21 Facts About Zane Lowe

Alexander Zane Reid Lowe was born on 7 August 1973 and is a New Zealand radio DJ, live DJ, record producer, and television presenter.

Zane Lowe was a member of Urban Disturbance, an early 90s hip hop group whose standout hit was "No Flint No Flame" and Breaks Co-Op, alongside Andy Lovegrove and Hamish Clark.

Zane Lowe initially worked at the Record and Tape Exchange in Notting Hill, before being asked to cover for a show on XFM, going on to host XFM's Music Response.

Zane Lowe has toured with artists including, Skrillex, The Prodigy, Kasabian and The Weeknd and opened shows for both Muse and Foo Fighters at their concerts at Wembley Stadium.

Zane Lowe started his career on MTV UK before moving to MTV2 Europe presenting shows such as MTV News, MTV News Daily Edition and Brand:New.

Zane Lowe's presenting manner on Gonzo was more laid back than on his radio show.

At Oxegen Festival 2006, Zane Lowe was reportedly "beaten up" by Didz Hammond and Carl Barat from Dirty Pretty Things on an episode of Gonzo.

Zane Lowe has since said that the punch was in fact completely playful but unfortunately, and painfully, connected with his groin.

On 15 February 2015 it was announced that Zane Lowe would be leaving BBC Radio 1 in March 2015 to launch a new station with Apple.

Zane Lowe presented his last show on 5 March 2015, bowing out with "Song for the Dead" by Queens of the Stone Age, from their 2002 album Songs for the Deaf.

Between 2007 and 2012, one week per year of Zane Lowe's show was dedicated to albums considered "masterpieces".

In 2011, during a 21 November broadcast of "Masterpieces" featuring The Smashing Pumpkins, Zane Lowe expressed his delight at securing the opportunity to play Siamese Dream in full, stating the album to be one of his favourites.

Three days later, Zane Lowe announced that 2011 could possibly be the final edition of "Masterpieces", concluding the show with "Hallelujah" from Jeff Buckley's album Grace, stating that the idea of the feature originally came from the suggestion that the album Grace be played on the air from beginning to end.

However, Zane Lowe later announced that "Masterpieces" would continue in 2012, with the four chosen albums being announced on 6 November 2012.

At the 2015 Apple WWDC Keynote, Zane Lowe was introduced as one of the DJs of Apple Music 1, a radio station part of Apple Music.

Zane Lowe is the host of the Apple Music show Planet of the Apps.

Zane Lowe has been the recipient of NME Awards and Radio Academy Awards.

Zane Lowe has won the Gold Award in the Specialist Music Programme and Music Broadcaster of the Year categories at the Radio Academy Awards.

Zane Lowe recently won the Gold 'Music Radio Broadcaster of the Year' award at the Radio Academy Awards 2014 and, in early 2015, was nominated for a Grammy Award for his writing and production on Sam Smith's hit album In the Lonely Hour.

Zane Lowe is remembered for saving Ryan Jarman's life at the 2006 NME Awards, an incident which NME now refers to as "engraved in indie folklore".

Zane Lowe was taken to hospital but discharged himself to return for the show's after-party later in the night.