Almost 35 years after their first sound clash in Brooklyn, disc jocks/broadcasters Barry “Barry G” Gordon and Sir David Rodigan are slated to reunite at Groovin’ In The Park concert scheduled for Roy Wilkins Park in Queens, New York, on June 30.
“We have been trying to reunite Barry G and David Rodigan for the past four years but Rodigan’s schedule never allowed him to be in New York in late June,” said Christopher Roberts, CEO of Groovin Inc — organisers of the event.
“We have always wanted to give youngsters here (in New York) the chance to see these icons in action since many of them were not even born in 1983 when Barry G challenged Rodigan to a friendly on-air clash at JBC Radio. History will be re-created on Sunday, June 30,” he continued.
In 1985, Barry and Rodigan captivated music lovers with original dub plates from Jose Wales, Tiger, Eek A Mouse, Maxi Priest and Tenor Saw that sent the crowd wild.
In his more than 40 years on radio, Barry G is responsible for exposing numerous of artistes including Yellowman, Barrington Levy and Sophia George.
David Rodigan, who grew up in England in the mid-1960s, became enthralled by Jamaican music by singers Millie Small, Bob Marley, Toots & the Maytals, Jimmy Cliff and Marcia Griffiths.
“I heard this new, incredibly energised back-beat from Jamaica called ska and found it to be irresistible, primarily as dance music but then when we went deeper we realised that it was a music that spoke for all of us, especially the under-privileged in society,” Rodigan shared. “Many of us identified with it and so the phenomena of Jamaican music grew beyond the shores of the island and soon reached the world stage.”
Barry G received the Order of Distinction from the Government of Jamaica in 2010, while Rodigan was presented with the Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) by Prince Charles at Buckingham Palace in England in 2012.
“David is my best friend in the radio business… We communicate very often and lament together what is happening in the music business,” Gordon once disclosed.
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