Dr Bob Jones
DJ Profile Biography
Dr Bob Jones – A Lifetime in Black Music
Bob Jones career in the music business started in May 1967. His music policy was, as it is now, the highest quality black music, featuring soul, dance and jazz, and he has been recognized worldwide as one of the first DJs ever to play jazz to a dance floor as early as 1971. It’s seems unbelievable to think Dr Bob is still filling dance-floors across planet Earth 50 years since he started in May 1967. In 1979 he was instrumental in DJing at the world’s first ever soul and jazz Dance Weekender at Caister in Norfolk, England, and went on to play at 24 Caister Soul Weekends.
He has played in numerous clubs and venues across England, Europe and the world and in 1987, Dr Bob DJ’d at the first Southport Dance Weekender, started by Northern club promoter Alex Lowes. This event has gained full respect from the music industry worldwide with the good Dr playing 44 Weekenders [22years] He also played at the famous Monday night Jazz Sessions at London’s Wag Club alongside Gilles Peterson, Kevin Beadle and Sylvester, and was resident at the now famous Sunday Jazz Sessions at Dingwalls, Camden Lock, London with Gilles Peterson and Kev Beadle.
In 1990 he was approached by the American music giant Motown Records, to remix and additionally produce a record by The Temptations. The result was a credible dance record and an international hit ‘The Joneses’. The recording by the artists known as ‘Jazzy Jeff and Fresh Prince’, and Bob is now credited as a co-writer of ‘Boom – Shake the Room’, this reached No 1 in over 14 countries He also give Coldcut the idea to record Yazz’s No 1 Record, a cover of Otis Clay’s ‘The Only Way is Up’, Coldcut’s dance version sold 6 million copies and became the biggest selling single at the time.
Since then Bob has produced over 30 different artists including Al Green, Daryl Hall, Swing Out Sister, Izit, Squeeze, and Bobby Womack. He has also given his expertise on the history of black music consulting and starring in Lenny Henry’s ‘New Soul Nation’ on Channel 4 in 1994, and was Music Consultant to BBC 2’s ‘Late Show’ on The British Black Music Industry in 1995, and has just completed a film treatment for ‘A History of UK Black Music’. Bob is also one of the founder members of The British Rhythm & Blues Association – the BRBA.
His own club night ‘The Surgery’ started in London’s West End in the 80s and is now at East Village in Shoreditch, some nearly 25 years later. In December 1995 he opened a successful soulful dance night at the Blue Note club in London’s Hoxton Square. The night was called ‘LIFT’ and was given top marks by the music media and critics. It featured some of the UK’s top underground DJs like Harvey, The Idjut Boys, Harri, Glenn Gunner and Phil Asher and contributed to Bob winning ‘Best British Club DJ’ for 95, 96, & 97. In July 1996 he was asked to play at Universe’s Tribal Gathering – a massive dance attracting over 30,000 clubbers. He accepted and appeared at the same event again in May 1997. He also appeared at ‘Universe’,’Creamfields’, ‘V98’ and Big Chill Festivals, and is a regular DJ for the ‘Bud Ice Bus’.
Over the last 45 years, he has compiled albums and written sleeve notes for various major labels in the field of black music, including Sony/Epic in Japan after a 10 day tour there in 1994. Bob has compiled a ’90’s Soul LP’ for Beechwood Music – the company responsible for the highly successful Mastercuts LP series (normal sales are 40,000+) and also an anthology album entitled ‘Stop and Listen Volume 1’ (Barely Breaking Even Records). This was released to celebrate Bob’s amazing 30 years as a DJ in May 1997. Bob put together the immensely successful ‘Soul Spectrum and Jazz Spectrum LP’s’ for the Barely Breaking Even imprint and compiled the ‘Inspirational Dance’ LP for Slip ‘n’ Slide Records which was out in the summer of 1999. It’s all this and more that has earned him the reputation of being one of the world’s leading authorities on the subject of black music. He has also owned Black on Black Records and was joint A & R for Lofty Harper’s eclectic soulful dance label Chilli Funk Records.
Dr Bob Jones has won awards in the Music Press for Best Radio Presenter on his radio show – especially for his in-depth interviews with top soul singers Terry Callier, Millie Jackson, Will Downing, Isaac Hayes, and Kerri Chandler amongst others. His radio show ‘The Surgery’ was, until January 1999, on London’s Kiss 100 [9yrs], BBC Radio London [6 yrs] and Bob also contributed a weekly slot to Finland’s Radio Mafia.
Dr. Bob is still DJing and lecturing on Black Music all over the world and in May 2017 celebrated an amazing 50 years in music and has just completed work on an educational project involving the history of Black Music titled ‘Sound Of The Drum’ designed by his good friend Swifty. The good Dr’s long-running radio show ‘The Surgery’ is now every Sunday 3-5pm [UK time] on Eddie Piller’s Totallywiredradio.com He is also currently writing a book on his 50+ years in the music business.