Grooverider

{{Infobox musical artist

| name = Grooverider

| image = Grooverider.JPG

| caption =

| image_size =

| background = non_vocal_instrumentalist

| birth_name = Raymond Bingham

| alias = Codename John, Inta Warriors

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1967|4|16|df=y}}

| birth_place = Streatham, London, England

| death_date =

| genre = Drum and bass

| occupation = Producer, DJ

| years_active = 1980s–present

| label =

| associated_acts = Fabio

| website = http://www.grooverider.co.uk

}}

Raymond Bingham (born 16 April 1967 in Streatham, London, England), better known as Grooverider, is a British drum and bass DJ. He and DJ partner Fabio are regarded as "originators" of the scene.[http://www.mixmag.net/2010/10/11/are-fabio-grooverider-the-greatest-djs-of-all-time/ Are Fabio & Grooverider the Greatest DJs of All Time?] MixMag {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101017125800/http://www.mixmag.net/2010/10/11/are-fabio-grooverider-the-greatest-djs-of-all-time/ |date=17 October 2010 }}{{cite web|url=http://www.allmusic.com/artist/grooverider-p199977/biography |title=Grooverider | Music Biography, Credits and Discography |publisher=AllMusic |date=1967-04-16 |access-date=2014-07-13}}

Biography

Grooverider began his DJing at illegal raves and warehouse parties in the UK in the late 1980s, and rose to prominence with partner Fabio through his sets at club nights such as the groundbreaking 'Rage' at Heaven.{{cite web|url=http://daily.redbullmusicacademy.com/2015/07/nightclubbing-fabio-and-grooverider-rage | title=Nightclubbing: Fabio and Grooverider's Rage | author=Laurant Fintoni | work= RBMA Daily| date=21 July 2015 | archive-url=https://archive.today/20190404185457/http://daily.redbullmusicacademy.com/2015/07/nightclubbing-fabio-and-grooverider-rage | archive-date=4 April 2019}} Grooverider was also on the London pirate radio station, Faze 1,{{Cite web|url=https://www.amfm.org.uk/photos/faze1.html|title = Faze 1 FM|website=Amfm.org.uk}} in the mid-1980s alongside Fabio{{cite book|title=The Virgin Encyclopedia of Nineties Music|editor=Colin Larkin|editor-link=Colin Larkin (writer)|publisher=Virgin Books|date=2000|edition=First|isbn=0-7535-0427-8|page=182}} and DJs including Colin Dale, Dave Angel, and Booker T. He originally played soul, hip hop and disco but later played house, upon being converted whilst hearing "Mysteries of Love" by Mr. Fingers.

Fabio and Grooverider began playing house at Mendoza's in Brixton. From there the pair went on to a venue in Barrington Road in Brixton, but it was not until 1991 that they would really make their mark. That year, Grooverider and Fabio took up a residency at Rage.{{cite web|url=https://ukf.com/words/we-took-it-in-a-darker-direction-fabio-grooverider-celebrate-30-years-of-rage/24710|title="We took it in a darker direction": Fabio & Grooverider celebrate 30 years of Rage|website=UKF.com|author=Dave Jenkins|date=4 June 2019}} Throughout the 1990s, Grooverider released tracks as Codename John and helped build the reputations of Matrix and Boymerang with releases on his own record label, Prototype.

With Fabio, he hosted a radio show on Kiss 100 from 1994 to 1997. In 1997, Grooverider compiled the album Prototype Years which featured the best tracks by various artists who appeared on his label. Prototype is known for its sporadic releases, which have included drum and bass work by Dillinja, Drumsound & Bassline Smith, Ed Rush, Photek and Optical. In 1998, he and Fabio brought their radio show to a national audience on BBC Radio 1.

As a recording artist, Grooverider has released one album, Mysteries of Funk (Sony 1998), produced in conjunction with Optical, and a number of remixes including his reworkings of Jonny L's "Piper" plus Roni Size/Reprazent's "Share the Fall". In 2005, he was holding a weekly Sunday session called Grace at the London club, Herbal.

On 24 November 2007, Grooverider was arrested at Dubai International Airport for possession of 2.16 grams of cannabis, which he claimed he had forgotten was in a pair of his trousers. "I must have forgotten the spliff," he said in an interview. "It was a small amount. Back home I would not even get prosecuted."[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/7253514.stm Radio 1 DJ jailed on drug charge]. BBC News, 19 February 2008. On 19 February 2008, he was sentenced to four years' imprisonment, to be followed by immediate deportation (four years is the mandatory sentence for drug possession in the United Arab Emirates). He was pardoned and released on 3 September 2008, during the holy month of Ramadan that traditionally sees the pardoning of select prisoners in UAE.Verma, Sonia. [https://web.archive.org/web/20080725130047/http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/middle_east/article3395661.ece Radio 1 DJ Grooverider given four-year jail term for cannabis smuggling]. The Times, 19 February 2008. In an interview with BBC, Grooverider described his experience and the conditions in which he was placed as "appalling".{{cite web|url=https://www.clashmusic.com/news/grooverider-on-prison |title=Grooverider on Prison – News – Clash Magazine |work=Clash Music |date= 3 October 2008}}

Grooverider returned to the BBC Radio 1 drum and bass show with Fabio in October 2008, until it finally ended in March 2012.{{cite web|last=McIntosh |first=Steven |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/16077000 |title=BBC Newsbeat – Judge Jules, Gilles Peterson among DJs leaving Radio 1 |publisher=BBC |date=2011-12-07 |access-date=2014-07-13}} Since September 2016, they have brought their long-running radio show to London's Rinse FM.{{cite web|url=https://djmag.com/news/fabio-and-grooverider-join-rinse-fm|title=Fabio and Grooverider Join Rinse FM|date=12 September 2016|work=DJMag}}

Selected discography

=Albums=

Mysteries of Funk (Higher Ground, 1998) – UK No. 50

=Singles=

"Sinister (The Influence Remix)" (Reinforced Records, 1993)
"Your Love Is Yours" (as Inta-Warriors) (Dee Jay, 1993)
"Dreams of Heaven" (as Inta-Warriors) (Dee Jay, 1993)
"Dreams of Heaven" / "Kindred" (as Codename John) (Prototype, 1994)
"Deep Inside" / "Inta" (as Codename John) (Prototype, 1994)
"The Warning" (as Codename John) (Metalheadz, 1997)
"Rainbows of Colour" / "Jack the Ripper" / "Mysteries of Funk" (Higher Ground, 1998)