A small-town DJ from Boston, Lincolnshire, named Ron Diggins is hailed as the architect of modern DJ music. Diggins, recognised as the first to blend tracks smoothly using two record decks, is the focus of a recent BBC Sounds documentary and an exhibition paying homage to his groundbreaking work. The earliest DJ deck, known as the ‘Diggola,’ was ingeniously constructed using coffin wood during the wood shortage of the early 1950s. Carl Loben, editor-in-chief of DJ Mag, praises Diggins for his innovation of twinning two decks together and pioneering the DJ culture as we know it today. Loben suggests that without Diggins, there might have been no Fatboy Slim or Calvin Harris, possibly no global dance music culture. In the late 1940s, Diggins began spinning records for parties and dances upon the request of local Land Army women, thus identifying a niche in the market. His DJing technique was revolutionary, using two decks to cue up another record, thereby avoiding the awkward chatter during the transition between tracks. Diggins’ Diggola became instantly popular, leading to hundreds of performances across the East Midlands. Despite some resistance from local bands, Diggins continued to thrive until the 1960s and 70s, when his popularity began to decline. The humble Diggins, who passed away in 2007, modestly stated on his last birthday that he had ‘invented nothing.’ Yet, to those in the know, Diggins will be remembered as a pioneer whose work gave birth to a whole new subculture of music.
This story was adapted by The Lincoln Post from original reporting by www.bbc.com.
