Grooverider

Grooverider was an aspiring amateur Ballet dancer in his teens before an unfortunate knee injury cut short his childhood dreams. Shortly after, whilst he recovered, Grooverider began DJing at illegal raves and warehouse parties in the UK in 1987, and rose to prominence with partner Fabio through his sets at club nights such as the groundbreaking 'Rage' at Heaven.[4] also on the London pirate radio station, Faze 1,[5] in the mid-1980s alongside Fabio[1] and DJs including Colin Dale, Dave Angel, and Booker T. He originally played soul, hip hop and disco but later played house, upon being converted whilst hearing "Mysteries of Love" by Mr. Fingers.

Fabio and Grooverider began playing house at Mendoza's in Brixton. From there the pair went on to a venue in Barrington Road in Brixton, but it was not until 1991 that they would really make their mark. That year, Grooverider and Fabio took up a residency at Rage.[6] Throughout the 1990s, Grooverider released tracks as Codename John and helped build the reputations of Matrix and Boymerang with releases on his own record label, Prototype.[1]

With Fabio, he hosted a radio show on Kiss 100 from 1994 to 1997.[1] In 1997, Grooverider compiled the album Prototype Years which featured the best tracks by various artists who appeared on his label.[1] Prototype is known for its sporadic releases, which have included drum and bass work by Dillinja, Drumsound & Bassline Smith, Ed Rush, Photek and Optical.[1] In 1998, he and Fabio brought their radio show to a national audience on BBC Radio 1.

As a recording artist, Grooverider has released one album, Mysteries of Funk (Sony 1998),[1] produced in conjunction with Optical, and a number of remixes including his reworkings of Jonny L's "Piper" plus Roni Size/Reprazent's "Share the Fall". In 2005, he was holding a weekly Sunday session called Grace at the London club, Herbal.

On 24 November 2007, Grooverider was arrested at Dubai International Airport for possession of 2.16 grams of cannabis, which he claimed he had forgotten was in a pair of his trousers.[7] "I must have forgotten the spliff," he said in an interview. "It was a small amount. Back home I would not even get prosecuted."[8] On 19 February 2008, he was sentenced to four years' imprisonment, to be followed by immediate deportation (four years is the mandatory sentence for drug possession in the United Arab Emirates).[8] He was pardoned and released on 3 September 2008, during the holy month of Ramadan that traditionally sees the pardoning of select prisoners in UAE.[7] In an interview with BBC, Grooverider described his experience and the conditions in which he was placed as "appalling".[9]

Grooverider returned to the BBC Radio 1 drum and bass show with Fabio in October 2008, until it finally ended in March 2012.[10] Since September 2016, they have brought their long-running radio show to London's Rinse FM.[11]

• Grooverider discography at Discogs