Published
Sun, Dec 2, 2018, 17:10
- The longtime radio host passed away Sunday morning following multiple battles with cancer.
Paul "Trouble" Anderson, the longtime London DJ and radio host, has died.
Anderson's friend and Mi-Soul Radio colleague, Gordon Mac, announced his passing in a Facebook post today. "Our thoughts and prayers go out to Paul's nearest and dearest," Mac writes. "He will be sorely missed by the entire Mi-Soul family and by all that had the privilege to see him live." Anderson's family later confirmed the news in a statement on Facebook: "It's with a really heavy heart that we have to post the news of our dear brother, father and grandfather passing. He died peacefully this morning and not before he played every track on the album of his life... Thank you for your love, prayers and support. Every time you filled the dance floors to his boogie you filled his heart with joy."
Anderson was diagnosed with cancer in his left lung in 2011 and was in remission until earlier this year when tumours were discovered in his brain and his right lung. In August, Anderson's family and friends began crowdfunding to raise money for his cancer treatment. The campaign reads, "It's our chance to give something back to this very special man who has given us so much."
In his youth, Paul "Trouble" Anderson earned a reputation as one of London's best dancers. He later graduated to the DJ booth in 1979 and was one of the first black DJs to play in London's West End. Anderson gained a cult following at Crackers, an underground soul and funk spot frequented by young DJs such as Carl Cox, Fabio and Terry Farley. He also ran the legendary Trouble Funk soundsystem, a key influence on Norman Jay's Good Times soundsystem and the Soul II Soul soundsystem. In the mid-'80s, he DJ'd at Camden's Electric Ballroom, a hugely popular spot that introduced London to boogie and electro funk. (Gilles Peterson also got his break playing Electric Ballroom's second room). Alongside George Power and Gordon Mac, he was one of the founding members of Kiss FM, which would later become the UK's first legal dance music radio station. During the '90s, his midweek Loft parties in Camden became one of London's most celebrated house music events, attracting stars of the era such as Masters At Work and Kerri Chandler. Anderson continued to DJ until his death, playing regularly at events like Southport Weekender and Croatia's SuncéBeat.
Anderson's friends, family and colleagues, as well as members of the local scene, have been sharing tributes to the late DJ on social media. Read their kind words below.
Stephen Titmus contributed to this report.
Photo credit: Jen Jenny BM