David Rodigan Awarded Britain’s 4th Highest Honour – The MBE
Veteran sound system selector and radio announcer, David Rodigan, was awarded the Member of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (MBE) in Queen Elizabeth II’s 2012 New Years Honours list. The MBE is Britain’s fourth highest honour, following knighthood, the CBE, and the OBE.
The 60-year old Rodigan is acknowledged as one who helped to introduce grassroots reggae to British audiences in the late 1970s, when he began working on BBC Radio London. Since the mid-1980s, around the time of his legendary radio and dancehall clashes with Barry Gordon (Barry G) here in Jamaica, Rodigan has been a regular on Jamaica’s sound system and music scene. He has held his own against the best of them in sound clashes worldwide, while continuing to host radio programmes in the UK and helping to spread Jamaican music culture worldwide.
I enjoyed Rodigan since I was a boy of 11.
He played what was considered a forbidden music [in my family] at the time.
Like many British blacks, we acted posh [radio 2 and BBC 1] to try and fit into Britain back then but Rodigan unashamedly enjoyed reggae music as it was then from Jamaica. When I found out that he was white, I said it to my friends and family but most black people did not believe me.
How could a white man understand our culture?
But Rodigan did and he has been there from the start of ska to roots, lovers rock and dancehall.
I’m so glad The Queen has recognized his contribution.