Tim Westwood
Encyclopedia
Timothy Westwood is an English DJ and presenter
of radio
and television
. He also presents the UK version of the MTV
show Pimp My Ride
. He is often referred to by other DJs and artists appearing on his shows simply as Westwood.
(which he co-owned) and LWR in the 1980s, followed by mainstream station Capital FM
(from 1987). In December 1994, following a shake up of Radio 1
by the then chief executive Matthew Bannister
, he was given the new and somewhat innovative national Radio 1 Rap Show. He was the Radio 1 Rap Show's first presenter and has been its only permanent presenter; he is now one of Radio 1's longest-serving broadcasters.
His first broadcast on a legal station appears to have been on 23 March 1985, when he was already working as a pirate DJ. He was a guest on a BBC World Service
programme called Meridian where he discussed early hip-hop culture in London
. After appearing in the 1987 BBC
Open Space documentary Bad Meaning Good, which was an early work of his own company Justice Entertainment, he achieved TV exposure in the late 1980s on the ITV
programme Night Network
, produced by London Weekend Television
.
More recently, he presented a series of his own television programme on UKTV
channel UK Play
, which has since ceased broadcasting. His Radio 1 show is produced by his independent company Justice Entertainment, which also produces Chris Goldfinger
's dancehall
show for Radio 1.
In the late 1980s, his name was often mentioned in British rap records, as he was the only well-known DJ playing hip hop on legal radio in Britain. He was named Best UK Radio DJ in the MOBO
(Music of Black Origin) Awards in 2000, 2003 and 2005. He is a patron of the internal radio station at Feltham Young Offenders' Institution
in west London
.
Westwood was injured in a drive-by shooting in Kennington
, South London, on 18 July 1999, after he had been playing at the Lambeth Country Show in Brockwell Park
. According to police reports, gunmen on a motorbike pulled up alongside his Range Rover
and shot him and his assistant.
In a recent radio interview on Conspiracy Worldwide, Radio Tim Westwood explained to host Mista Montana the necessity for change and evolution, emphasizing his continued love for hip hop and his excitement for the UK grime scene.
of the Conservative Party
and then Leader of the Opposition, David Cameron
, who was speaking at a British Society of Magazine Editors event. Radio 1 controller Andy Parfitt
responded in a Press Association
news agency
article: "There's been a debate about this particular genre of music for many years. Hip-hop is of great interest to many people in our audience. I strongly refute that any of our programmes condone violence, gun crime or knife crime."
pronunciation and dialect, which is claimed to be at odds with his middle class British origins. In response to this Westwood stated "Honestly, baby, I get love out there, pure and simple". His father, Bill Westwood
, was the Anglican Bishop of Peterborough
until 1996 (and was himself a prolific broadcaster).
In interviews, Sacha Baron Cohen
has stated that Westwood, including his supposed fake Caribbean accent, was an inspiration for his fictional Ali G
character.
Presenter
A presenter, or host , is a person or organization responsible for running an event. A museum or university, for example, may be the presenter or host of an exhibit. Likewise, a master of ceremonies is a person that hosts or presents a show...
of radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
and television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
. He also presents the UK version of the MTV
MTV
MTV, formerly an initialism of Music Television, is an American network based in New York City that launched on August 1, 1981. The original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJs....
show Pimp My Ride
Pimp My Ride
Pimp My Ride is a TV show produced by MTV. Each episode consists of taking one car in poor condition and restoring it and customizing it.The original United States version was hosted by rapper Xzibit...
. He is often referred to by other DJs and artists appearing on his shows simply as Westwood.
Disc jockey career
During his career Westwood has DJed for many radio stations, including the newly formed radio stations Kiss FMKiss 100 London
Kiss is a UK radio station broadcasting on FM and Digital Radio, specialising in hip hop, R&B, urban and electronic dance music. It also broadcasts on DAB Digital Radio around the UK & nationally on Freeview, Sky and TalkTalk TV...
(which he co-owned) and LWR in the 1980s, followed by mainstream station Capital FM
Capital Radio
Capital London is a London based radio station which launched on 16 October 1973 and is owned by Global Radio. On 3 January 2011 it formed part of the nine station Capital radio network.- Pre-launch :...
(from 1987). In December 1994, following a shake up of Radio 1
BBC Radio 1
BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...
by the then chief executive Matthew Bannister
Matthew Bannister
Richard Matthew Bannister is a British media executive and broadcaster. After attending King Edward VII School , he graduated in law at the University of Nottingham in 1978, and joined BBC Radio Nottingham as a trainee reporter and subsequently the presenter of its speech-based breakfast show,...
, he was given the new and somewhat innovative national Radio 1 Rap Show. He was the Radio 1 Rap Show's first presenter and has been its only permanent presenter; he is now one of Radio 1's longest-serving broadcasters.
His first broadcast on a legal station appears to have been on 23 March 1985, when he was already working as a pirate DJ. He was a guest on a BBC World Service
BBC World Service
The BBC World Service is the world's largest international broadcaster, broadcasting in 27 languages to many parts of the world via analogue and digital shortwave, internet streaming and podcasting, satellite, FM and MW relays...
programme called Meridian where he discussed early hip-hop culture in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. After appearing in the 1987 BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
Open Space documentary Bad Meaning Good, which was an early work of his own company Justice Entertainment, he achieved TV exposure in the late 1980s on the ITV
ITV
ITV is the major commercial public service TV network in the United Kingdom. Launched in 1955 under the auspices of the Independent Television Authority to provide competition to the BBC, it is also the oldest commercial network in the UK...
programme Night Network
Night Network
Night Network, Night Time and Night Shift were names given to the overnight schedule of the ITV network in the United Kingdom. The first ITV company began 24 hour broadcasting in 1986, with all of the companies broadcasting through the night by 1988...
, produced by London Weekend Television
London Weekend Television
London Weekend Television was the name of the ITV network franchise holder for Greater London and the Home Counties including south Suffolk, middle and east Hampshire, Oxfordshire, south Bedfordshire, south Northamptonshire, parts of Herefordshire & Worcestershire, Warwickshire, east Dorset and...
.
More recently, he presented a series of his own television programme on UKTV
UKTV
UKTV is a digital cable and satellite television network, formed through a joint venture between BBC Worldwide, a commercial subsidiary of the British Broadcasting Corporation, and Scripps Networks Interactive, spun off from The E.W Scripps Company in 2008...
channel UK Play
Play UK
Play UK was a television channel broadcasting in the United Kingdom as part of the UKTV network of channels. The channel was launched on 10 October 1998...
, which has since ceased broadcasting. His Radio 1 show is produced by his independent company Justice Entertainment, which also produces Chris Goldfinger
Chris Goldfinger
Chris Goldfinger is a former BBC Radio 1 disc jockey who presented the station's Reggae Dancehall show from 1996 to September 2009.His programme was produced by Tim Westwood's production company Justice Productions, and Goldfinger frequently appears at club nights DJing alongside Westwood. He grew...
's dancehall
Dancehall
Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s. Initially dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae than the roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s. In the mid-1980s, digital instrumentation became more prevalent, changing the sound considerably,...
show for Radio 1.
In the late 1980s, his name was often mentioned in British rap records, as he was the only well-known DJ playing hip hop on legal radio in Britain. He was named Best UK Radio DJ in the MOBO
Mobo
Mobo can refer to:*Shorthand for the motherboard in computers and other electronic equipment*Shorthand for a mobile [network] operator or MNO *Shorthand for a mobile bohemian, a person who embraces mobile technology...
(Music of Black Origin) Awards in 2000, 2003 and 2005. He is a patron of the internal radio station at Feltham Young Offenders' Institution
Feltham Young Offenders' Institution
HM Prison Feltham is a prison for male juveniles and Young Offenders Institution, located near Feltham town in the London Borough of Hounslow, in southwest London, England...
in west London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
.
Westwood was injured in a drive-by shooting in Kennington
Kennington
Kennington is a district of South London, England, mainly within the London Borough of Lambeth, although part of the area is within the London Borough of Southwark....
, South London, on 18 July 1999, after he had been playing at the Lambeth Country Show in Brockwell Park
Brockwell Park
Brockwell Park is a 50.8 hectare park located between Brixton, Herne Hill and Tulse Hill, bordered by Brixton Water Lane, Norwood Road, Tulse Hill , and Dulwich Road in South London....
. According to police reports, gunmen on a motorbike pulled up alongside his Range Rover
Range Rover
The Range Rover is a large luxury four-wheel drive sport utility vehicle produced by British car maker Land Rover. The model, launched in 1970, is now in its third generation...
and shot him and his assistant.
In a recent radio interview on Conspiracy Worldwide, Radio Tim Westwood explained to host Mista Montana the necessity for change and evolution, emphasizing his continued love for hip hop and his excitement for the UK grime scene.
Next Hype
In 2009, Tim Westwood helped make the video for Next Hype. In it Westwood fires Tempa T for not making enough pars.Radio 1
He hosts a show on Saturday nights which runs from 21:00 until 23:00 which is also simulcast on 1Xtra and hosts the drive time show on weekdays 16:00-19:00.Criticism by David Cameron
On 6 June 2006, BBC Radio 1 and Westwood's show in particular was accused of encouraging knife and gun crime by the LeaderLeaders of the Conservative Party
The Leader of the Conservative Party is the most senior politician within the Conservative Party in the United Kingdom. The post is currently held by David Cameron, who s eeded Michael Howard in 2005, and who since 2010 is also the serving Prime Minister....
of the Conservative Party
Conservative Party (UK)
The Conservative Party, formally the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a centre-right political party in the United Kingdom that adheres to the philosophies of conservatism and British unionism. It is the largest political party in the UK, and is currently the largest single party in the House...
and then Leader of the Opposition, David Cameron
David Cameron
David William Donald Cameron is the current Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, First Lord of the Treasury, Minister for the Civil Service and Leader of the Conservative Party. Cameron represents Witney as its Member of Parliament ....
, who was speaking at a British Society of Magazine Editors event. Radio 1 controller Andy Parfitt
Andy Parfitt
Andrew Parfitt is an English radio administrator who was the Controller of BBC Radio 1 in the United Kingdom, He held that role from 1998-2011, taking over from Matthew Bannister...
responded in a Press Association
Press Association
The Press Association is the national news agency of the United Kingdom and Ireland, supplying multimedia news content to almost all national and regional newspapers, television and radio news, as well as many websites with text, pictures, video and data content globally...
news agency
News agency
A news agency is an organization of journalists established to supply news reports to news organizations: newspapers, magazines, and radio and television broadcasters. Such an agency may also be referred to as a wire service, newswire or news service.-History:The oldest news agency is Agence...
article: "There's been a debate about this particular genre of music for many years. Hip-hop is of great interest to many people in our audience. I strongly refute that any of our programmes condone violence, gun crime or knife crime."
Vocal style and upbringing
Critics have also derided Westwood's apparent emulation of Black BritishBritish Black English
British Black English is a variety of the English language spoken by a large number of the Black British population of African Caribbean ancestry...
pronunciation and dialect, which is claimed to be at odds with his middle class British origins. In response to this Westwood stated "Honestly, baby, I get love out there, pure and simple". His father, Bill Westwood
William John Westwood
William John "Bill" Westwood was the 36th Anglican Bishop of Peterborough from 1984 to 1996....
, was the Anglican Bishop of Peterborough
Bishop of Peterborough
The Bishop of Peterborough is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Peterborough in the Province of Canterbury.The diocese covers the counties of Northamptonshire, Rutland and the Soke of Peterborough in Cambridgeshire...
until 1996 (and was himself a prolific broadcaster).
In interviews, Sacha Baron Cohen
Sacha Baron Cohen
Sacha Noam Baron Cohen is an English stand-up comedian, actor, writer, and voice artist. He is most widely known for his portrayal of three unorthodox fictional characters: Ali G, Borat, and Brüno...
has stated that Westwood, including his supposed fake Caribbean accent, was an inspiration for his fictional Ali G
Ali G
Ali G is a satirical fictional character invented and performed by English comedian Sacha Baron Cohen. Originally appearing on Channel 4's Eleven O'Clock show, Ali G is the title character of Channel 4's Da Ali G Show, original episodes of which aired in 2000 and on HBO in 2003–2004, and is the...
character.
Discography
- Street Beats
- Westwood Volume 1
- Westwood Volume 2
- Westwood Volume 3
- UK Hip Hop 2002 Volume 1
- Westwood Platinum Edition 2003
- Westwood: The Jump Off
- Westwood 6: The Takeover
- Westwood 7: The Big Dawg
- Westwood 8: The Invasion
- Westwood Heat: Volume 9
- Westwood X
- Westwood 11: Ride With The Big Dawg
- Westwood: The Greatest