Earl Gateshead

Long standing Trojan supporter and major DJ talent, Earl Gateshead (pictured above with Trojan’s own Max Norlin) has spent the past few decades building up a firm following, both in the UK and around the globe. This is his story…

Earl first turned his hand to deejaying back in 1979, when he started spinning reggae discs between performances by punk bands at shows in Brixton… fast forward four decades and today he is touring the world, playing original, first press, vinyl, which he maintains has the best sound.

He spreads the original positive message of love from Jamaica’s golden era of reggae music, with his unique voice and ???Yeah Yeah” catchphrase becoming familiar to fans around the globe.

We’ll be highlighting Earl’s activities over the course of the coming months, from his popular podcast shows to his live appearances, and for those as yet unfamiliar with glittering career, here’s a short bio on his rise to the top of his DJ trade???

Earl’s deejaying career began in the late seventies, when he became one of the first non-Jamaicans to build his own sound system, which he installed at the world famous Dive Bar in Soho, London. And it was there, where over the next 23 years, his residency established him as one of the country’s top Jamaican music DJs, although its closure in 2002 sadly brought his long running association with the club to an end.

Throughout the latter years at the Dive Bar, Earl also enjoyed Saturday night residencies at clubs such as the internationally acclaimed Blue Note and later Fabric, where he became their specialist in roots reggae sounds.

In 2000, Earl began organising and performing at a series of special ‘Reggae Night’ events at renowned London club, Plastic People, which included performances from internationallegends such as Alton Ellis, Dennis Alcapone, Sugar Minott, Cutty Ranks, Adrian Sherwood and Saxon Sound System.

This legendary series of concerts received world wide attention and led to Earl becoming one of the mostsought-after reggae DJs in the world and over the ensuing years he toured Europe and Australasia as selector and operator with the likes of Big Youth, Dr. Alimantado and Cutty Ranks, among others.

Over the years since, Earl has become firmly established as a figurehead on the UK scene. Over the years he became the first reggae DJ to play at Fabric, the Ministry Of Sound and Space in Ibiza: arguably the three greatest nightclubs in the world.

For 12 years, he was selector for the Trojan Sound System, while be became only DJ to date to work with Banksy, after the world famous graffiti artist invited him to play at the first three exhibitions of his work.

Other recent activities include a lecture on reggae deejaying at the prestigious Red Bull Music Academy in Sao Paulo, where he also hosted a radio show, while in London he played with Red Bull Culture Clash winners Rebel Sound.

2017 looks set to be busier than ever for the ever popular DJ, with a number of major performances already under his belt  and appearances at the One Love, Boomtownfair, as well as both the Outlook and Latitude festivals lined up for the foprthcoming months.

News on all of Earl’s live dates will be highlighted on the events section of the site, but in the meantime, those unfamiliar with his blistering set can experience a taste of his musical style by listening to the This Is Trojan spotify playlist every Friday throughout May, commencing  5th.