Original version

6 Music

BBC 6

Don Letts' Culture Clash Radio

Music

DJ, musician and film-maker Don Letts hosts his own show.

Don Letts

Don Letts' Culture Clash Radio: Culture Clash Radio - The Don's selections cross time, space and genre

Music: Soul & Reggae

02/09/2013

Culture Clash Radio - The Don's selections cross time, space and genre

BBC Radio 6 Music - Don Letts' Culture Clash Radio, Culture Clash Radio - The Don's selections cross time, space and genre

Culture Clash Radio - The Don's selections cross time, space and genre.

Don Letts began his career as a DJ in 1976 at London's first punk club, The Roxy.

In those early days, very few punk records had been released, so, between energetic live sets by the likes of Buzzcocks, Siouxsie and the Banshees and his friends The Clash, Don was able to convert the young punk fans to Jamaican music by playing them his own collection of dub and reggae. Don's more laid-back soundtrack provided a welcome break from the frenzied punk sets and, as the two cultures clashed, a lasting allegiance was formed.

Embracing punk's D.I.Y. ethos, Don began filming the bands at The Roxy and compiled the footage into his first film, The Punk Rock Movie. Don went on to direct hundreds of pop videos for a variety of artists, including Bob Marley and The Clash. In 2003 he won a Grammy for his Clash film Westway to the World. He has made acclaimed documentaries on the likes of Gil Scott-Heron, Sun Ra and George Clinton, as well as the feature films Dancehall Queen and One Love.

Don has also enjoyed a parallel career as a musician, most notably with the innovative Big Audio Dynamite, which he formed with Mick Jones of The Clash in 1984. He has been responsible for a number of sought-after compilation CDs and continues to DJ at clubs and festivals, including Glastonbury and Latitude. Every week he brings his unique credentials to BBC Radio 6 Music in a show that is unlimited by musical boundaries and which, as he says, 'crosses time, space and genre'.

On Bank Holiday Monday 26th August he celebrates the sounds of the annual Notting Hill Carnival and in September, as part of the BBC's Sound of Cinema season, Don features some of his favourite movie soundtrack moments and shares some of his ideas about the role that music plays in film.

BBC Radio 6 Music

Classic concerts & sessions from the BBC's vast music store. It's your musical heritage.

BBC 6 Music brings together the cutting edge music of today, the iconic and groundbreaking music of the past 40 years and unlimited access

Accessibility links

Programme Index

Don Letts' Culture Clash Radio

Culture Clash Radio - The Don's selections cross time, space and genre

Genres

Brand

6 Music

About BBC Radio 6 Music