Tim Westwood

Live

Westwood's career started in the late 1970s and early 1980s when he helped set up sound systems in clubs in northwest London, taking opportunities to work as a DJ, and then warming up for David Rodigan. At the time, he played reggae and jazz-funk.^[9]

Westwood was injured in a drive-by shooting in Kennington, south London, on 18 July 1999, after he had been playing at the Lambeth Country Show in Brockwell Park. According to police reports, gunmen on a motorbike pulled up alongside his Range Rover and shot him and his assistant.^[10][11] He alleged that the gunmen were gang members who had been threatening him to stop playing shows in the neighbourhood.^[3]

Radio

Westwood's first radio show was on the London pirate radio station LWR. He then moved to Kiss FM, which he co-owned. He was on Capital FM from 1987, and in 1994 he moved to BBC Radio 1 to present its new rap show.^[3] The show was launched with a live concert with the Notorious B.I.G. and Puff Daddy.^[4][12] The Westwood Radio 1 Rap Show was the top ranked hip hop show in the UK.^[13] His Radio 1 show was produced by his independent company Justice Entertainment, which also produced Chris Goldfinger's dancehall show for Radio 1 at the time. As of 2004^[update] Westwood was a patron of the internal radio station at Feltham Young Offenders' Institution in west London.^[14]

At the BBC, Westwood also hosted the weekday drivetime show for Radio 1Xtra from September 2009 until he was replaced by Charlie Sloth in September 2012.^[15] After leaving the drivetime show, Westwood continued his Saturday night Rap Show which now ran from 21:00 until 23:00 and was a simulcast on Radio 1 and 1Xtra. It was announced on 26 July 2013 that he was leaving the BBC after nearly twenty years as part of planned schedule changes, which took effect on 21 September.^[4]

After leaving the BBC, Westwood re-joined Capital FM on its sister station, Capital Xtra, initially occupying the 21:00–23:00 slot on Saturday nights.^[16] His show on Capital Xtra then moved to 19:00–22:00, followed by 19:00–0:00, and then 19:00–23:00.^[16]

Television

After creating and presenting the 1987 BBC Open Space documentary "Bad Meaning Good,"^[17] he achieved further TV exposure in the late 1980s as part of ITV's late-night programming block Night Network, for which he hosted the programmes N Sign Radio and The Rap Show.^[18][19]

He later presented a series of his own television programmes on UKTV channel UK Play, which has since ceased broadcasting.

Pimp My Ride

Westwood hosted the MTV series Pimp My Ride UK which ran for three seasons, from 2005 to 2007.^[3] The show was an adaption of the American MTV series Pimp My Ride, featuring one car in each episode being renovated and customized ("pimped") to match the owner's interests.^[20]

A special episode of the show called "Pimp Madonna's Ride" aired on MTV on Sunday 19 February 2006, the eve of the release of the single "Sorry". The interior of the van was pimped by MTV UK for the single's music video, which was filmed in London in January 2006. The exterior of the vehicle was kept original.^[21][22] At the time, Pimp My Ride UK was the most successful MTV UK production of all time and the second highest rated show in the history of MTV Europe.^[13]

Albums and awards

Westwood has released fourteen compilation albums. The Platinum Edition compilation was the biggest-selling British urban album of all time upon its release in 2003.^[34]

Westwood has won the 2016 Legacy Award at the GRM Daily Rated Awards,^[35] the 2010 Radio Academy John Peel Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music^[36] and the MOBO Awards for Best Radio DJ in 2000, 2003, 2005, 2007 and 2008.^[37] He was nominated for Sony Radio's Music Broadcaster of the Year award in 2003^[38] and 2006.^[39]

Self-presentation

On 6 June 2006, Radio 1 and Westwood's show in particular was accused of encouraging knife and gun crime by the Leader of the Conservative Party and then Leader of the Opposition, David Cameron,^[40] who was speaking at a British Society of Magazine Editors event. Radio 1 controller Andy Parfitt responded in a Press Association news agency article: "There's been a debate about this particular genre of music for many years. Hip-hop is of great interest to many people in our audience. I strongly refute that any of our programmes condone violence, gun crime or knife crime".^[41] Critics have derided Westwood's apparent Black British pronunciation and dialect.^[42] In interviews, Sacha Baron Cohen has stated that Westwood, including his accent, was an inspiration for his fictional Ali G character.^[43] Westwood has also been accused in the media of giving false statements about his age and background. In 2000, at the age of 43, Westwood insisted to a Guardian journalist that he was aged 27.^[2]