The man we all know and love for his eclectic taste in music, that safari hat and the Good Times Sound System, doesn’t need much of an introduction. Norman Jay’s still the only DJ to have received an MBE award from the Queen, and he regularly maintains a blog on his website – where does he find the time?
Norman Jay is excited and chilled in the same sentence. Having just finished a huge summer of festivals in the UK, he speaks with vigour about his experiences but is happy that it’s over, too. “It was one of the most successful, incredible festival seasons. I did the Isle of Wight, The Big Chill, the Notting Hill Carnival. For different reasons they were all brilliant. The Notting Hill carnival was full of unbelievable scenes all around. We were blessed with great weather and brought a whole lot of love to Notting Hill.”
Of course, there’s a whole lot of love around Notting Hill Carnival time, but London, where Norman is based, is also the home of flight cancellations and terrorist scares. So what are his thoughts on all of this when it comes to travelling? “I don’t travel with laptops, so it’s been ok. Since all the hand luggage issues I’ve basically cut down on travelling. I did a lot of travelling during the World Cup, and after that I’d had enough. Having said that, I’m about to catch a plane to China.”
Travelling to far flung places like China is one perk of Norman Jay’s hectic life. Another one is regularly playing for the rich and famous. The fashion designers are his favourite to play for – with names like Pierre Cardin and Vivienne Westwood, Norman says “your name appears on their radar. It’s always a treat. And you get loads of free designer clothes.” But, he says, this is where the schmoozing ends. Norman says that he’s not really friends with these people. “They’re busy in their careers, I’m busy in mine.”
And busy he is. The recent release of Good Times Volume Six, released on 21 August, was tough work. “Good Times 5 was an incredibly hard act to follow. But this one started off on the right track. It perfectly encapsulated my music from 2006.” When asked what his personal highlights of the album are, he finds it difficult to pinpoint less than a few. ‘Rock the Casbah’ by the Clash is one. “The Clash is my roots,” says Norman with passion. “We’ve been wanting to get that one on Good Times for years, but it’s difficult to.” It seems that this was the lucky year for licensing, and Norman is thrilled. House of Pain’s ‘Jump Around’ is another one, because it’s “such a good times classic,” and also, ‘Once Twice’ by Bugz in the Attic.
His advice to listeners about the new album? It’s simple. “Go out and buy it. You’ll love it.”
‘Good Times Vol 6’, mixed by Normal Jay, is out now through Resist/Inertia.
