Background
Rodigan was born on a military base in Hanover.
Rodigan was born on a military base in Hanover.
He attended Gosford Hill School, Kidlington, Oxfordshire.
Known for his selections of reggae and dancehall music, he has played on stations including Radio London, Capital 95.8, Kiss 100, British Broadcasting Corporation Radio 1Xtra, British Broadcasting Corporation Radio 2 and BFBS Radio. He has stated that his passion for Jamaican music was initiated by watching Millie Small perform her 1964 hit My Boy Lollipop at the Ready Steady Go! television show as a school boy. By the age of 15, Rodigan was DJing at school dances and youth clubs.
Leaving school in 1970, he spent a year studying economics before leaving to study drama.
Despite pursuing an acting career, Rodigan kept his passion for music alive, selling records in Oxford then Putney, before obtaining a job on Radio London in 1978 to alternate with Tony Williams on the Reggae Rockers programme. A year later he was offered a permanent slot at Capital Radio to present Roots Rockers, which ran for 11 years.
In 1990 a change in management and music policy at the station led to David leaving to start a new show for Kiss FM when it relaunched that September as London"s first legal 24-hour dance music station. He hosted the Sunday night slot from 11pm till midnight until November 2012, when the slot was moved to midnight and he resigned in protest over what he called the "continued marginalisation" of the reggae genre.
Rodigan has clashed established soundsystems like Killamanjaro, Stone Love, Barry G and Bass Odyssey.
He has acted as tour DJ for reggae and dancehall artists including Shinehead. During the 1970s and 1980s, he worked as an actor and appeared in a variety of television programmes, including a part in the Doctor Who serial, The Mysterious Planet. In 1984 he joined BFBS (British Forces Broadcasting Service) where he broadcast his weekly reggae show for 25 years until 2009.
In 2006, Rodigan was added to the Radio Academy hall of fame.
Vocal samples of Rodigan can be found on the dubstep track "Hard" by Breakage, on the introductory track of Caspa"s 2009 Album Everybody"s Talking, Nobody"s Listening, and on the intro to Alborosie"s debut album "Soul Pirate", and the main vocal of Sukh Knight"s "Ganja", plus countless other jungle/drum & bass tracks. Ad-Rock mentions Rodigan by name on the 2011 Beastie Boys track "Say lieutenant".
He is the DJ for RamJam FM in Grand Theft Auto: Episodes from Liberty City. He has hosted a two-hour Sunday evening show on British Broadcasting Corporation Radio 1Xtra since 17 February 2013, and has hosted summer series on British Broadcasting Corporation Radio 2 since 2011.
Rodigan said: "I am absolutely delighted to be joining British Broadcasting Corporation Radio 1Xtra where I can share my passion for both new cutting-edge reggae and classic cuts, reflecting a genre of music which continues to play a paramount role in urban bass culture music"
Foreign 2014"s Red Bulletin Culture Clash, Rodigan joined forces with Chase & Status, Shy Forex and Military Cross Rage to form the soundsystem Rebel Sound.
Rodigan was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (Administration Member of the Order of the British Empire) in the 2012 New Year Honours for services to broadcasting.
