Steve "Smooth" Sutherland (15 July 19?? – 10 July 2020) was a British DJ. He produced music in various genres, including R&B Hip Hop, 2 step vocals,

4x4 A four-wheel drive, also called 4×4 ("four by four") or 4WD, is a two-axled vehicle drivetrain capable of providing torque to all of its wheels simultaneously. It may be full-time or on-demand, and is typically linked via a transfer case provi ...

, and

grime Grime may refer to: * Dirt, in the form of black, ingrained dust Music * Grime music, a genre of music * ''Grime'' (album), a 2001 album by Iniquity * "Grime", a 2023 song by Macklemore from ''Ben'' * "Grime", a 2024 song by Kittie from ''Fire ...

DJ career and radio shows

Sutherland was a club DJ,

radio presenter A radio personality is a person who has an on-air position in radio broadcasting. A radio personality who hosts a radio show is also known as a radio host (North American English), radio presenter (British English) or radio jockey. Radio personali ...

voiceover artist Voice acting is the art of performing a character or providing information to an audience with one's voice. Performers are often called voice actors/actresses in addition to other names. Examples of voice work include animated, off-stage, off-scr ...

, and

television presenter A television presenter (or television host, some become a "television personality") is a person who introduces or hosts television show, television programs, often serving as a mediator for the program and the audience. It is common for people ...

. He did much work in clubs and radio shows within the

Urban Urban means "related to a city". In that sense, the term may refer to: * Urban area, geographical area distinct from rural areas * Urban culture, the culture of towns and cities Urban may also refer to: General * Urban (name), a list of people ...

genre. He has released 12 'live' studio albums, seven of which have reached the Top 40 compilation charts in the UK. Sutherland has won four

MOBO Modern Baseball (sometimes abbreviated as MoBo) was an American emo band from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, consisting of Bren Lukens, Jake Ewald, Sean Huber, and Ian Farmer. The band formed in 2012 at Drexel University and released their first ...

Awards. Sutherland got his first break in radio via an introduction from the former

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 ...

producer Ivor Etienne, (who dubbed him 'Steve 'Smooth' Sutherland'), to the former controller of Radio 1,

Matthew Bannister Richard Matthew Bannister (born 16 March 1957) is a British media executive and broadcaster. Early career After attending King Edward VII School, Sheffield, he graduated in law at the University of Nottingham in 1978, and joined BBC Radio N ...

, to host a four-hour radio show encompassing

Hip Hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

, R&B,

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 ...

UK Garage UK garage, abbreviated as UKG, is a genre of electronic dance music which originated in England in the early to mid-1990s. The genre was most clearly inspired by garage house and jungle production methods, but also incorporates elements from ...

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

House A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air c ...

. He enlisted

Seamus Haji Seamus Haji (born 30 December 1968) is an English DJ and record producer. Biography Seamus Haji had a chart-topper, number one on the List of number-one dance hits of 2007 (UK), UK Dance Chart, with a cover version, cover of Indeep's "Last Nig ...

after that brief foray, and did various radio mixes for

Kiss 100 Kiss is a British digital radio station owned and operated by Bauer Media Audio UK as part of the Kiss Network. Kiss broadcasts nationally to the UK via DAB digital radio, as well as on Bauer's Rayo platform. The station started in 1985 as ...

, before London's

Choice FM Capital XTRA (formerly Choice FM) is a British digital radio station owned and operated by Global. It broadcasts on 96.9 and 107.1 FM in Greater London, and nationally on DAB, Global Player and television platforms. It specialises in hip ho ...

approached him in 2000. He then brought co-host Asha on board; the duo had one of the most successful shows on Choices' new sister station Choice 107.1, with two shows during the week. Sutherland quickly picked up on the craft of running a successful radio program and went on to guest-host other shows on Choice FM 96.9. After only five months at Choice FM, he won his 1st best DJ award at the

MOBO Awards The MOBO Awards (Music of Black Origin, also known as the MOBOs) are an annual British music award presentation honouring achievements in " music of black origin", including hip hop, grime, UK Drill, R&B, soul, reggae, jazz, gospel, and Ba ...

ceremony, where he was approached by various radio stations. He left Choice FM to host a networked Sunday show on Galaxy FM and was offered the 9pm1am time slot, following the stations headlining talent

Hed Kandi Hedkandi is an English record label, events and music brand owned by Ministry of Sound. Its back catalogue includes both artist albums and dance music compilations. History The Hedkandi label was founded in 1999 at radio station Jazz FM's En ...

. The popularity of his radio show quickly began to overtake competitive shows on other stations (in the

Rajar Radio Joint Audience Research Limited (RAJAR; ) was established in 1992 to operate a single audience measurement system for the radio industry in the United Kingdom. RAJAR is jointly owned by the BBC and Radiocentre. RAJAR's predecessor was c ...

ratings), where he quickly gained a large fan base. The Steve Sutherland Show broadcast every Saturday and Sunday night on the entire Galaxy Network ( Galaxy Birmingham,

Galaxy Manchester Capital Manchester was a local radio station owned and operated by Global Radio as part of the Capital radio network. The station broadcast from their studios at Global's Manchester HQ in the XYZ Building in Spinningfields, Manchester. In April ...

, Galaxy North East, Galaxy Scotland,

Galaxy South Coast Capital South Coast was a regional radio station owned by operated by Global Radio as part of the Capital (radio network), Capital radio network. It broadcast to Hampshire from studios in Segensworth, Fareham. In 2019, Capital South Coast was r ...

Galaxy Yorkshire Capital Yorkshire was a regional radio station owned by Global as part of the Capital network. It broadcast to South Yorkshire & North Derbyshire, West Yorkshire, North Yorkshire, the East Riding of Yorkshire and Northern Lincolnshire. Capi ...

and

Galaxy Digital Galaxy Digital was a radio station broadcasting through the digital platform across the United Kingdom and was owned by Global Radio. It primarily broadcast in areas where Galaxy was not represented on FM, such as London, Leicester, Nottingham, ...

). On 1 December 2008,

Global Radio Global Media & Entertainment Limited, trading as Global, is a British media company formed in 2007. It is the owner of the largest commercial radio company in Europe having expanded through a number of historical acquisitions, including Chrysal ...

, owners of

Galaxy Radio Galaxy was a radio network owned by Global Radio and broadcast across the British Isles on FM in regional areas of England and Scotland, through the digital platform with Sky and DAB and online respectively. Local relays included: Galaxy Birmin ...

, suspended Sutherland along with his producer, after a number of listeners complained about offensive lyrics on a song played on his Saturday night show at 9:58pm on 29 November 2008. The song was "

Arab Money "Arab Money" is a song by American rapper Busta Rhymes, released as the lead single from his eighth studio album '' Back on My B.S.'' (2009). It features production and vocals by fellow New York-based rapper Ron Browz, and the sampled beat of ...

" by

Busta Rhymes Trevor George Smith Jr. (born May 20, 1972), known professionally as Busta Rhymes, is an American rapper, singer and actor. Chuck D of Public Enemy gave him the moniker Busta Rhymes, after National Football League, NFL and Canadian Football Lea ...

. Following a one-week suspension and a full investigation, Ofcom, the independent regulator and competition authority for the UK communications industries, deemed that Sutherland and Galaxy Radio were not in breach of industry codes or regulations. The report concluded that "the programme was not in breach of Rule 2.3" and "noted that the practice of sampling content from a diverse range of sources is common in this genre of music." Sutherland's weekly shows on 'Galaxy FM' continued until the station network was rebranded Capital FM in 2011. A founding DJ of urban club brand Twice As Nice, he held residencies at Pacha Ibiza,

Ministry of Sound Ministry of Sound or Ministry of Sound Group is a multimedia entertainment business based in London with a nightclub, shared workspace and private members' club, worldwide events operation, music publisher (popular music), music publishing busin ...

Gatecrasher Gatecrasher is an international clubbing brand made famous by the "Gatecrasher" (later "Crasher") dance music events, which were held at the Republic nightclub in Sheffield, UK during the late 1990s and early 2000s. The promoters of the brand ...

and Cookies and Cream London.

Death

Sutherland died on 10 July 2020, just a few days before his birthday (15 July).DJ Steve Sutherland dies
''Birminghammail.co.uk'' Retrieved 12 July 2020.

Awards

* 2000: Sutherland was voted winner of the "Best Club DJ" at the

in London. * 2002: Steve Sutherland was voted winner of the "Best Club & Radio DJ" at the MOBO Awards * 2004: Sutherland was voted winner of the "Best Club DJ" at the MOBO Awards * 2006: Sutherland was voted winner of the "Best Club & Radio DJ" at the MOBO Awards

References

External links

Official site of Steve Sutherland

Steve Sutherland MySpace profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sutherland, Steve 20th-century births Year of birth missing 2020 deaths British DJs Place of birth missing Place of death missing