In 1981 Rita Marley’s brother Leroy Anderson aka Lepke launched the Dread Broadcasting Corporation (DBC), Europe’s first dedicated black music station.

Frustrated by the lack of airtime for reggae music in the UK, Lepke setup a mast in his back garden and began to broadcast to a small area of West London every Sunday afternoon. DBC soon expanded to cover all styles of black music and with its unmistakable logo featuring a dread with headphones and a spliff became a trailblazer for the future of black British radio in the UK.

Carmella Jervier aka Sister C told Witness History how hearing black female DJs like the Ranking Miss P on DBC inspired her to become a DJ.

Witness History: The stories of our times told by the people who were there.

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