Eastbourne DJ shortlisted for national music award

Dug Chant, of Lower Willingdon, was shortlisted for Best Soul Radio Show at the Soul Survivors Magazine Award Show in London.

Dug was up against national radio stations and his show, Soul Vault, stood out against 105 other radio shows across the country.

He said, “It was an absolutely fantastic evening, Stevie Wonder’s manager was there, some legendary DJs, a lot of current artists and many stars in the British soul scene.

“Pete Tong, Jeffrey Daniels from Shalamar, Robbie Vincent (the first soul DJ on Radio 1), Incognito and Hi-Tension were there.

“It was incredible to be nominated in the first place, and then to make it into the top 10 – I couldn’t believe it.

“And then I came third in the end. It seems we were up against really big radio stations and we are one of the smallest stations in the country. So it was a great honour to get that far.”

Dug, 58, hosts his show on the online station Sound Fusion. He is able to broadcast from home, with the Soul Vault show on air from 7pm-10pm on Wednesdays, playing a ‘high dosage of bassy soul and funk’ to a listenership of 200,000 people worldwide. He also hosts a jazz show on Mondays from 8pm-10pm.

Dug – who was first inspired by his older brother’s record collection and ‘hooked’ to soul music after hearing his first James Brown track – said he started DJ-ing again after a long break around seven years ago, when he was the only person playing soul music in the Eastbourne area. He even used to DJ on the pier.

The Royal Mail engineer said, “I’ve loved soul since I was 11 years old. It’s music from the heart, it makes you dance. I love the history, where it comes from.

“I hope I can DJ full time one day.”

Dug says his favourite artist is Teddy Pendergrass, but he also loves Marvin Gaye, Luther Vandross, Phyllis Hyman and Slave.

He shops for his records online and at Emporium, in Grove Road, and says Eastbourne needs to get its music back, and get some more nightclubs.

Established in 2006, the Soul Survivors Magazine is the ‘essential’ guide to soul music. As a publication it says it endeavours to continue showcasing the achievements of DJs, dancers, promoters, artists and musicians who represent the history and culture of the music.

To listen to Dug’s show visit www.soundfusionradio.net and for more information about the awards visit www.thesoulsurvivorsmagazine.co.uk