Womad

Charlie Gillett

World music godfather back behind the mic

Until a couple of summers ago, Charlie Gillett was a silver-haired staple of the WOMAD weekend, presenting his Saturday night Radio London show live from one of the stages at our old home in Reading. A serious and debilitating illness then struck, causing Charlie to drastically cut down his professional commitments. He's now back on the nation's airwaves (this time on Radio 3) as part of the presenting team behind World On 3, the station's dedicated Monday night world music programme. So it's with unqualified delight that we announce that Charlie's returning to what he does best - presenting a radio show in front of thousands of enthralled WOMAD-ers. The format for this very special World On 3 show will be rather similar to that of his old Radio London broadcast - some live performances (including Sa Dingding with her acoustic line-up, not the full band seen earlier today), perhaps a little chat from some of the weekend's performers and the most immaculate selection of global tunes this side of Mars. Expect cuts from some of Charlie's current faves - The Garifuna Women's Project's Umalali, Son-Of-Dave's 03 and some drop-dead gorgeous highlife from the recent Nigeria 70s compilation. Welcome back, Charlie!

Biog by Nige Tassell

Charlie's show will feature the following artists:

8.00pm - Devon Sproule (USA)

8.30pm - Sa Dingding (China)

9.00pm - Zuzana Novak (Czech Republic/UK)

9.30pm - Orchestra Baobab Small Group (Senegal)