In this first of many 'Iconic Moments in DNB History' features, we're aiming to look back at key moments in time that helped shape the future of our music.
In the summer of 1995 , world renowned (and highly respected) BBC Radio 1 launched a small but highly influential show that capitalised on the growing popularity of our music and culture.
They were Friday night shows beamed across the UK airwaves at 10PM while the UKs junglists were either making moves across the country to their venue of choice, or getting ready for night in with this as perfect starter.
Like many others at the time, I taped the lot of them, buying a box of C120 cassettes so that I could capture the shows in their entirety, and like many others, those tapes are now lost to history.
Thankfully the original recordings are out there is various places for us to look back on and enjoy, but what must not be forgotten is the historical importance of this national broadcasting feature.
This was the very first time any decent amount of airplay had been dedicated to jungle culture, apart from a few random daytime airings in the early part of the decade from Slipmatt & Lime and a few others. John Peel (RIEP) was one of only a handful of DJs that outwardly supported jungle music on his shows, so this was absolutely huge for underground dance music culture, especially when you condsider that Pete Tong had been inviting house, trance and techno DJs on to the stations Essential Mix series since 1992.
Enjoy these mixes at your leisure. Search them out elsewhere if it suits you better, but no matter what you do, DO NOT FORGET THE CULTURAL AND HISTORICAL IMPORTNCE OF THESE SHOWS!
In a world where we can access almost any recording of any sort within seconds on the world wide web, remeber that in 1995 (if you were a standard member of the general public), you either had your records, your tapes, or THE AIRWAVES!
And if you weren't lucky enough to live within earshot of a good pirate station, The British Broadcasting Service was the only other option!
