Alan Raw Writes

BBC Journalist, DJ, Radio & TV Presenter, Producer, Engineer, Stage Photographer for 21 years

I was a BBC Presenter, Producer, Engineer, stage host and photographer for 21 years. I co-founded BBC Introducing and BBC Eco-Time. I also presented for Children In Need, Radio 1’s Big Weekend and many festivals. Plus some TV production and hosting. As a BBC Music DJ, on the radio every Saturday night, I had over 2000 live sessions on my shows. I played new unsigned and under-the-radar music. I had already been a successful musician and DJ so I built the shows from that network. I was a drummer, electronic artist and dance music DJ, playing Electronica, Hip Hop, World Music & Dub at Festivals. I got into club DJing with weekly Dub Reggae nights and branched out when I got the Lounge residency at the historic Welly Club Hull, playing anything new that I wanted to champion. I started promoting and booking in other DJ’s and worked with Sash, Slipmat, DJ Dakeyne and many others. I then started DJing on BBC Radio with BBC Raw Talent 2002 which became the BBC Introducing shows in Humberside, Leeds, Sheffield & York and eventually all over the UK. Over the last few years up to covid, I DJed at events like Leeds Festival and at new music clubs like 360club Leeds, where I co-promoted a night called #360RAW. I still have an uncontrollable need to find creative stuff that’s really good and tell everybody else to check it out. On 25th July 2018, I was the first DJ to ever play the 3000 capacity Bonus Arena, thanks again to BBC Introducing for that. I also presented the BBC Introducing Stage at Leeds Festival, for 17 years having initiated the stage as a progression/rebrand of my Raw Talent Stage at Leeds Festival in 2005. In 2022 I started BBC ECO-TIME to highlight all of the amazingly positive things that people were doing to turn their climate anxiety into action, with community gardens, forest schools, repair cafes, tree planting and more. I funded, researched, produced and presented the show as a solo project, that led me to some incredible people, places and projects.

This show evolved into Humber Eco Fest which started with over 100 events in 2023 and took place around the Humber in three local authorities. As a celebration of community engagement and up-skilling opportunities for everyone involved. I took a break from gigging of all types to focus on my conservation work. I ran and personally funded Humber Eco Fest 2023 and Humber Eco Conference, over 100 successful events in 21 days, with 60,000 people reached. I then retired from the BBC to focus on this part of my life, co-founded a space sector sustainability company and focused more time on my fiction writing.

BBC Hull Presenters. 19th September 2018.