Just 2 weeks ago I was on stage watching one of my DJ heroes doing what he does best, tearing up the dance… Today I received a phone call with the devastating news that DJ Randall had passed away!!
Too Hot To Handle
Randall was your favourite DJ’s favourite DJ! His quartz locked mixing skills & deep cut selection saw MC GQ christen him with the tagline ‘Too hot to handle’, and we knew exactly what he meant.
Stories of people who’d witnessed his razor sharp mixing up close when he was behind the counter at De-Underground Records, the shop he co-founded in East Londons Forest Gate, would filter back to us junglists in the Home Counties not lucky enough to get there ourselves. Randall’s was always the first cassette in the car stereo whenever the latest World Dance tape pack dropped!
Pivotal London Residencies
One of the pioneers of the jungle / drum & bass scene, Randall who was already broadcasting on the legendary pirate station Centreforce FM, cemented his name when he got a gig playing at ‘Living Dream’, a 10,000 capacity event event which took place at Eastway Speed Stadium in Leyton. Colin Dale didn’t turn up for his set so Randall ended up playing a three-hour set that got people talking!
At the height of the jungle era, when London was the club capital of the world, Randall was boasting residencies at some of cities most groundbreaking club nights; ‘Orange’ at the Rocket Club in Holloway Road, ‘AWOL’ at the Paradise Club in Islington, and of course the infamous ’Metalheadz’ Sunday Session at Bluenote in Shoreditch.
Randall’s talent was renowned, when the crowd called for a rewind he didn’t just pull back the track, he rewound the whole mix!! His talent reached a wider audience when he featured as the DJ in the video for Goldie’s timeless classic ‘Inner City Life’ which was regularly play listed on MTV (Back when MTV played music videos).
Randall’s DJ career was showing no signs of slowing down, with recent performances at Dillinja’s Valve Sound residency in London, Outlook in Croatia & a special back to back set with his son Rio Tashan at this summers Glastonbury Festival.
Sound Control
While Randall was always better known as a DJ than a producer, he was no stranger to the studio having co-produced ‘Sound Control’ with Andy C for Ram Records, ‘Flavas’ with Tek 9 on Reinforced Records, plus of course his more recent cutting edge tracks alongside DJ Die & Dismantle as Watch The Ride.
Tributes
Of course tributes have been all over social media since the news broke. Here are a just few from his friends, peers & people he influenced during his lifetime…
