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Annie Nightingale: 'If I can play what I like and say what I like, that’s the dream'

At 80, DJ Annie Nightingale is still in awe of the young and a champion of new music. As she publishes her memoir, Hey Hi Hello, she recalls her long career in pop culture – and speaking her mind

It’s an hour past midnight on a humid Wednesday in July, and a set of future rave classics is being broadcast simultaneously on Radio 1, 1Xtra and the BBC Asian Network. The choices are pulsating and fast, including a new track by producers Tiga and Hudson Mohawke, and a remix of House Arrest by Sofi Tukker and Gorgon City, a drum-and-bass-fuelled track which feels intense enough to wake the dead.

Then the DJ cuts in, her voice husky and hurried, but also disarmingly polite. She has picked these tracks herself, and several include colourful language, so she needs to issue a warning, given this is the BBC. “There may be some adult themes in this show, so if you think you might be offended you can find another, I’m sure,” she explains. “You might like to hear me on Desert Island Discs on BBC Radio 4 this week for instance, on Sounds.”

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from Culture | The Guardian https://ift.tt/3bam5pZ
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