Eddie Gordon (born Edmund Richard Gordon; 9 February 1959 in Biggin Hill, Farnborough, Kent) is an English music journalist, producer, DJ and music business personality.
Early life Born in Biggin Hill, Gordon was raised in Gravesend, Kent. He was educated at Cecil Road Infant and Primary school in Northfleet, Kent and Northfleet School for Boys before attending Gravesend Technical College to study Advanced Level English language and literature.
As a young boy, Gordon passionately collected 45rpm single 7" vinyl records of the 1950s, '60s and '70s, buying them with his secondary school dinner money from his school friends' mothers who had a box of old singles from their younger days collecting dust. Gordon immersed himself in the different styles and emotions of songs on the A and B-sides from the UK and the US.
Aged 13, the first brand-new 45rpm single 7" vinyl record purchased was Michael Jackson's cover version of Bill Withers' "Ain't No Sunshine", released in the UK in May 1972. Playing his collection at home on a Dansette record player, Gordon was fascinated by the song's melodies, the lyrics of love, the ability to paint virtual pictures, and how they resultantly engaged with the listener. Gordon's first DJ experience was in 1974 at the age of 15 in a Northfleet Church hall and later at 16 selecting music at friends' parties.
Early working life. At 16 years old, Gordon completed his secondary education at Northfleet School for Boys in June 1975. December 1975 Gordon took up a new position as a Laboratory Assistant for the aircraft paint manufacturing company Dufay Titanine, based in Northfleet, before moving in 1977 to work as a Laboratory Assistant for Britannia Refined Metals. Early 1980 Gordon was employed by the Royal Mail and stationed at the main Post Office in High Holborn, London WC1. Gordon's last 'normal' job before taking up DJing full-time in 1982. From 1977 to 1980, Gordon took evening classes at Gravesend Technical College to study O Level and then Advanced Level in English Language and English Literature. This period greatly assisted him in writing weekly music reviews for the major record industry.
As music journalist Starting out as a DJ and music journalist in 1982 in his hometown Gravesend, Gordon wrote a weekly column for the Gravesend and Dartford Reporter and Kent Extra before being invited to write a weekly music page for Kent's major county newspaper the Kent Messenger, a position he held from 1982 to 1991. Nine years of weekly Gordon "Sound Spot" columns writing about artists from all genres of music. The Kent Messenger won the Weekly Newspaper of the Year title in the Regional Press Awards for 1988 and went on to collect the title of overall regional newspaper, one of the highest accolades for a paid-for weekly paper in the UK.
Award-Winning DJ: He won multiple regional club and DJ awards between 1984 and 1989 in Kent. Boxing Music Pioneer: He introduced the concept of televised boxer ring-walk music for Frank Warren's ITV shows. Talent Scout: He early-supported legendary DJs like Tim Westwood, Trevor Nelson, Gilles Peterson, and Paul Oakenfold at his club, The Slammer. From 1984 through 1988, Eddie Gordon was regularly booked by major London promoters to support BBC Radio 1 and Capital Radio DJs across the South East of England. This was a highly successful period for Gordon, earning him several awards, including the Gravesend and Dartford Reporter "DJ of the Year" (1984–1985), Radio Kent's "Club of the Year" (1986) for his venue The Slammer, and the Kent Evening Post "Music Man of the Year" (1989).Throughout the 1980s, Gordon was also responsible for introducing ring-walk music for Frank Warren’s boxing shows on ITV. Having boxers emerge from the dressing room to high-energy music to arouse the audience at venues like the Royal Albert Hall eventually became a standard feature of world championship televised boxing. Additionally, from the mid-to-late 1980s, Gordon used his weekly Sounds Spot column in the Kent Messenger newspaper and his Gravesend club night, The Slammer, to spot and support emerging DJ talents who would later become industry icons, including Tim Westwood, Trevor Nelson, Gilles Peterson, Norman Jay, CJ Macintosh, and Paul Oakenfold.
DJ agency In 1985, a local Gravesend DJ Pete Tong personally requested to be added to Gordon's DJ Management/Agency roster which included BBC Radio London's Jeff Young, Radio Kent's Rod Lucas and the UK Club DJ of the Year Colin Hudd. Gordon's agency was the first of its kind in the UK devoted to radio DJs playing dance music. He managed Pete Tong of BBC Radio 1 for 20 years from 1984 to 2004 and Jeff Young of BBC Radio 1 from 1985 to 1992. In 1999, Gordon set up the DJ agency IMD Ltd with DJs Pete Tong and Carl Cox heading the roster with a vision of the worldwide stage for Tong.
The digital era/US Billboard panels 21 September 2002, Gordon was invited by US Billboard magazine as the only European representative to co-chair a closed-room key discussion at the Billboard Summit in New York to discuss the threat of the new world technology to the traditional music business with 69 heads of America's record labels. Eddie opened and closed his participation in this unique meeting by predicting that digital delivery would be 'the future' of the world's music business.
US Billboard Magazine Dance Music Summit 2006 – Las Vegas Wrapup Eddie Gordon (Music 2 Mix) predicted this on a DMS panel more than five years ago to an almost dismissive audience, stressing the importance of building an audience. A vision confirmed 7 months later by the unveiling of Apple's iTunes in March 2003, which is now largest music retailer in the US. 4 Apr 2008. iTunes 'biggest US music seller' group Wal-Mart to become the largest music retailer in the US, an independent study has said...
Gordon has moderated The Future of Digital Distribution at the US Billboard Summit in New York in 2003, attended panels as a speaker in 2004 and 2005 including a keynote speech at the Amsterdam Dance Event (ADE) – MP3 the Future of Music Promotion in Holland.
Gordon moderated a panel at the first Billboard Magazine Summit in Las Vegas on 20 September 2006 titled 'Across the Pond'. "The iPod is the Elvis revolution but the iPod plus the phone will be the Beatles revolution." EG quote at Billboard Magazine Conference, Las Vegas. Sep 2006
DJinTheMix in London to KINGS of Spins in Los Angeles, US In June 2003, Gordon launched the world's first online digital promotion system for DJs with DJinTheMix which had an exclusive link to the then newly formed iTunes from Apple Inc. The following year, DJinTheMix was nominated as a finalist in the Orange New Business Ventures in London and IMEA at Popkomm in Berlin, Germany. By the turn of 2005, Gordon introduced a new digital marketing service to radio stations worldwide with M2M and in April 2008 launched Media 2 Radio in the US. The promotional work of DJITM to KINGS of Spins has helped to bring awareness and attention to over 25,000 new releases for artists plus record labels from around the world.
The Grammy Awards From 2010 to 2017, Gordon was invited to be a member of the Electronica/Dance Grammys Screening committee in Los Angeles by the chairman of the panel to assist the selection process for the year's best dance releases.
The British Broadcasting Corporation Gordon joined BBC Radio 1 as a freelance producer in the early 1990s, and introduced a host of new programming ideas and DJ talent including Pete Tong, Danny Rampling, Judge Jules, Seb Fontaine, Fergie and Carl Cox. For two years from 1995 to 1997, Gordon co-produced Danny Rampling's Saturday evening BBC Radio 1 show The Love Groove Dance Party on alternate weekends with Jeff Young.
BBC Radio 1: Essential Mix
From early 1992, Gordon had been receiving weekly two-hour long mixes on cassette from DJs Tony Humphries on New York's Hot 96 and Frankie Knuckles at KISS 100. Gordon pitched the idea of a UK-based electronic dance music show, with an emphasis on house, that show-cased different DJs and styles of music to offer an outlet for UK dance music. With voice-overs by Pete Tong, the first show was broadcast in 1994, produced by Gordon and airing from 01.00am to 03.00am."Frequency Finder" Classic Radio 1 Schedules 1991 The show was subject to scheduling adjustments over the subsequent fifteen years, varying in duration from 2 hours to 3.5 hours, broadcast within the time frame from 01.00am to 06.00am. The show was the first BBC production to broadcast live from Ibiza, Spain. In addition, a one-hour Sunday edition of the programme was broadcast at 7.00pm from April 1992 to April 1993,"Frequency Finder" Classic Radio 1 Schedules 1992 called The Essential Selection - Part 2. In 1997, IPC-produced magazine Muzik Mag named the show Radio Show of the Year in 1997, and a Sony Silver Award in 1997 for the Goa Mix presented by DJ Paul Oakenfold. Gordon left the show in 2004, when it changed to a different production company. The Essential Mix is presently the longest running radio mix show in the world.
Eddie Gordon took the Essential Mix to Ibiza in 1995. Key Milestones of BBC Radio 1 in Ibiza 1995: Gordon produces the first live BBC show from Ibiza at Ku club, featuring a DJ set by Nicky Holloway 1996: Gordon expands broadcasts to Café del Mar and Amnesia. 1998: Carl Cox's live Terrace set wins two "Essential Mix Show of the Year" awards. 2005: BBC Radio 1 celebrates its 10th anniversary of broadcasting from the island. 2015: The station marks its 20th anniversary with high-profile celebrations.
The Genius Behind the Broadcasts: Eddie Gordon fundamentally changed electronic music history by creating and producing the BBC Radio 1 Essential Mix starting in 1993. The Visionary: He designed a platform that gave DJs total creative freedom for a continuous two-hour set, moving away from rigid commercial radio formats. The Ibiza Gateway: In 1995, he personally traveled to Ibiza to set up the technical infrastructure at Ku club, paving the way for international dance music tourism. A Label Pioneer: Beyond broadcasting, he founded Manifesto Records for Mercury Records in 1994, achieving 14 consecutive UK Top 40 hits and signing the iconic Café del Mar CD compilation series, which sold over 15 million copies globally. Deep Dive: Carl Cox’s Legendary 1998 Set Recorded live on August 9, 1998, on the open-air Space Terrace, Carl Cox's set earned the BBC Radio 1 Essential Mix "Show of the Year" accolade. This specific set transformed Space Ibiza's open terrace into a globally recognized clubbing destination. Featured Anthems from Carl Cox's 1998 Tracklist:"French Kiss" — Lil' Louis"Greece 2000" — Three Drives On A Vinyl "Planet Rock (Zulu Funk Mix)" — Afrika Bambaataa & The Soul Sonic Force" I'll House You (Hitmen Remix)" — Jungle Brothers "The Latin Theme" — Carl Cox "Where Love Lives (Dancing Divaz Mix)" — Alison Limerick The Debut: Nicky Holloway at Ku (1995) On July 2, 1995, UK acid house pioneer Nicky Holloway stepped up to the decks at Ku (now Privilege). It was the very first BBC Radio 1 Ibiza broadcast. The Vibe: An eclectic blend of uplifting Balearic house, energetic techno, and piano house tracks. The Impact: It officially exported the elusive "Ibiza feeling" straight into the bedrooms of millions of UK listeners via the BBC Radio 1 Essential Mix network.
BBC Radio 1: Millennium