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 and personal 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. He then attended Gravesend Technical College to study Advanced Level English language and literature.
Gordon is married, and lives in Los Angeles, California
Early life
As a young lad Gordon passionately collected 45 single records of the 1950s, 60s and 70s, buying them with his secondary school dinner money from his school friends Mum's who "had a box of old singles from their younger days", he immersed himself in the different styles of songs A and B sides from the UK and the USA.
Aged 13, first brand new 7" (45rpm) he bought was Michael Jackson's cover version of Bill Withers hit 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, themes and lyrics of love; ability to paint virtual pictures; and how they resultantly engaged with the listener. Gordon's first DJing 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, employed full-time immediately at Cosy Glide in Northfleet, an aluminium Door and Window manufacturer. December 1975 Gordon left Cosy Glide to take up a previously held position as a Laboratory Assistant for the aircraft paint manufacturing company Dufay Titanine before moving in 1977 to work as a Laboratory Assistant for Britannia Refining 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 until taking up DJing full-time in 1982. From 1977 to 1980 Gordon took evening classes at Gravesend Technical College to study O Level then Advanced level in English Language and English Literature. A period of his life that gave Gordon the necessary education to later write weekly newspaper columns.
Music Journalist
Starting out as a DJ and music journalist in 1982 in his hometown Gravesend, Eddie 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 to fully cater for the very diverse Kent readership. The Kent Messenger won the Weekly Newspaper of the Year title in the Regional Press Awards for 1988 and then went on to collect the title of overall regional newspaper. It's one of the highest accolades for a paid-for weekly paper in the UK.
DJ career
From 1984 through to 1988 Eddie was regularly booked by major London event promoters as the support DJ for BBC Radio 1 DJs and Capital Radio DJs working in the big towns and cities of South East of England. This was a rich period for Eddie Gordon's DJ career with various awards Gravesend and Dartford Reporter 'DJ of the Year 1984–1985', Radio Kent '1986 Club of the Year' with The Slammer, Kent Evening Post '1986 Club of the Year' with The Slammer, Kent Evening Post 1987 Kent Club of the Year with The Sleeze and in 1989 Eddie Gordon was Kent 'Music Man of the Year' – Kent Evening Post. Throughout the 1980s Eddie Gordon was responsible for introducing the music for the Frank Warren Boxing Shows on the ITV channel with the boxers emerging from the dressing room to a fanfare of music to arouse the audience, which is now a regular part of all world championship televised boxing. The events held at the Royal Albert Hall, London, were major ITV programmes of the era. Also from the mid to the late 1980s Eddie spotted and supported the emerging DJ talents of Tim Westwood BBC Radio 1, Trevor Nelson MBE BBC Radio 1, Gilles Peterson BBC Radio 1, Norman Jay MBE, CJ Macintosh and Paul Oakenfold at his Gravesend club night The Slammer and in his weekly music column Sounds Spot in the county newspaper the Kent Messenger.