapradio.com.
One standout so far is this “Words & Music Special” featuring Saul Williams. Part interview, part poetry, part musical journey, it’s a fascinating listen. Saul drops some incredibly prescient observations that feel even more relevant today, and naturally the soundtrack is packed with incredible music from the period.
Surely someone out there has already built an Excel spreadsheet, guest database or show index…
The BBC Genome archive stopped long before this era, and the old BBC programme pages have largely disappeared. The reality is that I’m sitting on a colossal archive of full two-hour broadcasts—every single tape contains the complete show—and there simply aren’t enough hours in the day to fast-forward through hundreds of 120-minute cassettes hunting for appearances from Gang Starr, Common, Peanut Butter Wolf, J Dilla, Madlib, The Roots, Roots Manuva, Questlove, Jazzy Jeff and countless others.
By the late 80s, I’d hear him on the schedules of BBC Nite FM, alongside Gary Crowley & Jeff Young.
Massive love and eternal thanks to Alex Thompson for trusting me with this incredible archive. And, of course, big love to my Worldwide fratelli… the Local Wizard, Treats!!
Frank Foster – The Loud Minority
Innerzone Orchestra – Blakula
Raw Deal – Untitled
Akasha – Interzone [Menlo Park Remix]
Mic Break
Leon Thomas ID
Blackalicious – Alphabet Aerobics [The Cut Chemist Workout]
Ray Swinfield – Shake On A Barre
Fourth World – Fica Mal Com Deus [Feat Flora Purim]
Sunkids – Rescue Me
Mic Break
DJ Die – Autumn
Positive Force – Tell Me What you See
Mic Break
Labi Siffre – I Got The [Excerpt]
Jack Wilkins – Red Clay [Excerpt]
Reflection Eternal [Mos Def Talib Kweli & Bahamadia] – Chaos
Pharcyde – Feeling
DJ Spinna – Haunted Space Freak
Saul Williams Interview and performance
Saul Williams – Coldest Day in February Shines the Amethyst Rock
Company Flow – Infokill [Instrumental]
Pink Floyd – The Grand Vizier’s Garden Party
Mos Def – Soldiers Dream
Mike Ladd – Welcome To The Afterfuture Instrumental
John Coltrane – My Favourite Things
Saul Williams – A Glimpse of the Future
Mic Break
Mogwai – Chocky
Isotope 217 – Commander
Dick Grove Orchestra – Nighthawk
Alex Gopher – The Child
Mic Break
Havanna Moods – Rhum & Bass
Amalgamation of Sounds – Salsin
RANDOM RAP RADIO 