Few musicians receive a nod from Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II for dedication to their craft. And DJs? Forget it. But London-based DJ Norman Jay became the first in 2002 when he was admitted as a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) for “deejaying and services to music”.

The man is a veritable walking encyclopedia on world music who, since emerging in the mid 1980s on London pirate radio station Kiss FM, has won fans around the world for his eclecticism in track selection, determination to showcase untapped gems and down-to-earth approachability while touring the world, which he does a great deal of.

While the house scene would gladly claim him as one of their own – and it’s true the 4/4 beat dominates many of his club sets – Norman Jay’s love of jazz, disco, funk, boogy and soul has always been well known and appreciated.

Along with global music tastemaker Gilles Peterson, Jay has championed the relationship between today’s cutting edge electronica and yester-year’s warmer analogue sounds. Through his former Giant 45 radio show on BBC and his hugely popular Good Times Sound System bus at London’s annual Notting Hill Carnival, he has – perhaps more than any other contemporary electronic music boffin – exposed the youth of today to music they might otherwise never hear.

His Good Times compilation series has become synonymous with feelgood, soulful music. The first eight installments have all done well and now the man dubbed ‘the DJ’s DJ’ has put together an Australian-centred compilation, Good Times Australia.

This is 27 tracks spread over two discs, featuring music from the 1960s right up to today. The first disc is a veritable trip down memory lane, starting off in typical Good Times, feel-good fashion with the 1978-released Happy To Be With You by Philadelphia International Records songbird Jean Carne. Talkin’ Loud classic Take Me Now by Tammy Payne takes us back to the early 1990s with its strong vocal before Peggy Lee’s cover of Otis Redding’s Dock Of The Bay ups the mood a little more. Brick’s Living From The Mind follows, the sample of which has more recently been used by Johnny Corporate in his house club smash Sunday Shouting.

Germany’s Jazzanova chip in with the Sonar Kollektiv classic Theme From ‘Belle et Fou, before little-known Lorez Alexandra leads in with her rare version of Send In The Clowns, complete with lush horns. So far, so so good.

Also included on disc one is Tina Turner’s 1979 single Backstabbers and David Bowie’s Kooks which, as Jay explains on his track-by-track run down of the compilation, left him “gobsmacked” when he learnt it had been cleared to include on the release.

Protest song Men Are Getting Scarce by Chairman Of The Board is upfront and in-your-face but supremely funky, while rounding off are soul and R&B offerings by Donell Jones, Michelle Williams and, finally, the brilliant Kiss Kiss Bang Bang which, with its hip hop intro and drum ‘n bass filling, is an apt summary of Jay’s musical eclecticism.

Disc two drifts into more dancefloor territory. Peven Everett ably commences proceedings with It’s A New Day, before Inner Circle’s disco-funk track Everything Is Great takes us back to 1979. We’re transported back to the future by Donaeo with his 2009 single I before Danny Clark and Jay Benham lay down a gospel stormer in the form of Conqueror, featuring Dawn Tallman.

Modern day-disco stalwart Joey Negro kicks things along with his Sunburst Band’s I’ll Be There 4 You, given the re-rub here by Kaje Trackheadz, while Jon Cutler’s UK-charting It’s Yours receives an update by Dutchman Bart B More; gotta love those horns!

Pick of disc two, however, is the sublime Gabrielle courtesy of EMKYU featuring DDB; this is a deep, head-holding vocal laid over crisp beats with a classic house feel. Rounding off is Father Phillips’ Our Day Will Come, which takes us all the way back to the start of disc one; positive, upbeat and utterly fantastic.

The ‘DJ’s DJ’ has done it again. This is a fitting addition to the Good Times series and is the perfect soundtrack to, well, just about anything. Jay just spent the best part of six weeks in Australia, only leaving last week after playing a string of dates around the country. As he would of heard from many a fan, Good Times is very good stuff.

Norman Jay MBE presents Good Times Australia is out now on Central Station through Universal.