The late DJ Chris Hill galvanised funkateers, brought Black music to the clubs – and got Mick Jones dancing

<p>The legendary Essex DJ, who died earlier this month, was a cultural influencer before there was such a thing. He democratised the dancefloor, fearlessly blended genres and understood the power of personality</p><p>If you are a fan of club culture, soul, Brit funk, acid house, all-dayers, the radio edit of Kraftwerk’s Autobahn, weekenders or Sinéad O’Connor then – whether you know it or not – you are part of the world shaped by Chris Hill, <a href="https://www.clashmusic.com/news/seminal-uk-soul-dj-chris-hill-has-died/">who died on 11 September after a short illness</a>.</p><p>Hill was an Essex-born, working-class DJ who loved Black music so much he made it his mission to bring it to the pubs, clubs, airwaves, pop charts and record shops of England by any means necessary. He started out in the 1960s trading blues records and landed a residency in 1967 playing jazz at The Orsett Cock in Essex; later came a soul residency at the Goldmine nightclub on Canvey Island, Essex, and from there to the Lacy Lady in Ilford, east London, and headlining the Caister Soul Weekender in Norfolk.</p> <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/music/2025/sep/24/as-a-15-year-old-funkateer-he-meant-the-world-to-me-chris-hill-influence-by-gilles-peterson">Continue reading...</a>