Charles Thomas Gillett was a British radio presenter, musicologist, and writer, mainly on rock and roll and other forms of popular music.
13 Facts About Charlie Gillett
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Charlie Gillett was particularly noted for his influential book The Sound of the City, for his promotion of many forms of "world music", and for discovering and promoting such acts as Dire Straits and Ian Dury.
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Charlie Gillett began in journalism in 1968 with a weekly column in the Record Mirror.
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Charlie Gillett's 1970 book, The Sound of the City: The Rise of Rock and Roll, was developed from his master's thesis, and was a seminal history of popular music.
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Charlie Gillett wrote for a variety of music magazines, including Rolling Stone, Let It Rock, and New Musical Express and contributed to The Observer.
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Charlie Gillett began a weekly radio programme, Honky Tonk, on Radio London in 1972, leaving in 1978.
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Charlie Gillett brought Ian Dury to public attention, and was the first DJ to play demos by Graham Parker, Elvis Costello, and Dire Straits.
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In 1980, Charlie Gillett joined Capital Radio, and began to play more independent music.
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Charlie Gillett was fired in 1983, but after listener complaints was rehired with orders for a new format.
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Charlie Gillett chose to follow his new interest in music from the rest of the world and his show, A Foreign Affair, is credited with helping to launch "world music".
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Charlie Gillett was presented with the Sony Gold Lifetime Achievement Award the following year.
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In 2006, Charlie Gillett was awarded the John Peel Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music Radio by the Radio Academy.
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Charlie Gillett died on 17 March 2010, following a series of health problems, including being diagnosed with eosinophilic granulomatosis with polyangiitis in 2006.