DJ DON LETTS ON LONDON’S ECLECTIC MUSIC SCENE

The Grammy Award-winner rose to fame in the 1970s with his electrifying fusion of punk and reggae. Here, he discusses the capital’s musical heritage. Interview: Nora Wallaya

When the dub-reggae scene collided with the punk movement in 1970s London, a subculture was born whose influence reverberates through the city to this day.

And filmmaker and DJ Don Letts is widely credited as one of its pioneering figureheads.

In his own words, bass and reggae are “Jamaica’s greatest giˆs to the world”. It’s a giˆ that Don — a punk fanatic, too — famously brought to London through his regular sets, mashing together the contrasting sounds at the then-eminent nightclub, The Roxy.

In his new autobiography, There and Black Again, Don documents his childhood as a British-born son of Jamaican parents, part of the Windrush generation, through to his friendships with music heavyweights including Joe Strummer and Bob Marley.

WHAT’S IN STORE FOR LONDON’S LIVE MUSIC SCENE, POST…PANDEMIC?

Until we can return to anything like the events of the past — if indeed we ever can — we have to find alternative ways to operate. Who wants to be rubbing up next to a sweaty person anyway? We have to embrace the situation and come up with more crowd-friendly gigs.

ARE THERE PARTICULAR LONDON VENUES YOU’D LIKE TO CHAMPION RIGHT NOW? London’s rising rents have taken a devastating toll on a lot of great venues. One that’s managed to keep its head above water is

The 100 Club on Oxford Street. It’s got a tremendous heritage in jazz, rock and roll, and reggae and it’s very intimate. There’s something about it — the acts that have played there have seeped into the very walls of the building itself. I also love Brixton Jamm and The Prince of Wales, both in Brixton.

WHAT’S A PERFECT DAY IN LONDON? Experiencing London’s cultural clash in its multicultural neighbourhoods. You could do no better than just travelling around London, whether it be through Brixton, Ladbroke Grove, Dalston, Hackney or Golborne Market. In London you have a genuine creative crossover, and I think that’s why the city has the reputation it does. We’re not just physically living in a city together, we’re actually interacting with each other and turning each other on.

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