What is Goldie?

Clifford Joseph Price, better known as Goldie (born December 28, 1965 in Walsall, England) is a British electronic music artist, disc jockey, and actor. As a musician he works mainly within the jungle and drum and bass genres, and has helped to promote these styles globally.

Early life, graffiti

He is of Jamaican and Scottish heritage. ^[1] He attended St. Francis of Assisi RC Secondary School in Aldridge. He was born to Margaret Kierney McVeigh and Clement Price, but was raised primarily by his mother.

Price was a member of a breakdance crew Westside, based in the Whitmore Reans and Heath Town areas of Wolverhampton, in the 1980s. His b-boy nickname was Goldilocks — he wore his light brown hair in dreadlocks at the time — which he later shortened to "Goldie". He later joined a breakdance crew called the Bboys, and made his name as a graffiti artist in the West Midlands. His artwork around Birmingham and Wolverhampton was featured heavily in Afrikaa Bambaataa's documentary Bombing (which was broadcast on Channel 4 in the UK).

He took part in the largest ever British graffiti art battle alongside Bristol artist Robert "3D" Del Naja, who later formed Massive Attack. He is also mentioned for his graffiti in the book Spraycan Art by Henry Chalfant and James Prigoff, which contains several samples of his art.

In 1986, he moved to Miami, Florida and started a business selling grills, something he has turned into a trademark.

Music career

In 1992, Price collaborated with Icelanders Sórhallur Skúlason and Sigurbjörn Sorgrímsson on his first track as Ajax Project. At the same time, he did design and A&R work for 4 Hero's Reinforced label.

His releases "Killa Muffin" b/w "Krisp Biscuit" and the Dark Rider EP were put out under an [alias Rufige Cru. More recently, he has used the alias Rufige Kru to release collaborations with other producers such as Heist.

His track "Terminator", recorded under the name Metalheadz in 1992, was a huge hit. In 1993 he released "Angel", another 12" on the Synthetic Hardcore Phonography label. 1994 saw him setting up his own record label, Metalheadz. The label was a huge success, releasing some of the most important 12"s of that era.

His first globally released album, Timeless, followed in 1995. Timeless shot straight into the charts at number seven, which was a first for a drum 'n' bass record. The album fused the breakbeats and basslines common in jungle with orchestral textures and soul vocals by Diane Charlemagne. The album's title track was a 21-minute symphonic piece. Inner City Life, a track taken from the album, sold over 15,000 copies on vinyl.

With his reputation firmly established, Price released his second album in 1998, Saturnz Return. The album's opening track, "Mother", is an hour-long orchestral drum and bass piece. The remainder of the album features appearances by David Bowie, Noel Gallagher of Oasis, and KRS-One.

At present, Price's new album, Sine Tempus, has not yet seen a major label release.

Price is also known for his work as the leader of the Rufige Kru. This group has no fixed members; it has included some of most well-known drum and bass producers such as Technical Itch, Heist, Teebee, Cujo, Agzilla Da Ice, Doc Scott and Rob Playford.

Selected album discography

* Timeless – (1995)

* Ring of Saturn – (1998)

* Saturnzreturn – (1998)

* Sine Tempus – (2006)

Selected singles discography

* Inner City Life (12") FFRR 1994

* Angel (12") FFRR, FFRR 1995

* Jah / Deadly Deep Subs (Remixes) (12") Razors Edge 1996

* Digital (12") FFRR 1997

* Kemistry V.I.P. / Your Sound (Remixes) (12") Razors Edge 1997

* Moving Shadow 100 (CD, Maxi) Rhythm Republic 1997

* Shadow 100 (12") Moving Shadow 1997

* Believe (12") FFRR 1998

* Temper Temper (12") FFRR 1998

* Angel III / Sinister (The Remixes) (12") Razors Edge 2004

* Say You Love Me (12") Metalheadz 2005

* Malice In Wonderland LP Metalheadz 2007

Selected mix discography

* INCredible Sound Of Drum'n'Bass – (1999)

* Goldie.co.uk – (2001)

* MDZ.04 – (2004)

* D&B Arena Classics – (2006)

Acting career

Price has appeared in several movies, most notably the James Bond film The World Is Not Enough and Guy Ritchie's Snatch. He also played gangster Angel Hudson, in the British soap opera EastEnders (2001 - 2002).

He hosted Crime Business on digital TV channels Bravo and ftn, as well as The World's Deadliest Gangs on Bravo.

Other appearances

A young Price appeared on Central Weekend, a Friday evening topical debate show on Central TV, promoting graffiti as an artform. He also appeared on various young peoples TV shows as part of breakdance crew, the Bboys from Wolverhampton. In 1995 he appeared on Passengers as well as a Channel Four documentary about himself in 1998. In 2001, he presented Bravos, Price also appeared on the second series of Celebrity Big Brother UK in 2002; he was the first celebrity to be "evicted".

He was scheduled to appear in The Games, a UK reality TV show on Channel 4. During training for the water-ski jump event, he fractured his femur, and was unable to take part in the show. He was replaced with Adam Rickitt.

As an author

In 2002 Hodder & Stoughton published Price's book Nine Lives, which he wrote with Paul Gorman.

Marriage and personal life

Price is recently divorced from model Sonjia Ashby. He was romantically involved with singer Björk for several years until their break up around September 19, 1996. Price generally keeps his private life out of the tabloids, and spends great effort to avoid having his photo taken during his downtime. He has lived in his country house near Hemel Hempstead, Hertfordshire for several years.

He was also involved with drum and bass artist Kemistry prior to her death in a car accident in 1999.

References

External links

• http://www.metalheadz.co.uk/
• Goldie at rolldabeats
• Goldie at Discogs
• VH1.com – Bio entry for Goldie
• Goldie at the Internet Movie Database
• Goldie at inthemix.com.au

Interviews

• Goldie - biting through – Interview by Jan Goodey
• The War is Over – Mixmag Interview by Tony Marcus
• Saturnz Return – Mixmag Interview by Matthew Collin about the release of his album Saturnz Return.

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