CHARLIE GILLETT (UPDATED)

I'm sorry to learn that Charlie Gillett died this morning (March 17, after a long illness). He wrote the pioneering Sound of the City, founded Oval Records, campaigned early and long for World Music, and was DJ of a fine long-running show on BBC Radio London. He was only in his 60s.

There's an excellent obituary of Charlie by Richard Williams in The Guardian here.

For myself, I didn't know him well but we were both involved in the Rock Writers' Co-operative that produced Let It Rock magazine in the 1970s, so we would see each other at its monthly meetings. I last saw him in the 21st Century when I was a guest on his show. In June 2000, I was on his show playing what he called Radio Ping Pong with him, where the guest would play a track and then he'd play something in response.

It's not remotely important, but since I kept the list of what we played, it was:

MG: Jimi Hendrix, 'The Drifter's Escape'
CG: Matumbi, 'The Man In Me'
MG: Garfield Akers, 'Cottonfield Blues'
CG: The Hollywood Flames, 'Buzz Buzz Buzz'
MG: Tommy Steele, 'Come On, Let's Go'
CG: Big Bill Broonzy, 'Five Foot Seven'
MG: Memphis Minnie, 'Me And My Chauffeur Blues'
CG: Los De Abajo, 'Cabanas'
MG: Bob Dylan, 'Obviously 5 Believers'
CG: Bob Marley & The Wailers, 'Zimbabwe'
MG: Blind Willie Johnson, 'Mother's Children Have A Hard Time' [sic]
CG: Issa Bagayogo, 'Diarabi'
MG: Bob Dylan, 'Lord Protect My Child'

I think I saw him only once after that, when "Love and Theft" was Dylan's latest album. Never a great Dylan fan, he was surprised by, and enthusiastic about, 'Summer Days'.