Danny Rampling (born 15 July 1961) is an English

house music House is a music genre characterized by a repetitive four-on-the-floor beat and a typical tempo of 120 beats per minute. It was created by DJs and music producers from Chicago's underground club culture in the late 1970s, as DJs began altering ...

DJ and is widely credited as one of the original founders of the UK's rave/club scene. His long career began in the early 1980s playing hip-hop, soul and funk around numerous bars and clubs in London. Rampling was the first winner of the No 1 DJ in the World Award by ''

DJ Magazine ''DJ Magazine'' (also known as ''DJ Mag'') is a British monthly magazine dedicated to electronic dance music and DJs. Founded in 1991, the magazine is adapted for distribution in the United Kingdom, the United States, Spain, France, Italy, Lat ...

'' in 1991 and is a three-time

DJ Awards DJ Awards is a celebration of electronic music, and aims to recognise and honour DJs and individuals who have influenced electronic dance music worldwide. Held annually in Ibiza at the end of the summer season, DJ Awards has retained the same ...

recipient. He has reportedly sold over 1 million compilation albums.

Biography

Early career

Ibiza

During a holiday in Ibiza in 1987, Rampling, along with fellow DJs

Paul Oakenfold Paul Mark Oakenfold (born 30 August 1963), formerly known mononymously as Oakenfold, is an English record producer, remixer and trance DJ. He has provided over 100 remixes for over 100 artists including U2, Moby, Madonna, Britney Spears, Mas ...

, Nicky Holloway and Johnny Walker, attended

Amnesia Amnesia is a deficit in memory caused by brain damage or disease,Gazzaniga, M., Ivry, R., & Mangun, G. (2009) Cognitive Neuroscience: The biology of the mind. New York: W.W. Norton & Company. but it can also be caused temporarily by the use ...

, a then open air nightclub in

San Rafael San Rafael may refer to: Places Argentina * San Rafael, Mendoza * San Rafael Department, Mendoza Bolivia * San Rafael de Velasco, capital of San Rafael Municipality * San Rafael Municipality, Santa Cruz Chile * San Rafael, Chile, Maule ...

. At the club the group were introduced to the unique eclectic style of DJ Alfredo, playing, among other genres, the new

that had been exported from the USA. The group also discovered the music's powerful combination with the drug Ecstasy (

MDMA 3,4-Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), commonly seen in tablet form (ecstasy) and crystal form (molly or mandy), is a potent empathogen–entactogen with stimulant properties primarily used for recreational purposes. The desired ...

), that reduced inhibitions and created a sense of oneness on the dance floor.

England

Upon his return to England, Rampling, along with his then wife, Jenni, attempted to recreate the Ibiza experience by promoting what is regarded as the UK's first Balearic rave club,

Shoom Shoom was a weekly all-nighter dance music event held at four nightclubs in London, England, between September 1987 and early 1990. It is widely credited with initiating the acid house movement in the UK. Shoom was founded by Danny Rampling, wh ...

. Shoom ran for three years, starting out at a gym in Southwark,

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. It was a launching point for

acid house Acid house (also simply known as just "acid") is a subgenre of house music developed around the mid-1980s by DJs from Chicago. The style is defined primarily by the squelching sounds and basslines of the Roland TB-303 electronic bass synthes ...

culture, while contributing to worldwide dance culture.

Later career

Radio

Danny 'Happy' Rampling played for the original pirate

Kiss (UK radio station) Kiss is a Radio in the United Kingdom, British digital radio station owned and operated by Bauer Radio, Bauer as part of the Kiss Network. It is primarily aimed at the 15-34 age group and broadcasts nationally to the UK on Digital audio bro ...

with the main Saturday night slot from 7 until 9 pm in the early nineties, setting many people up for a great night out with the "Love Groove Dance Party". He, along with others such as

Judge Jules Julius O'Riordan (born 1966), better known by his stage name Judge Jules, is a British dance music DJ, record producer and entertainment lawyer. He is known for his DJ activities, music production and long-running radio show which achieved glob ...

, were poached by BBC Radio 1.

DJ and producer

In the following years, Rampling continued his career in music as a DJ and producer, while forming a band, The Millionaire Hippies. In November 1994 he joined the

BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...

, presenting the "Love Groove Dance Party" on

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...

until March 2002, making it the second longest running dance music show in radio after

Pete Tong Peter Michael Tong, (born 30 July 1960) is an English disc jockey who works for BBC Radio 1. He is the host of programmes such as '' Essential Mix'' and '' Essential Selection'' on the radio service, which can be heard through Internet radio s ...

's "Essential Selection". The mid-1990s also saw Rampling's DJing style diversify. While still playing house and garage sets, Rampling also began to headline at harder, trancier parties, e.g. 'South', at

The Zap The Zap was a beach-front nightclub and performance arts venue, in Brighton, England that became known in the late 1980s and early 1990s particularly for its acid house nights. It has been described as an "influential ... club which pulled toget ...

Club, in Brighton. Rampling himself referred to his newer style as 'Euro', and at this time showcased new Euro tracks, during the final thirty-minute weekly mix of his Radio 1 Show. Additionally, Rampling's Double CD Love Groove Dance Mix featured house and garage on the first CD, and 'Euro' on the second.

Retirement

In 2005, Rampling announced his retirement from DJing with the initial intention of running a restaurant, although he changed tack to focus on his property business and the 'low carbon economy'. In 2007 he returned to music and began making some on-off appearances at selected clubs. In 2008 he published a self-help ebook entitled "Everything you need to know about DJing and success". He has since returned to regular DJing. Rampling is a keen eco-entrepreneur and built ten eco-friendly carbon reductive houses in

St Leonards-on-Sea St Leonards-on-Sea (commonly known as St Leonards) is a town and seaside resort in the Borough of Hastings in East Sussex, England. It has been part of the borough since the late 19th century and lies to the west of central Hastings. The origina ...

Hastings Hastings () is a large seaside town and borough in East Sussex on the south coast of England, east to the county town of Lewes and south east of London. The town gives its name to the Battle of Hastings, which took place to the north-west a ...

, East Sussex, England. Along with business partner Simon Hinton they launched 'Green Town Revolution', a reward and offset system to encourage individuals and small businesses to offset their emissions. 'Carbon Neutral DJ' with Norman Jay MBE is GTR's first project. In an interview with

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide ...

in 2009, Rampling said that he was working in property development. While he does still occasionally DJ, Rampling said that "the lifestyle involves a lot of touring, flying around the world, spending weeks away from home and when you have kids it's not easy."

Awards and nominations

DJ Magazine Awards

Artists are nominated to the

top 100 list for each year the public decides who they rank as the World's No 1 DJ at the end of the poll. Rampling was the first winner of this award ranked as the World's No 1 DJ in 1991. , - , 1991 , Danny Rampling , World's Top 100 DJs , , - , 2013 , Danny Rampling , Best of British Outstanding Contribution ,

Top 100 DJs

DJ Awards

The

organizes the annual

electronic music Electronic music is a Music genre, genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or electronics, circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromech ...

DJ awards event it is the only international ceremony for DJs and also the oldest. the awards are held once a year at Pacha club in Ibiza

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' ( Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

it is one of the most important accolades an artist can win or be honoured by. Rampling has won the ''"Best Radio DJ Award"'' once from three nominations, he also received two special awards one for ''"Outstanding Achievement"'' as well as the events highest honour the ''"Lifetime Achievement Award"''. , - , 1998 , Danny Rampling , Best Radio DJ , , - , 1999 , Danny Rampling , Best Radio DJ , , - , 2000 , Danny Rampling , Outstanding Achievement , , - , 2001 , Danny Rampling , Best Radio DJ , , - , 2005 , Danny Rampling , Lifetime Achievement ,

Mix Mag DMC World Awards

, - , 1998 , Danny Rampling , Outstanding Contribution ,

References

External links

* – official site *
Danny Rampling
interview at DJ Tutor {{DEFAULTSORT:Rampling, Danny English DJs DJs from London English house musicians English record producers English expatriates in Spain Living people People from Streatham 1961 births People from Ibiza Electronic dance music DJs