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No-one throws a dj party like Scratchy. The renown dj who toured with the legendary Clash, Scratchy still has his finger on the rockin’ dance pulse, bringing together an irresistible blend of rock’n’roll, reggae and roma, a true mestizo mix of the greatest music on the planet, from and for all times.
At a time when everyone claims to be a dj, Scratchy stands out as a genuine, independent and free-thinking phenomenon.
It was a consciousness and love of rockin’n’rollin roots music, a formidable reputation from his ongoing club and concert work at major venues and events in London, from Dingwalls to the Roundhouse and the Lyceum plus an initial couple of tours with Dr.Feelgood, that led to two years as the on-the-road tour dj with his favourite band the Clash. He accompanied them throughout the UK and was an essential feature of their first three US campaigns. Meanwhile, between tours, he continued to play London concerts with stellar acts like Iggy Pop, Blondie, the Ramones, the Cramps and Black Uhuru.
Excited by how the punk sensibility had spread across the globe, combining with different local musical traditions to bring about fresh musical forms, in the new millenium, he hooked up again with Joe Strummer, himself a great adherent of the new global music. This provided Scratchy with the perfect arena to further develop his own fascination with both roots music and the contemporary and, thus, take ‘The Rock and The Roll of The World’ back onto a larger stage.
Scratchy had bypassed so-called ‘DJ culture’ and remains to this day relatively and refreshingly beats-free. He is an unrepentant rock’n’roller. It is that spirit which he still seeks today, in the music of the wider world. He continues to look forward whilst also delving into the past and plays to wild and enthusiastic crowds in clubs and at major festivals from Sziget to Glastonbury, across Europe and beyond. Since being back on the road with Joe Strummer’s Mescaleros, Scratchy has also teamed up with the Pogues, played at home and abroad with the Dead Brothers, covered Europe with Groundation and, throughout 2006 & 2007, he toured extensively with Gogol Bordello. He will, yet again, for a fourth time, join up with the Pogues on this year’s Xmas 2008 tour.
Always seeking fresh outlets and audiences that are ready to party and be amazed, so far this year Scratchy has added to his long list of triumphs by shaking clubs from the Boulevard in Rimini to the Scala in London. He has rattled festival tents and stages from Rock for People and Trutnov in the Czech Republic to the Wig-On Casino at the UK’s Endorse-It and he has rolled ships from le Bateau Geneve in Switzerland to la Dame de Canton in Paris. He was a Womex showcase artist in 2005. This year, Scratchy showcases at Popkomm 2008. www.scratchysounds.co.uk
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