DJ Sharkey (born Jonathan Kneath
on 25 July 1974) is a British
record producer
A record producer or music producer is a music creating project's overall supervisor whose responsibilities can involve a range of creative and technical leadership roles. Typically the job involves hands-on oversight of recording sessions; ensu ...
,
disc jockey
A disc jockey, more commonly abbreviated as DJ, is a person who plays recorded music for an audience. Types of DJs include Radio personality, radio DJs (who host programs on music radio stations), club DJs (who work at nightclubs or music fes ...
and
rapper
Rapping (also rhyming, flowing, spitting, emceeing, or MCing) is an artistic form of vocal delivery and emotive expression that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and ommonlystreet vernacular". It is usually performed over a backing ...
. As of September 2011 he is semi-retired from music production and performance. Sharkey has performed in the United Kingdom, the United States, Australia, Canada,
and Japan.
Career
Sharkey initially became known as an
MC at "hardcore
rave
A rave (from the verb: '' to rave'') is a dance party at a warehouse, club, or other public or private venue, typically featuring performances by DJs playing electronic dance music. The style is most associated with the early 1990s dance mus ...
" events in Britain in 1993. In 1995, he moved into music production, teaming up with
DJ Hixxy to release the track "
Toy Town
"Toy Town" is a happy hardcore track by British duo Hixxy and Sharkey. Released in 1995, the single was a hit in the UK clubbing scene, peaked at number 24 in the UK dance singles chart, and had a pivotal impact in the UK rave music scene w ...
", which proved one of the most significant signature tunes of the UK's
happy hardcore
Happy hardcore, also known as 4-beat or happycore, is a subgenre of hardcore dance music or " hard dance". It emerged both from the UK breakbeat hardcore rave scene, and Belgian, German and Dutch hardcore techno scenes in the early 1990s ...
style in the 1990s.
This led both Sharkey and Hixxy to being signed by the UK-based dance music label
React Music, and the pair released ''
Bonkers'', the first in a series of albums which has become the best-selling hardcore compilation series of all time.
"Revolutions", a release on React, reached 53 in the UK charts, and Sharkey consequently released the album ''Hard Life'' in 1998.
Sharkey also produced mixes for ''
Bonkers 2,
3,
4,
5,
8,
9,
10,
11,
12,
13,
14,
15,
16'', and ''
17''. Volumes ''
4'' and ''
5'' achieved silver sales status in the UK with ''
Bonkers 3'' reaching gold status. In 2001, Sharkey made his first appearance on the
Eurodance
Eurodance (sometimes referred to as Euro-NRG) is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in the late 1980s in Europe. It combines many elements of Hip-hop, rap, techno and Eurodisco. This genre of music is heavily influenced by the use ...
compilation ''
Dancemania'' series, at ''
Speed 6'', along with Hixxy.
He was also invited to mix 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 Contemporary hit radio, current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including ...
in 2003, performing
John Peel
John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), better known as John Peel, was an English radio presenter and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original disc jockeys on BBC Radio 1, broadcasting regularly from ...
's show.
Retirement
In January 2011, Sharkey announced his retirement from Hardcore and Freeform. He completed a final tour, playing in various countries around the world,
and then reportedly retired in September 2011.
He then subsequently returned to the hardcore scene in 2017, and then got back into production in 2020, reviving the Bonkers label. In 2021, Sharkey started his own show called ''Bonkers Beat'' on the online radio station Beat 106 Scotland on Friday nights.
References
External links
Releases*
Sharkey on Last FM
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sharkey, Dj
English DJs
English record producers
Happy hardcore musicians
1974 births
Living people
UK hardcore musicians
Musicians from Plymouth, Devon
British hardcore techno musicians