Zane Lowe has been a part of my life ever since he joined
Eddy Temple Morris on Up For It on MTV. On as kids got home from school
initially, with Zane as the secondary presenter, it gave great spotlight to
bands. It also got guests to use tracing paper to shade their 6 packs or lack
off, it had it all.
It was however, when he took over the evening session on XFM
that Zane cemented a place in my heart. 7pm the jingle would hit (‘he comes on
everyday…) and the top 7 at 7 would come on and feel like the most important
chart in the world.
His enthusiasm is legendary and it was here that he would
use those bigger singles from White Stripes The Streets and Libertines to keep me listening
and eventually discovering some gems from Duke Spirit, Nada Surf and the daily
sessions. That’s right, daily sessions. Pull your finger out XFM, bring them
back!
As Steve Lamacq’s time as Radio 1’s Evening Session host was
coming to an end, the rumours were rife that Zane was set to replace him. At
this time, and after a debauched Electric Ballroom gig watching D4, Hot Hot
Heat and The Caesars, this writer met Zane Lowe at the after party. Being
drunk, I asked him straight off the bat, ‘are you leaving XFM?’ It was a douche
move, but, Zane, as listeners of the Chris Martin interview will know, is a
warming and encouraging guy. He proceeded to talk with excitement at the
prospect of taking his XFM show to a national audience and you couldn’t help be
excited either.
He will always be remembered for his time at radio 1 and
rightly so. Here, he became a national treasure. Correction, he became a
fucking national treasure! He flew the flag for bands which Lammo fans had
become accustom to but more importantly, gave hip hop a push like never before and he brought drum n bass to the
forefront of popular music. DnB is as English as Morris Dancing no matter where
the tracks come from. Getting fucked up and letting loose at a club or a
festival to DnB is in the Magna Carta right?
12 years at the top is incredible and to be honest, he could
have done another 12 and kept things as fresh. The unwavering enthusiasm perked
up Monday to Thursday every night and Annie Mac has some shoes to fill.
So, we have two things left to say. Good luck to Annie and
thank you to Zane.
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