No-one throws a DJ party like Scratchy. The renowned DJ who toured with the legendary Clash, Scratchy still has his finger on the rockin’ dance pulse, bringing together an irresistible blend of  global rock’n’roll, reggae and roma, a true mestizo mix of the greatest music on the planet, from and for all times.

In an era when just about everyone calls themselves a DJ, Scratchy stands out as a genuine, independent and free-thinking phenomenon. For the past 40 years, this Selectah has been Rockin’ The Frontline, starting with his first punk gig on July 5th 1976, alongside The Ramones at Dingwalls Dancehall, the famous London club where Scratchy was resident DJ for two years.

It was a consciousness and love of rockin‘n’rollin roots music, a formidable reputation from his ongoing club and concert work at all the major venues and events in London, from the Speakeasy to Dingwalls, from the Roundhouse to the Lyceum, plus an initial couple of tours with Dr.Feelgood, that led to two years as the on-the-road tour DJ with his favourite band The Clash. He accompanied them throughout the UK and was an essential feature of their first three US campaigns. Meanwhile, between tours, he continued to play London concerts with stellar acts like Iggy Pop, Blondie, the Cramps and Black Uhuru.

Excited by how the punk sensibility had spread across the globe, combining with different local musical traditions to bring about fresh musical forms, in the new millennium he hooked up again with Joe Strummer, himself a great champion of the new global music. This opportunity provided Scratchy with the perfect arena to further develop his own fascination with both roots music and the contemporary and, thus, take The Rock and The Roll of The World back onto a larger stage.

Scratchy had bypassed so-called ‘DJ culture’ and remains to this day relatively and refreshingly beats-free. He is an unrepentant rebel rock’n’roller. That is the spirit which he still seeks today, in the music of the wider world.

Nowadays, it is not unusual to hear Selectah Scratchy segue from the honking horns of the Skatalites into the pumping brass of Fanfare Ciocarlia. The frantic sounds of New Orleans’ Zydepunks might give way to some classic cajun, whilst the loping bass and accordion stabs of a Colombian cumbia may hand over to Mano Negra’s jumped-up mestizo-punk. One thing is for sure, his mixes are unique. They are neither predictable nor are they one-dimensional. No two sets are alike. In pushing his audience, Scratchy is always pushing himself. Scratchy passionately believes that whilst being there to entertain, his role can also be to open minds whilst, of course, having fun.

He continues to look forward whilst also delving into the past and plays to wild and enthusiastic crowds in clubs and at major festivals from Sziget to Glastonbury, across Europe and beyond, stretching across the globe from Japan to Brazil. Since being back on the road with Joe Strummer’s Mescaleros, Scratchy has also teamed up with the Pogues, played at home and abroad with the Dead Brothers, covered Europe with Groundation and, throughout 2006 & 2007, he toured extensively with Gogol Bordello.

In 2004, he compiled the highly praised Scratchy Sounds: Ska, Dub, Roots and Reggae Nuggets on Trojan and was also invited by Piranha Records in 2007 to select the tracks for one of their downloadable Jubilee releases, Rockin’ the Barricades.

Ever with a sharp eye and a highly-tuned ear for emerging talent, he would often work in conjunction with London combo, The Urban Voodoo Machine, for the best part of a decade commencing in 2005. Scratchy has also been resident DJ of London’s hot monthly club night, the Gypsy Hotel since its inception in 2006. Late in 2015, he also began to focus on his own 40 Year Jubilee .

Always seeking fresh outlets and audiences that are ready to party and be amazed, in 2008, Scratchy added to his long list of triumphs by shaking clubs from the Boulevard in Rimini to the Scala in London. He rattled festival tents and stages from Rock for People and Trutnov in the Czech Republic to the Wig-On Casino at the UK’s Endorse-It and he rolled ships from le Bateau Geneve in Switzerland to la Dame de Canton in Paris. Scratchy showcased at Popkomm 2008.

2009 saw Scratchy captivate audiences at le Festival des Giboulees, the United Islands of Prague and the Gypsy Hotel special at the Hackney Empire. As the end of the first decade of the millenium approached, on The Bring On 2010 Tour, Scratchy debuted in Athens and Zaragoza, returned to Barcelona for the first time in his own right since playing there with Gogol and premiered in Tirana, Albania and Cosenza, Italy. He entered the new decade in the company of The Urban Voodoo Machine at the The Gypsy Hotel.

In 2010, Scratchy continued his London residencies at the Gypsy Hotel and Big Chill Sundae, as well as establishing a new monthly night, Good Time Religion at Camino Cruz Del Rey. He has guested at the rock'n'roll & rhythm'n'blues night Big Ten Inch and made his first visits to Ukraine to play in Kiev and at the Stare Misto Festival in Lviv alongside Goran Bregovic and The Urban Voodoo Machine. In July he made a two night appearance at Colours of Ostrava.

August saw a series of glorious returns as Scratchy played on Le Bateau Geneve and at the Endorse It and Trutnov festivals, all for a third successive year. He was also back at Sziget for the first time since he debuted there in 2006, with a series of shows over the course of the week.

In October 2010, Scratchy showcased at WOMEX10. In November Scratchy was back in Greece, not only returning to Athens but also playing in Komotini and Thessaloniki. He saw out the year with gigs in London, Berlin, Paris and Geneva, culminating in the traditional Gypsy Hotel New Year's Eve Party.

The mission continued unabated in 2011, playing with Mama Rosin, whose music he has supported since seeing a nascent version of the band open up for The Dead Brothers at the launch of their Wunderkammer album, visiting Bologna for Irlanda in Festa and running riot across the dancefloors of the World Village Festival in Helsinki and at the World Day Festival, his debut in Tallinn, Estonia.

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In July, the 35th anniversary of that notable Dingwalls Ramones gig coincided with the 200th programme of Scratchy Sounds, his radio show on wirelessfm. Scratchy marked this double cause for celebration with a special broadcast of the kind of music that had been on his decks in the five-year period from 1976, spanning the days from that memorable night to the very first radio series of Scratchy Sounds in ‘80/’81. It also launched the Globalista Rhythms and The Universal Blues World Tour 2011/12 which took Scratchy up to and beyond his sixtieth birthday in September 2012. That same July, he also revisited the seventies punky reggae rock’n’roll mood, joining his old compadre Johnny Green along with Chuck Prophet & Spanish Bombs on a night of London Calling.

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