Dave Clarke on licence fee row – “my career would not have had the kickstart it had without the BBC”

Corporation must be free from government interference, says Clarke

Dave Clarke – DJ, producer, radio presenter and the Peel-christened ‘Baron Of Techno’ – has joined the debate on the government’s decision to freeze the BBC’s licence fee and its possible scrapping.

Culture secretary Nadine Dorries, recently confirmed the BBC’s license fee funding will be frozen for the next two years, while remaining vague on a previous announcement it will be completely scrapped.

Clarke asked fans for their opinions on the licence fee, saying he’d experienced heavy handed tactics from authorities in the past but insistent that its independence from government interference should be fiercely protected.

Clarke is known – besides numerous releases and BBC radio appearances – for his various social media diatribes. This time taking to Facebook, his comments paint a nuanced picture of the freezing, suggesting that there could be harsh knock-on consequences for the UK’s music industry.

“As a youngster the licence inspectors insisted that they push their way into where I was living as they knew I had a small colour TV that my Grandmother bought for my 18th birthday. Luckily I… was only using this 14-inch TV for making music. They bought the explanation after coming into my bedroom to see, heavy handed and a shit experience. So the licence thing is wrong and I’m sure many UK people have felt the same during their lives.”

Clarke continued to suggest that the response to the decision is rightly mixed. He says that while thr BBC have been accused of “gatekeeping” new music – “an expensive hurdle to get over for record labels and artists” – he still has a “love affair” with the national broadcaster, citing their “brilliant documentaries… radio shows (and) lack of adverts” as factors in his assessment.

Focusing specifically on music, he said, “their radio output (which, through John Peel and others like Steve Lamacq, Mary Anne Hobbs and even BBC Radio Brighton, supported me back in the late 80’s) will surely will be drastically culled and dumbed down even further. It is a complex question and I think will actually affect culture.”

“Despite when I was without a penny to rub to my name and resenting the licence fee gun to my head and criminal record threat, I know that my career would not have had the kickstart it had without the BBC. If they continue to be publicly funded I would like then at least to not be at the mercy of whatever Government they vex with uncovering an unsavoury truth.”

Clarke added, “I had a B&W TV in my bedsit for ages, as the cost of a colour one was above me, and the licence fee change was too much to think about, so I used to watch the snooker and have to memorise where the balls were.”