Grooverider
Raymond Bingham (born 16 April 1967 in Streatham, London, England, better known as Grooverider, is a British drum and bass DJ. He and DJ partner Fabio are regarded as “originators” of the scene.
Grooverider began his DJing at illegal raves and warehouse parties in the UK in the late 1980s, and rose to prominence with partner Fabio through his sets at club nights such as the groundbreaking ‘Rage’ at Heaven.[4] Grooverider was 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. 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.
With Fabio, he hosted a radio show on Kiss 100 from 1994 to 1997.In 1997, Grooverider compiled the album Prototype Years which featured the best tracks by various artists who appeared on his label. Prototype is known for its sporadic releases, which have included drum and bass work by Dillinja, Drumsound & Bassline Smith, Ed Rush, Photek and Optical. 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), 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. “I must have forgotten the spliff,” he said in an interview. “It was a small amount. Back home I would not even get prosecuted.” 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). 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. In an interview with BBC, Grooverider described his experience and the conditions in which he was placed as “appalling”.
Grooverider returned to the BBC Radio 1 drum and bass show with Fabio in October 2008, until it finally ended in March 2012.] Since September 2016, they have brought their long-running radio show to London’s Rinse FM.
Fabio
Fitzroy Heslop, better known as Fabio, is a British drum and bass DJ and producer. Fabio has been described as one of the best DJs of all time, and together with DJ partner Grooverider are regarded as the “originators” of the scene.
Fabio has been at the forefront of the dance/rave scene for over two decades. He started his career on the pirate radio station Faze 1[3] in the mid-1980s, and DJing at Brixton club Mendozas, where he would first meet his longtime DJ partner Grooverider, the pair were at the forefront as the acid house scene exploded. Fabio and Grooverider developed their sound and partnership at raves up and down the country but particularly at the groundbreaking Rage at Heaven.
Taking the music from the raves to the radio with Grooverider on Kiss 100 between 1994 and 1997, then on to BBC Radio 1 initially hosting the One in the Jungle show, and then with their own immensely popular show from 1998.[6] The Radio 1 show is credited with helping bring drum and bass to mainstream audiences. Fabio left the show and the station (along with Grooverider) when the new BBC Radio 1 lineup commenced in April 2012.
In September 2016, they brought their long-running radio show to London’s Rinse FM.
MC Skibadee
Alphonso Bondzie February 1975 – 27 February 2022), better known as MC Skibadee, was a British recording artist and drum and bass MC.
Bondzie started on City Sound Radio in 1993 featuring on the Live & Direct show, with DJs Pro-D and Cyrus, and by early 1995 he regularly featured at jungle music events such as Thunder & Joy and Spirit of the Jungle, as well as his regular spot on radio. By the end of 1995, he was resident for the London pirate radio station Kool FM, and regularly featured at events such as Jungle Fever, New Jack City, and Innersense. Along with MC Det of Kool FM, he launched a new project called 2Xfreestyle in late 1997, which involved putting a drum and bass tempo over a hip-hop beat, therefore creating a “double time” effect. He would often perform this style with its innovator Stevie Hyper D.
The single and subsequent video “Inside Me” was a success and after being accepted on MTV and The Box. In 1999, he received the first of three the Knowledge Awards for best MC, and three Accelerated culture awards. Since 2000, he began collaborating with MC Shabba D (also known as Shabba) which became the partnership commonly known as “S.A.S.” and became synonymous with the raves Telepathy and One Nation. In 2003, he provided the vocals for Dillinja’s UK chart-breaking “Twist Em Out”.
In 2006 he won the 1Xtra award for best MC and in 2007 he won best MC southwest Drum n Bass award. In 2008 and 2009, Skibadee won best Lyrical MC and best Hype MC in the national Drum and bass awards and 2010 is the third year in a row as the best Crowd Hyper MC as well as the Stevie Hyper D Lifetime Achievement Award In 2010, he won best MC at the Drum & Bass Arena Awards.
Personal life and death
Bondzie was born in Waterloo, London on 1 February 1975. In 2019, he auctioned two outfits to raise money for the Sickle Cell Society. He would later succumb to sickle cell disease. He died on 27 February 2022, at the age of 47.