Ady Crampton

Listening to and playing music has always been a large part of my life.

I remember in 1974 spending my birthday money on my first record, aged just 7, which I played on repeat on the family radiogram to escape the household’s staple diet of either Tom Jones or Slim Whitman, and record buying soon became a common occurrence, albeit at jumble sales due to relying on pocket money for funds. 

While I can listen to pretty much anything, the Mod revival which began in ’79 (and caught up with me in '82) introduced me to soul music as school discos began to play Motown and soul alongside 60s beat and ska instead of pop. By 1983 I was immersed in the UK scooter scene and began attending rallies around the country at which ex-Wigan Casino DJs played their records at the all-nighters there. There was so much music played that I hadn’t heard before. Of course, there was a record bar conveniently placed in the venue and on the rally camp site and each scooter rally saw my record collection increase, although never as much as my wants list.

In between rallies, which were held about 3 weeks apart, there would be ‘scooterist nights’ organised by clubs in the region and Newark was no exception, so when we organised our event I was usually on the bill which I enjoyed very much; I really get a kick out of sharing my passion for music. 

Having experienced radio as a guest on a station in Ashfield I was delighted when Radio Newark offered me my own show on the launch day of their first RSL back in November 2013 and have enjoyed playing my 70s soul funk and disco records to the world ever since.