LONDON, April 19, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- London radio station celebrates quarter of a century on the airwaves this year, and to mark the milestone the founding fathers of the station are to tell their story on video.
Many of the original lineup, including Gordon Mac, Trevor Nelson, Jazzie B and Norman Jay have teamed up with video communication company, who will host their interviews at http://www.winkball.com/users/kiss25
Kiss FM was born in 1985 - a year also associated with Live Aid, Ronald Regan, Margaret Thatcher, the cold war, Madonna's first tour, Mike Tyson's first professional fight and in the UK a country divided by the miner's strike.
That same year Stevie Wonder's music had been banned by the South African Broadcasting Corporation, after he dedicated his Oscar to Nelson Mandela.
However, South Africa was not the only place where black artists were not widely heard. In the UK, music based stations were dominated by popular music. No airtime was given to the music Kiss FM would become associated with. Once it came on the airwaves Kiss spoke to a whole section of the population, whose musical needs had until then been largely ignored. For the first time ever a generation was exposed to black urban music, rap, soul, hip-hop, rare groove and house music, played by DJ's they could relate to. This gave rise to a wealth of youth culture tribes and innovators who continue to dominate British music today.
Dr James Ohene-Djan, founder of WinkBall.com says Like WinkBall, The First Kiss gave a voice to the people of Britain in a way that had never been done before. Musical views were freed and the soul of the UK was heard for the first time on mainstream radio. The history of Kiss tells a unique story of the birth of modern British dance music. A thousand stars were born and, of course, a few fell too!
From its humble beginnings, The First Kiss FM spawned some of the greatest dance DJ acts in the world; and WinkBall believes we have a duty to remember them and their stories. By capturing all the major Kiss DJs on video telling their own stories, a unique online video documentary is being created of possibly the most important radio station in British history, and for that WinkBall are really proud.
Check it out, it's emotional!
The first Kiss FM transmitter was mounted on top of a second hand shop with the studio located in the living room of a council estate in south London. It wasn't a black or a white thing, it was just a music thing, said Gordon Mac, one of the Kiss FM founding fathers. Music of the people, by the people, for the people. Radio in the UK would never be the same again.
To celebrate the Kiss FM: 25 years, WinkBall hosted the mother of all parties, 'THE 1st KISS' on 17 April. The original DJ's were reunited and spun their vinyls for the first time ever to an invited audience. Venue: The Paramount Club, Centre Point, London, WC1A 1DD. Footage and interviews available at http://www.winkball.com/users/kiss25
SOURCE: WinkBall.com
CONTACT: To set up an interview please call Claire or Ashleigh at Shout!Communications on +44(0)207-240-7121 or +44(0)207-240-8852.
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