Meet the BBC presenter who’ll be laying down some ‘debauched beats’ at Glasto (Picture: Invision/AP)
BBC News presenter Ros Atkins has explained the incredible backstory behind his shock inclusion on the Glastonbury 2024 line-up.
Ros, 50, has been with the BBC since 2001 and is best known for being the channel’s ‘explainer in chief’, giving many memorable broadcasts in his time.
But before he was informing the nation about things such as Partygate, Ros had a former life as a drum and bass DJ, where played live sets at raves in Cornwall.
And it appears he’s ready to get back on the wheels of steel after securing a spot on the Glastonbury line-up – this year the festival runs from June 26 to June 30.
On Twitter, he said: ‘In an unlikely development, I’m going to be doing a drum and bass set at Glastonbury. And, not at all unreasonably, quite a few people have asked me variations on “How did that happen?!”‘
He then explained that, in 2022, after doing an interview about his days as a DJ, contacts at the BBC and at a Soho nightclub asked Ros if he’d fancy doing a live set for them.
Ros is currently the BBC’s political analysis editor (Picture: BBC)
Ros isn’t your typical BBC News presenter (Picture: @BBCRosAtkins)
That resulted in Ros being taught new ways of DJing, moving away from vinyl records and onto digital equipment, learning new techniques from some of his biggest drum and bass idols.
And now he’s lined up to grace the The Park as part of its now legendary The Stonebridge event, where organisers promise ‘debauched beats’ and ‘back-to-back anthems’.
Ros tweeted earlier this year: ‘It’s frankly incomprehensible that I’m tweeting this – but here’s the line-up for Stonebridge at Glastonbury and, to my great excitement and astonishment, I’m on it.
Ros was a drum and bass DJ back in the day (Picture: ITV/Rex)
‘What started with a one-off drum and bass set for BBC6Music two years ago has ended up here. Very grateful for the invitation. Work on the set has already begun.’
After being asked whether DJing a drum and bass set at Glastonbury was the ‘peak’ of his career, Ros replied: ‘In DJing terms, I think we can say that with some certainty!’
In his story about how he came to be ready to play Glastonbury during the last weekend of June, he referenced a story he told over 18 months ago to people who were curious about his musical past.
Yes, that is Ros Atkins(Picture: Leon McGowran)
Glastonbury gets going on June 26 with BBC TV coverage starting on June 28 (Picture: Getty)
‘Now here’s a story. Back in the 90s, along with lots of teenagers in Cornwall, I started going to raves and listening to hardcore and drum and bass,’ he tweeted in 2022.
‘I also started to DJ… I started to buy a lot of D&B and, through my 20s, in a very amateur fashion, I DJed a range of music in London, Cornwall & Cambridge.’
He continued: ‘I also lived in South Africa for a while and, improbably, ended up playing in the D&B room at a huge rave in Johannesburg train station.’
That tweet thread even got a response from legendary TV chef Nigella Lawson, who complimented Ros on his story and said his history with music was ‘Fabulous’.
Follow the build-up to Glastonbury on the BBC and BBC Sounds.
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