Sanctimonious Sunday Times Hack Slates Judge Jules
Author: Jonty Skrufff
Friday, February 22, 2008
The 50-something father of three poured scorn on the dance programs' selection of 'piping-hot tunes', 'hot mixes' and 'remixes' and singled out a trivial comment by Jules when he was sitting in for Pete Tong two weeks ago to launch his tirade.
'At 7.20pm, after one track, he told his young audience: 'The last time I heard that, I was chewing my face off in a field in the early Nineties,' Donovan declared.
'For those unfamiliar with this phrase, 'chewing my face off' is almost certain to be a reference to the taking of ecstasy, the drug indelibly associated with clubbing. This is because it is famous for producing involuntary teeth-clenching and frenzied jaw movements,' he claimed.
'There is something grotesque about a high-profile Radio 1 presenter using his position to make a comment that appears to make light of its use,' he said.
Writing on his blog this week, Jules dismissed Donovan's claims though conceded he exercised poor judgment in making the comment.
'It was an off-the-cuff remark that wasn't intended to be a drug reference. It was meant to be a jovial generic comment on the rave culture of that time. In retrospect I absolutely accept that it wasn't the right thing to say, but little did I expect any form of backlash in the shape of a half page piece in the 'Culture' section of the Sunday Times,' he said.
'I've never intentionally made light of drug use, and where possible have used my position to advise against the binge culture that's so prevalent in the UK and Northern Europe, helping to put together a charity with this goal a few years back,' Jules added.
'As someone who plays more than 200 club and festival gigs per year I would never bury my head in the sand and deny the presence of drug taking and binge-like behaviour as a whole. However, I believe that my platform is best used to encourage moderation and caution. I regret what I said on Radio 1, but at the same time it's very unfair to portray me as a reckless individual who doesn't care deeply about the issues affecting the community I'm involved with. I care enormously,' he stressed.
Chatting to Skrufff, Jules emphasized the point again, declaring 'it genuinely wasn't intended as a drug reference it was just a generic rave comment. Though in retrospect I agree I shouldn't have said it all the same,' he concluded. Tags