Five years ago Link TV sought to capture on videotape one of the BBC's most beloved deejays. Charlie Gillett was one of those great music people who had an unerring ear and a true passion for good music wherever it was from. (He quite literally discovered Dire Straits.) He seemed a natural for us to collaborate with, and we sent the filmmaker Celia Lowenstein into one of his radio shows with a camera to see what it would be like to film right there in the studio. We were all very excited with the result. Charlie had such knowledge and charm (and as you will see, was also quite a handsome gentleman) that we thought we had the making of a fine series. It was only a few short weeks later that we found out that Charlie had been diagnosed with a serious desease that could be kept at bay, but not cured. He discontinued his show, and we scrapped our idea and filed the tape away.
Charlie died last week. It took some searching, but we found the old tape.  Here is a brief snapshot, if you will, of the music he loved, and just how engaging a presence he was.

To find out more about Charlie, there is a good obit in the Guardian UK.
Click here to find out more about the BBC radio episode with Justin and Seckou.