The Story of Clarky, One of Jungle’s Most Important Unsung Heroes

On 19 September, some of drum and bass’s greatest names will gather at Basing House to celebrate DJ Clarky, a brilliant selector, producer, mentor and vital member of the early Metalheadz family.

Some people enter music history through chart positions and headline tours. Others help build that history, one record, one radio transmission and one unforgettable set at a time.

Dean Clark, better known as DJ Clarky, belonged firmly to the second group.

On Saturday 19 September 2026, the jungle and drum and bass community will take over Basing House in Shoreditch for Clarky’s Memorial Gathering. Across two rooms and eight hours of music, friends, fellow pioneers and generations of ravers will come together to celebrate the life, music and lasting influence of a true original.

This is not simply a memorial. It is a proper jungle family gathering and a chance to experience the music Clarky loved, played and helped push forward.

Clarky emerged during the first wave of UK jungle in the early 1990s, when the sound was still being created in real time. There was no social media, streaming or major music industry machine behind it. The scene grew through pirate radio, record shops, white labels, flyers and selectors who knew when a tune carried something special.

Clarky was present in all of those spaces.

For years, he worked behind the counter at Nicky Blackmarket’s legendary Blackmarket Records in Soho. The shop was much more than somewhere to buy vinyl. It was a meeting place for DJs, producers, MCs, promoters and ravers. Fresh dubplates arrived, musical knowledge was exchanged and relationships were formed that would help shape the future of jungle.

Clarky was not simply selling records. He was listening, advising, connecting people and helping new music reach the DJs who could break it. He became a trusted musical voice within a scene powered by shared knowledge and personal recommendations.

His influence also travelled across London through his residency on Eruption FM. These pirate broadcasts gave listeners access to music they could not hear anywhere else. Clarky was regularly joined by Stevie Hyper D, one of jungle’s most influential MCs, and their shows became an important part of the culture.

MC Evil B later explained that hearing Clarky play alongside Stevie Hyper D inspired him to become an MC. That is a powerful example of Clarky’s legacy. His passion travelled through the speakers and helped another artist discover his own path.

Clarky was also an important part of the early Metalheadz family, regularly playing at the legendary Sunday Sessions at the Blue Note.

Launched in 1995, the Blue Note sessions became one of the most important nights in drum and bass history. The club was dark, intense and uncompromising. It gave producers, selectors and serious music heads somewhere to hear experimental new sounds properly. The music played there helped establish the deeper, darker and more futuristic direction associated with Metalheadz.

Clarky was not watching that history from the edge of the dancefloor. He was one of the selectors helping to create it.

His surviving 1997 Metalheadz Blue Note set captures a DJ who understood patience, atmosphere and timing. He knew that a great set was not just a collection of big tunes. It was a journey that had to be carefully built.

His production work carried the same experimental spirit. His collaborations with Dillinja included the respected Sinewave / Dark Science and Steelers Anthem / Sax Into the Night. He also released sought after white labels under the Batmix name and produced as Bass Invader.

Dillinja described Clarky as a close friend of 39 years, a major musical inspiration and an excellent DJ. He remembered visiting Clarky’s home at only 12 years old and hearing music that would help shape his own future.

DJ Mag and Resident Advisor both recognised Clarky as a formative figure connecting Blackmarket Records, Eruption FM, Metalheadz and the first wave of jungle.

His contribution cannot be measured only by counting releases. It lives in the records he championed, the knowledge he shared, the careers he encouraged and the countless people who experienced his sets.

The lineup coming together in his name shows just how much respect he earned.

Room One brings together Fabio and Grooverider, Dillinja, Mickey Finn and Brockie, Nicky Blackmarket and Ray Keith, Jumpin Jack Frost and Bryan Gee, Kenny Ken and Mampi Swift, Bailey, Lemon D, Storm, Chef, The Invaderz, Flight and Ash A Tack.

Hosting duties come from Moose, Juiceman, Cleveland Watkiss, GQ, Chickaboo, Ayah MC and Fatman D.

Upstairs in Room Two, Kenny Charles, Mystery, Terry George, Mr Vee, Rob Smillie, Roachman, DJ Dev and The Funk Asylum, and Mr Logic will also be representing.

It reads like a history of the culture because, in many ways, it is. These are artists who built labels, commanded pirate stations, transformed underground raves and carried jungle around the world. They are coming together to play the music, share the stories and celebrate someone who was there during the culture’s most important formative years.

Expect classics, rare selections, serious bass, big reunions and plenty of moments that will take the room straight back to the foundations.

For those who knew Clarky, it will be a chance to celebrate a friend. For those who experienced his sets, it will be an opportunity to reconnect with those memories. For a younger generation, it will be a living lesson in where the music came from and who helped build it.

Clarky’s Memorial Gathering takes place from 1pm until 9pm on Saturday 19 September 2026 at Basing House, 25 Kingsland Road, London E2 8AA. Tickets are available through Eventbrite.

Come for the history. Come for the music. Come to represent.

For Clarky.