Meet DJ Hughie who lives and breathes music. A journey, from vinyl to digital, and his commitment to craft timeless musical memories.
I have a natural love of music, which I have possessed since I was a toddler. I am (just) a little bigger now, and I like all forms of music, especially if it has a great melody.
I have been DJing since 1981 when a friend had an emergency at a party and had to leave to borrow a back-up amplifier after the one, we were using had blown. I was left to hold the fort using the underpowered household amplifier, a roll of insulation tape, a box of scratched vinyl 7″ singles and 12″ albums (thankfully my copy of ‘1000 Volts Of Holt’ was in good condition), 2 very dodgy turntables, a temperamental mixer, an unsteady trestle table, and the wobbly floorboards in the rear room of a Victorian house which caused the records to jump every time someone walked into the room, let alone when people were dancing.
This gave me a flavour for even more, and my music policy is play great quality salsa & Latin music. When I am called upon to do so, I will also play the very best quality classic soul, new soul, RnB, gospel, funk, jazz, rare groove, jazz-funk, two-step chillers, ska, rocksteady, fusion, world music, reggae, zouk & lovers rock.
Growing up in London UK, my favourite genre of music was 1970’s soul but at that time growing up in London during the 1970’s, there was a dearth of black music to be heard on the radio unless it was Motown. The only way to listen to the music that I loved was to hit the few clubs that were sprouting up around London and the Home Counties including the occasional foray to the early days of the Caister Soul Weekender in Great Yarmouth (Suffolk UK).
The pirate radio stations of the 1980’s was playing the very best quality black music around at the time. This eventually led to Hughie having his own show on pirate radio, and I also completed a 3-year stint presenting a hospital radio soul music show.
I had my first salsa dancing lesson during January 2001 (thank you to J) and have been a regular dancer on the salsa scene ever since. My first salsa DJing gig was during 2005, since then I have DJ’d at several UK salsa events, and for several years now I have been travelling abroad to play the same and have not looked back since.
I listen to salsa, Latin, Soul, and Jazz music most of the time, and I even find time to present a live radio show weekly for 2 separate radio stations.
Every THURSDAY NIGHT from 8pm (GMT) I host the long-standing ‘LATIN SOUL EXPERIENCE’ radio show on ‘COLOURFUL.COM’ . On this show you will hear the very best mixture of quality salsa, Latin, soul, plus more.DJ Hughie has been presenting this show weekly since May 2014.
The ‘MIXED BAG’ radio show is played live every SUNDAY NIGHT at 8pm (GMT) on radio station ‘https://JFSR.co.uk’ – ‘The Home of Jazz, Funk and Soul’ – on this show you'll hear a variety of musical genres. Whether it's Soul, R'n'B, Salsa, Reggae, Jazz Funk, Gospel, Cha Cha Cha, Funk, Smooth Jazz or another musical delight, this is the radio show that provides a unique blend of quality music (it is probably one of the most unique shows on the radio). DJ Hughie has been presenting this show weekly since May 2011.
If you miss any of the live shows, then sounds like you need MixCloud! Go online and you can check out for the first time (or even listen again) DJ Hughie’s radio shows; at https://www.mixcloud.com/djhughie/.