DJ Derek, born Derek Serpell-Morris (18 December 1941 – July 2015) was an English DJ based in

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, the most populous city in the region. Built around the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by t ...

. In a DJ career that spanned over 40 years, he was known for playing a blend of 60s

rocksteady Rocksteady is a music genre that originated in Jamaica around 1966. A successor of ska and a precursor to reggae, rocksteady was the dominant style of music in Jamaica for nearly two years, performed by many of the artists who helped establish ...

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its Jamaican diaspora, diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay", was the first ...

ska Ska (; , ) is a music genre that originated in Jamaica in the late 1950s and was the precursor to rocksteady and reggae. It combined elements of Caribbean mento and calypso with American jazz and rhythm and blues. Ska is characterized by a w ...

dancehall Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s. Initially, dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae than the roots reggae, roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s.Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter (2 ...

and

soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...

. He was reported missing in July 2015 and his remains were found on 10 March 2016.

Early life

He was born in Bristol, the second son of a carpenter, and raised close to St Andrew's Park, off Gloucester Road. Derek was a washboard player in a

skiffle Skiffle is a music genre, genre of folk music with influences from American folk music, blues, Country music, country, Bluegrass music, bluegrass, and jazz, generally performed with a mixture of manufactured and homemade or improvised instruments. ...

group in 1956 and later a drummer in a

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock-n-roll, and rock 'n' roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from African ...

band, after which he spent 10–18 years working in the accounts department of the confectionery firm J. S. Fry & Sons, later part of

Cadbury Cadbury, formerly Cadbury's and Cadbury Schweppes, is a British multinational confectionery company owned by Mondelez International (spun off from Kraft Foods) since 2010. It is the second-largest confectionery brand in the world, after Mars. ...

DJ career

Following his second divorce and resignation from his accountancy job in 1977, Derek began his DJ career "by accident" in his mid-30s, as a reggae DJ at the Star and Garter

pub A pub (short for public house) is in several countries a drinking establishment licensed to serve alcoholic drinks for consumption on the premises. The term first appeared in England in the late 17th century, to differentiate private ho ...

in Montpelier an inner city area of Bristol. He moved to the adjacent St Pauls area in 1978. DJ Derek became a well known regular and respected feature in Bristol's music scene, referred to as a "legend" by many sources including the city's elected mayor George Ferguson. He was nicknamed "Britain's oldest DJ". In 2012 he received the Bristol

Lord Mayor Lord mayor is a title of a mayor of what is usually a major city in a Commonwealth realm, with special recognition bestowed by the sovereign. However, the title or an equivalent is present in other countries, including forms such as "high mayor". A ...

's medal for an "outstanding" contribution to music in the city. Speaking to

BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. The station replaced the BBC Home Service on 30 September 1967 and broadcasts a wide variety of spoken-word programmes from the BBC's headquarters at Broadcasti ...

, he said he finished most sets with the

Bob Marley Robert Nesta Marley (6 February 1945 – 11 May 1981) was a Jamaican singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Considered one of the pioneers of reggae, he fused elements of reggae, ska and rocksteady and was renowned for his distinctive voca ...

hit " One Love", saying "It's a perfect signing-off record for a reggae set—let's get together and feel all right. So next time, people, let's get together and feel all right." He MCed in

Jamaican Patois Jamaican Patois (; locally rendered Patwah and called Jamaican Creole by linguists) is an English-based creole language with influences from West African, Arawak, Spanish and other languages, spoken primarily in Jamaica and among the Jamaican ...

while DJing. Derek played DJ sets at many major music festivals, including

Glastonbury Glastonbury ( , ) is a town and civil parish in Somerset, England, situated at a dry point on the low-lying Somerset Levels, south of Bristol. The town had a population of 8,932 in the 2011 census. Glastonbury is less than across the River ...

and The Big Chill, and places like

Las Palmas Las Palmas (, ; ), officially Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, is a Spanish city and capital of Gran Canaria, in the Canary Islands, in the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital city of the Canary Islands (jointly with Santa Cruz de Tenerife) and the m ...

(

Gran Canaria Gran Canaria (, ; ), also Grand Canary Island, is the third-largest and second-most-populous island of the Canary Islands, a Spain, Spanish archipelago off the Atlantic coast of Northwest Africa. the island had a population of that constitut ...

); as well as regular DJ sets in London and across the UK. In June 2006 he released a compilation of his favourite tracks titled ''DJ Derek Presents Sweet Memory Sounds'', through

Trojan Records Trojan Records is a British record label founded by Jamaican Duke Reid, Lee Gopthal and Chris Blackwell in 1968. It specialises in ska, rocksteady, reggae and dub music. The label currently operates under the Sanctuary Records Group. Th ...

. He appeared in

Dizzee Rascal Dylan Kwabena Mills (born 18 September 1984), known professionally as Dizzee Rascal, is a British rapper and MC. He is often credited as a pioneer of British hip hop and grime music and was ranked by ''Complex'' as one of the greatest British ...

's video for "

Dirtee Disco "Dirtee Disco" is the fifth single from British rapper Dizzee Rascal's fourth studio album ''Tongue n' Cheek,'' although the song only appears in Tongue n' Cheek#Dirtee deluxe edition, the deluxe edition of the album. It features background voc ...

". In 2013 he played his final set before retiring at

Notting Hill Arts Club The Notting Hill Arts Club is a music and arts venue in Notting Hill, central London. The venue holds club nights every night of the week. Its range of events include interactive crafts, themed Soviet nights, and a Death Disco club night run by ...

in London on New Year's Eve, though he later played a one-off show in December 2014. He had a passion for travelling long distances by bus to visit newly opened Wetherspoon pubs .

Disappearance

In July 2015, Derek's family announced that he had been missing for three weeks, appealing for information related to his whereabouts. Police confirmed that he had not used his bank account since the beginning of July, and could not have gone abroad as he had no passport. He was last seen leaving the Criterion pub in St Pauls shortly after midnight on 11 July; later that morning his bus pass was used on a bus to

Thornbury Thornbury may refer to: Places ;Australia *Thornbury, Victoria, a suburb of Melbourne **Thornbury railway station, Melbourne ;Canada * Thornbury, Ontario ;England *Thornbury, Devon * Thornbury, Herefordshire *Thornbury, Gloucestershire **Thornbury ...

, north of Bristol.

Daddy G Grantley Evan Marshall (born 18 December 1959), also known by the stage name Daddy G, is a British DJ and a founding member of the band Massive Attack. Biography Born in Bristol to West Indian parents, Marshall joined the Bristol music scen ...

Massive Attack Massive Attack are an English trip hop collective formed in 1988 in Bristol, England, by Robert Del Naja, Robert "3D" Del Naja, Daddy G, Grant "Daddy G" Marshall, Tricky (musician), Adrian "Tricky" Thaws and Andrew Vowles, Andrew "Mushroom" ...

, who described Derek as a "walking musical encyclopedia", played a club night in Bristol to raise funds for a search. In December 2015, Derek's family said that a man matching his description had been seen fleeing a pub in Thornbury following an altercation;

Avon and Somerset Police Avon and Somerset Police is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement in the five unitary authority areas of Bristol, Bath and North East Somerset, North Somerset, Somerset, and South Gloucestershire, all in South West Engla ...

said that their investigations into his disappearance were continuing. Later in December, an image taken in London of a man resembling Derek was publicised. While his family noted an "uncanny" resemblance, Avon and Somerset Police later announced that they had located and spoken to the man photographed, and confirmed that he was not Derek. Derek's family began an application for presumed death in March 2016. On 10 March 2016, human remains were found in

undergrowth In forestry and ecology, understory (American English), or understorey (Commonwealth English), also known as underbrush or undergrowth, includes plant life growing beneath the forest canopy without penetrating it to any great extent, but above ...

near The Mall,

Cribbs Causeway Cribbs Causeway is both a road in South Gloucestershire, England, running north of the city of Bristol, and the adjacent area which is notable for its Out-of-town shopping centres in the United Kingdom, out-of-town shopping and leisure facilitie ...

, Bristol, and on 16 March, were confirmed to be those of DJ Derek. Shortly after his remains were discovered, Bristol police said they were not treating his death as suspicious.

Tributes

During the

6 Music BBC Radio 6 Music is a British digital radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It primarily plays a wide range of alternative music, from established and emerging artists and bands. In 2002 it was the first national music radio station t ...

festival hosted by the BBC in Bristol in February 2016,

Don Letts Donovan Letts (born 10 January 1956) is a British film director, disc jockey (DJ) and musician. Letts first came to prominence as the videographer for the Clash, directing several of their music videos. In 1984, Letts co-founded the band Big Au ...

and

premiered a snippet of a documentary they had been working on before his disappearance. Letts said they planned to complete the film as a mark of respect, as they had halted further production until his whereabouts were revealed. In March 2016, Bristol pub The Farm in

St Werburghs St Werburghs is an inner suburban neighbourhood in Bristol, England. It is in the Ashley electoral ward and Bristol Central parliamentary constituency, northeast of The Centre. St Werburghs does not have formal boundaries, but in typical u ...

, one of Derek's regular haunts, revealed they were hosting an auction to raise funds for a mural near his home. On 1 April, contributions from

Banksy Banksy is a pseudonymous England-based street artist, political activist, and film director whose real name and identity remain unconfirmed and the subject of speculation. Active since the 1990s, his satirical street art and subversive ep ...

Fatboy Slim Norman Quentin Cook (born Quentin Leo Cook, 31 July 1963), also known as Fatboy Slim, is an English musician and DJ who helped popularise the big beat genre in the 1990s. His music makes extensive use of Sampling (music), samples from eclectic ...

Stanley Donwood Dan Rickwood (born 29 October 1968), known professionally as Stanley Donwood, is an English artist and writer. Since 1994, he has created all the artwork for the rock band Radiohead with their singer, Thom Yorke, plus many of Yorke's other proj ...

and other local artists helped to raise over £5000 (US$6,905) towards the fund. Mayor George Ferguson revealed plans for a city tribute to him, with an official announcement to follow.

References

External links