Norman Jay

Fee Band


Norman made his name with the Good Times Sound System at Notting Hill, and at Kiss FM. He now plays to passengers on Virgin Atlantic. The two-hour set has old school divas, funk, jazz and hip hop.


Biography

Norman has played a major part in the development of the dance scene. You name it he can play it, from Rare Groove to Hip Hop to House - eclectic is his middle name.

Influenced by the powerful and exciting sounds coming out of late 60s Black America by the likes of Aretha Franklin and James Brown, Jay became an avid collector of American black music, from labels like Motown, Stax, Atlantic and Jazz. It was around this time, inspired by a trip to New York, that Jay decided to take his DJ-ing more seriously. He teamed up with his brother Joey and built the Good Times sound system, playing at the famous Notting Hill Carnival to great acclaim gaining a reputation that would see Good Times become a Carnical institution.

Jay amassed a huge live following leading and helped found pirate radio station Kiss FM. He hosted the first legal broadcast on Kiss FM when they became licenced. He went on to start the UK’s first garage club whichwas responsible for reviving interest in old-school divas such as Jocelyn Brown, Chaka Khan. Loleatta Holloway and Gwen Guthrie, all of whom appeared live at the club.

After the radio station and the club, Jay was head-hunted by Polygram to start a new label called Talkin Loud, charged with uncovering a new strain of UK soul-dance artists. The label signed seminal artists such as the Young Disciples, Galliano and Incognito. At the same time Jay was touring live around Australasia, the US, Japan and Europe. He also became a fixture on the celebrity party circuit playing for the likes of Mick Jagger (at his fiftieth birthday party), Michael Caine, George Michael, Paul Weller, Lenny Henry (who reputedly model his pirate radio DJ character on Jay) Vivienne Westwood and Gaultier.

Jay’s combination of diverse genres from house and garage to funk and soul, drum and bass to jazz and hip-hop has assured he and Good Times have remained a popular fixture on the dance music scene.

© Copyright 2024 JLA. All rights reserved.

Contact

We’re on hand to help you find the perfect speaker, presenter or performer for your events. Call or email our London office and use our agents' experience to expertly match you with the right person for your programme!


From time to time we send out emails announcing new speakers and free tickets to our showcase events including Speakers Breakfasts and the JLA Real Variety Show. Please tick the box below if you would like to receive these emails.

Don't miss anything!

We will never share the data you submit here with a third party. Information is stored in a database in order to service your enquiry, but is deleted once it is no longer required. You may request to have this data removed at any time.

JLA Presents


Event - 30/04/2024 - 9:00 am

Speakers Breakfast

Understanding AI Now

Speakers
Priya Lakhani, Anne-Marie Imafidon, and Neil Lawrence

Please join us in our JLab studio near Oxford Circus at 08:30am on Tuesday 30th April for our next speaker’s breakfast event. Following our sell-out event for IWD back in February, we will be joined by three fantastic speakers for an exploration of the uses, myths and concerns surrounding AI.

Location

JLA, 14 Berners Street, London

WATCH

Event - 06/02/2024 - 9:00 am

Speakers Breakfast

Looking Ahead to International Women’s Day

Speakers
Samira Ahmed, Eniola Aluko, Julia Gillard, and Alex Mahon

We were joined by four fantastic speakers to look ahead at International Women’s Day. With the theme of this year’s event being #InspireInclusion, we were lucky enough to hear from four women who have each blazed a trail in their respective fields: CEO of Channel 4, Alex Mahon; the former Australian Prime Minister and Chair of Kings’ Global Institute of Women’s Leadership, Julia Gillard; one of the leading voices in football, Eniola Aluko MBE; and broadcaster and journalist, Samira Ahmed.

Location

Bishopsgate Institute, London

WATCH