Don Letts

Don Letts is really the man who instigated the ‘punky reggae party’. As the resident DJ at the Roxy, one of the key London clubs during the early days of punk, he opened the ears of many of the young punks to the deep joys of Jamaican reggae and dub. He is still in love with music which is why it was such a pleasure to have him come and spin some tunes after John Cooper Clarke’s Wild Hare Club performance.

As well as documenting the punk scene in Punk Rock Movie, Don went onto manage The Slits, play in Big Audio Dynamite with Mick Jones of the mighty Clash and make various other films and music videos. Always at the centre of the scene, but with a filmmaker’s eye, Don is a great storyteller and talking to him over breakfast was a real pleasure.  “What you need to know, Richard, is that Chrissie (Hynde) was sleeping on my floor at that time...” Want to hear some of the man yourself? Well, I recommend that you tune into his show on Radio 6.