Robert John Gorham (born 24 June 1973 in

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

, Hampshire), known by the pseudonym Rob da Bank, is an English DJ and co-founder of music festivals

Bestival Bestival was a four-day music festival held in the south of England. The name Bestival is a portmanteau of the words best and festival. It had been held annually in the late summer since 2004 at Robin Hill on the Isle of Wight. In 2017 the festi ...

, originally on the Isle of Wight and now moved to Lulworth, Dorset and Camp Bestival, also in Lulworth. He presented a show on

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and Contemporary hit radio, current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including ...

which focused on promoting new left-field music. Examples of artists featured on his show include Tipper,

Moloko Moloko () were an English-Irish electronic music duo formed in Sheffield, England, consisting of vocalist Róisín Murphy and music producer, producer Mark Brydon. Blending elements of electronica and dance music, they are best known for their ...

and a host of unsigned acts. Until September 2006, he and Chris Coco were the presenters of the Blue Room on Radio 1. He hosted the Radio One Music Show on Thursday nights, the content of which was more similar to the music played on his current show. Rob da Bank filled in for

John Peel John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), better known as John Peel, was an English radio presenter and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original disc jockeys on BBC Radio 1, broadcasting regularly from ...

's show for several weeks following his death in 2004. In 2007, he produced the ''Together in Electric Dreams'' EP. In 2009, he gave

BBC Blast BBC Online, formerly known as BBCi, is the BBC's online service. It is a large network of websites including such high-profile sites as BBC News and BBC Sport, Sport, the on-demand video and radio services branded BBC iPlayer and BBC Sounds, t ...

an exclusive look behind the scenes of his show. Until 2014, he hosted a Friday-night/Saturday-morning BBC Radio 1 show focused on left-field electronica. He is also the owner of a number of business ventures under the name Sunday Best, which originated as a Sunday night event in a

Battersea Battersea is a large district in southwest London, part of the London Borough of Wandsworth, England. It is centred southwest of Charing Cross and also extends along the south bank of the Thames Tideway. It includes the Battersea Park. Hist ...

tea-room. The music played by Rob da Bank on Sunday Best helped launch the "bar culture" (as opposed to "club culture"), which features more relaxed activities than dancing. Sunday Best has grown to incorporate a record label and two offshoot music festivals,

on the Isle of Wight and in 2008, Camp Bestival, which is more family orientated and held in the grounds of Lulworth Castle in Dorset. In 2018 Bestival went into administration, leaving many workers unpaid. However, a festival of the same name, curated by Gorham and his wife Josie, was announced for 2019, at the same site and on the equivalent weekend. Gorham has also compiled a mix LP for the

Fabric Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, and different types of fabric. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is no ...

night club's series of mix compilations, entitled '' Fabric 24'' (2006). In June 2014, it was announced that in September 2014, da Bank would leave BBC Radio 1 and that he would join the 6 Music family. His last show was on Saturday 30 August 2014. Da Bank hosts a weekly radio show on the American radio network

Evolution Evolution is the change in the heritable Phenotypic trait, characteristics of biological populations over successive generations. It occurs when evolutionary processes such as natural selection and genetic drift act on genetic variation, re ...

. In 2014, alongside Graphite Media he set up the company 'Earworm', a Music Supervision, Original Composition and Talent Procurement service for Film, TV, Video Games and Advertising. Recent work includes the music supervision for BBC Drama – From There To Here, original compositions for the new HBO show 'The Left Overs', the title music for Annie Mac's 'Superstar DJs' on Channel 4 and music supervision for forthcoming Xbox One game – Forza Horizon 2. Da Bank was awarded The Outstanding Contribution Award at the 2014 AIF Festival Congress Awards.

Personal life

Rob da Bank divides his time between London and the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight (Help:IPA/English, /waɪt/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''WYTE'') is an island off the south coast of England which, together with its surrounding uninhabited islets and Skerry, skerries, is also a ceremonial county. T ...

with his illustrator wife Josie and their four sons.

References

External links

* * * *
Sunday Best Website
*
Behind the scenes with Rob at Radio 1

Rob da Bank Tracklistings and Downloads
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rob D Banka 1973 births English radio DJs English record producers British club DJs BBC Radio 1 presenters Alumni of Goldsmiths, University of London Musicians from Portsmouth Living people Mass media people from Portsmouth