DJ Derek

He was born in Bristol, the second son of a carpenter,{{cite news|last1=Lynskey|first1=Dorian|title=The life and death of DJ Derek, an unlikely reggae legend|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2016/mar/23/dj-derek-life-death-unlikely-reggae-legend-bristol|accessdate=24 March 2016|work=The Guardian|date=23 March 2016}} and raised close to St Andrew's Park, off Gloucester Road. Derek was a washboard player in a skiffle group in 1956 and later a drummer in a rock and roll band, after which he spent 10–18 years working in the accounts department of the confectionery firm J. S. Fry & Sons, later part of Cadbury.{{cite web | url=http://www.bristolpost.co.uk/Meet-DJ-Derek/story-11237186-detail/story.html | title=Meet DJ Derek | work=Bristol Evening Post | date=7 February 2009 | accessdate=17 August 2015 | url-status=dead | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150923230632/http://www.bristolpost.co.uk/Meet-DJ-Derek/story-11237186-detail/story.html | archivedate=23 September 2015 | df=dmy-all }}

File:DJ Derek at Into The Great Wide Open.jpg

Following his second divorce and resignation from his accountancy job in 1977, Derek began his DJ career "by accident" in his mid-30s, as a reggae DJ at the Star and Garter pub in Montpelier an inner city area of Bristol.{{cite web | url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/insideout/west/series9/week_seven.shtml | title=The legendary DJ Derek | work=Inside Out – West | publisher=BBC | date=20 February 2006 | accessdate=13 August 2015}}{{cite web | url=http://www.independent.ie/world-news/europe/niece-launches-social-media-campaign-as-wellknown-dj-goes-missing-31400886.html | title=Niece launches social media campaign as well-known DJ goes missing | publisher=Irish Independent | date=24 July 2015 | accessdate=30 August 2015}} He moved to the adjacent St Pauls area in 1978. DJ Derek became a well known regular and respected feature in Bristol's music scene, referred to as a "legend" by many sources including the city's elected mayor George Ferguson. He was nicknamed "Britain's oldest DJ".{{cite web | url=https://www.independent.co.uk/incoming/pop--dj-derek-and-the-dominoes-1439857.html | title=POP / DJ Derek and the dominoes | work= The Independent | date=18 November 1994 | accessdate=11 August 2015}}{{cite web | url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2015/jul/24/dj-derek-britains-oldest-dj-goes-missing | title=DJ Derek – 'Britain's oldest DJ' – missing | work=The Guardian | date=24 July 2015 | accessdate=16 August 2015}}{{cite web | url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-33648110 | title=DJ Derek: Police hunt for missing 73-year-old Bristol man | publisher=BBC News | date=24 July 2015 | accessdate=11 August 2015}}{{cite web | url=http://www.itv.com/news/west/update/2015-08-12/police-say-sighting-of-dj-derek-in-yate-is-credible/ | title=Bristol club night will help fund the search for missing DJ Derek | publisher=itv.com | date=12 August 2015 | accessdate=13 August 2015}} In 2012 he received the Bristol Lord Mayor's medal for an "outstanding" contribution to music in the city. Speaking to BBC Radio 4, he said he finished most sets with the Bob Marley hit "One Love", saying "It's a perfect signing-off record for a reggae set—let's get together and feel all right. So next time, people, let's get together and feel all right."{{cite web | url=https://www.nme.com/news/dj-derek/87343 | title=Police confirm reported sightings of missing DJ Derek | work=NME | date=4 August 2015 | accessdate=16 August 2015}} He MCed in Jamaican Patois while DJing.

Derek played DJ sets at many major music festivals, including Glastonbury and The Big Chill, and places like Las Palmas (Gran Canaria); as well as regular DJ sets in London and across the UK. In June 2006 he released a compilation of his favourite tracks titled DJ Derek Presents Sweet Memory Sounds, through Trojan Records.{{cite web | url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/sweet-memory-sounds-mw0000408167 | title=DJ Derek Sweet Memory Sounds | publisher=AllMusic | accessdate=11 August 2015}} He appeared in Dizzee Rascal's video for "Dirtee Disco". In 2013 he played his final set before retiring at Notting Hill Arts Club in London on New Year's Eve, though he later played a one-off show in December 2014.{{cite news |url= http://www.bristolpost.co.uk/DJ-Derek-spins-discs-final-time-Bristol/story-20379606-detail/story.html |title= DJ Derek spins his discs for final time in Bristol |date= 31 December 2013 |accessdate= 29 July 2015 |work= Bristol Post |url-status= dead |archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20150923224554/http://www.bristolpost.co.uk/DJ-Derek-spins-discs-final-time-Bristol/story-20379606-detail/story.html |archivedate= 23 September 2015 |df= dmy-all }}{{cite news |url= https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2016/mar/11/human-remains-found-in-woodland-near-bristol-believed-to-be-dj-derek |title= Human remains found in woodland near Bristol believed to be 'DJ Derek' |date= 11 March 2016 |accessdate= 16 March 2016 |author= Jamie Grierson |work= The Guardian}} He had a passion for travelling long distances by bus to visit newly opened Wetherspoon pubs .{{cite web | url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-33866741 | title=Missing DJ Derek: Police make national appeal | publisher=BBC News | date=12 August 2015 | accessdate=13 August 2015}}{{cite web | url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b068xx77/inside-out-west-07092015 | title=Inside Out West | publisher=BBC | date=7 September 2015 | accessdate=8 September 2015}}

In July 2015, Derek's family announced that he had been missing for three weeks, appealing for information related to his whereabouts.{{cite news |url= http://www.itv.com/news/west/update/2015-07-24/bristols-dj-derek-missing-for-three-weeks/ |title= Bristol's DJ Derek missing for three weeks |date= 24 July 2015 |accessdate= 24 July 2015 |publisher=ITV}} Police confirmed that he had not used his bank account since the beginning of July, and could not have gone abroad as he had no passport.{{cite web |url= https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-33699598 |title= DJ Derek: Family and friends to search Bristol for missing 73-year-old |date= 29 July 2015 |accessdate= 29 July 2015 |publisher= BBC News}} He was last seen leaving the Criterion pub in St Pauls shortly after midnight on 11 July; later that morning his bus pass was used on a bus to Thornbury, {{Convert|12|mi|km}} north of Bristol.{{cite news |url= https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-33734035 |title= DJ Derek search: Further CCTV footage tracks journey |date= 31 July 2015 |accessdate= 2 August 2015 |publisher= BBC News}}{{cite web | url=http://www.itv.com/news/west/story/2015-08-14/leaflet-campaign-in-search-for-missing-dj-derek/ | title=Leaflet campaign in search for missing DJ Derek | publisher=itv.com | date=14 August 2015 | accessdate=15 August 2015}}{{cite web | url=http://www.westerndailypress.co.uk/Family-s-frustration-failure-DJ-Derek-Bristol/story-27948682-detail/story.html | title=Missing DJ Derek's family's frustration at failure to find Bristol legend | publisher=Western Daily Press | date=9 October 2015 | accessdate=14 October 2015 | url-status=dead | archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20151013010105/http://www.westerndailypress.co.uk/Family-s-frustration-failure-DJ-Derek-Bristol/story-27948682-detail/story.html | archivedate=13 October 2015 | df=dmy-all }} Daddy G of Massive Attack, who described Derek as a "walking musical encyclopedia", played a club night in Bristol to raise funds for a search.{{cite news |url= http://www.itv.com/news/west/update/2015-08-06/member-of-massive-attack-to-play-set-at-dj-derek-fundraiser/ |title= Member of Massive Attack to play set at DJ Derek fundraiser|publisher= ITV |date= 6 August 2015 |accessdate= 8 August 2015}}

In December 2015, Derek's family said that a man matching his description had been seen fleeing a pub in Thornbury following an altercation; Avon and Somerset Police said that their investigations into his disappearance were continuing.{{cite news |url= https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-35129963 |title= Missing DJ Derek 'was seen being chased from pub'|publisher= BBC News |date= 18 December 2015 |accessdate= 19 December 2015}} Later in December, an image taken in London of a man resembling Derek was publicised. While his family noted an "uncanny" resemblance,{{cite web |url= https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-35172033 |title= DJ Derek disappearance: Photograph 'is of him' |publisher= BBC News |date= 23 December 2015 |accessdate= 24 December 2015}} Avon and Somerset Police later announced that they had located and spoken to the man photographed, and confirmed that he was not Derek.DJ Derek disappearance: Police confirm photo is not him (28 December 2015). [https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-bristol-35190344 BBC.com archive]. Retrieved 30 December 2015. Derek's family began an application for presumed death in March 2016.{{cite news |url= https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-35717993 |title= Missing DJ Derek's family 'was sent online abuse' |date= 4 March 2016 |accessdate= 4 March 2016 |publisher= BBC News}}

On 10 March 2016, human remains were found in undergrowth near The Mall, Cribbs Causeway, Bristol,{{cite news|title=Human remains 'probably missing DJ Derek'|work=BBC News |date=11 March 2016 |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-35781898|accessdate=11 March 2016}}[http://www.bristolpost.co.uk/Family-DJ-Derek-make-public-tribute-body/story-28909927-detail/story.html Bristol Post]{{dead link|date=November 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} and on 16 March, were confirmed to be those of DJ Derek.{{cite web |url= https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-bristol-35823444 |title= DJ Derek: Tests confirm remains belong to pensioner |date= 16 March 2016 |accessdate= 16 March 2016 |publisher= BBC News}} Shortly after his remains were discovered, Bristol police said they were not treating his death as suspicious.{{cite news |url= http://www.bristolpost.co.uk/Death-DJ-Derek-suspicious-police-calls-search/story-28918645-detail/story.html |title= Death of DJ Derek 'not suspicious' as police call off search |author= Michael Yong |work= Bristol Post |date= 14 March 2016 |accessdate= 16 March 2016 }}{{dead link|date=November 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}Lynskey, Dorian [https://www.theguardian.com/music/2016/mar/23/dj-derek-life-death-unlikely-reggae-legend-bristol The life and death of DJ Derek, an unlikely reggae legend] The Guardian. 24 March 2016

During the 6 Music festival hosted by the BBC in Bristol in February 2016, Don Letts and Daddy G premiered a snippet of a documentary they had been working on before his disappearance. Letts said they planned to complete the film as a mark of respect, as they had halted further production until his whereabouts were revealed.[http://www.bristolpost.co.uk/6-Music-Festival-DJ-Don-Letts-pays-tribute-DJ/story-28717704-detail/story.html Craig Jones, "6 Music Festival DJ Don Letts pays tribute to DJ Derek's Bristol influence", Bristol Post, 12 February 2016]{{dead link|date=November 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}. Retrieved 6 April 2016 In March 2016, Bristol pub The Farm in St Werburghs, one of Derek's regular haunts, revealed they were hosting an auction to raise funds for a mural near his home. On 1 April, contributions from Banksy, Fatboy Slim, Stanley Donwood and other local artists helped to raise over £5000 (US$6,905) towards the fund. Mayor George Ferguson revealed plans for a city tribute to him, with an official announcement to follow.{{cite news|last1=Churchill|first1=L.|title=Life-size bronze statue of DJ Derek being planned for Bristol|url=http://www.bristolpost.co.uk/life-size-bronze-statue-dj-derek-planned-bristol/story-29172486-detail/story.html|accessdate=9 September 2016|work=Bristol Post|date=25 April 2016}}{{dead link|date=November 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}

• List of solved missing person cases

{{Reflist|30em}}

{{Commonscat|DJ Derek}}

• [http://vimeo.com/1758371 Documentary about DJ Derek – Part 1]
• [http://vimeo.com/1758440 Documentary about DJ Derek – Part 2]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Derek, DJ}}

Category:1941 births

Category:2010s missing person cases

Category:2015 deaths

Category:DJs from Bristol

Category:Formerly missing British people

Category:Missing person cases in England