OBITUARY: TONY DIXON

Veteran Irish radio and club DJ Tony Dixon has sadly passed away after a short illness at the age of 52. Tony was a true ambassador for R&B and soul in his home city of Dublin for more than 30 years, and known latterly for his highly popular weekend shows on the radio station FM104. He was also a long-standing contributor to the Clubhoppin' section of Blues & Soul magazine, working alongside many of the current staff of Black Sheep Mag.

Originally from Pinewood on the North side of Dublin, and known simply as 'Tony D', he began his radio career working with the 'Big D' pirate station in the 1970s. Within the music industry Tony was known affectionately as a member of the 'Northside mafia', a group of high-profile presenters which included Ian Dempsey, Tony Fenton and Gerry Ryan. All grew up together and went on to forge high-profile careers on both national and local radio.

In the 1980s Tony moved to another pirate station, Sunshine Radio, before managing the popular Hollywood Nights nightclub at the Stillorgan Park Hotel.

In February 2000, Tony joined Dublin station FM104, presenting his R&B and hip-hop show every Saturday night. His catchphrase quickly became 'If it's Hip Hop and R&B, don't miss me, Tony D'. He frequently interviewed the very biggest artists of the genre on his show, and worked as a sales consultant for the station.

In 1999, Tony hosted the first MTV Lick Party event in Ireland, at Lillie's Bordello in Dublin, alongside British DJ Trevor Nelson. The two went on to host many more such events, with Tony enjoying a long-standing affiliation with the MTV brand. During the 2000s, Tony maintained a prolific club gig schedule in Dublin, most notably with a long Saturday night residency at The Vaults, which also hosted many of the big-name R&B DJs from the UK.

For many years, Tony was the Ireland correspondent for the revered magazine Blues & Soul, (not to be confused with the current operation running at www.bluesandsoul.com, which is entirely unconnected,) where he reported on all music-related matters from the Emerald Isle. Among others, he tipped Dublin songstress Laura Izibor for stardom long before she broke through.

Tony is survived by his son Josh, his son's mother Dee and his three sisters and two brothers.