RIP DJ Randall: A jungle and drum 'n' bass master with a magnetic personality

From the end of the ’80s, when he discovered acid house at Notting Hill Carnival, Randall McNeill’s dedication to the craft of DJing, and British underground music culture, has been unwavering. A naturally gifted DJ, his ingenuity, dexterity and innovative approach set the benchmark for countless selectors to follow. He is highly-regarded among his peers and fellow veterans as pioneering the double drop, a technique of playing two tracks as the same time which build and drop together, as well as having an innate understanding of beatmatching, flow, selection and pacing — with impeccable, precision mixing that placed him among the greats from the very early days of hardcore and jungle. He was a master of the craft during an era when vinyl was the only medium, which truly is no mean feat. His skills inspired the likes of Andy C, Zinc, Friction and many more. It’s said that other DJs would hang out in the booth just to observe Randall at work, rolling it out. As Zinc said himself: “It would always be the same question ‘What time is Randall on?’”. His exceptional abilities influenced peers and fans alike, with countless junglists naming him as their favourite DJ, or name checking his sets for outfits like A.W.O.L., The Edge, Dreamscape, Helter Skelter, One Nation and as far back as Dungeons in the early ’90s. Bedroom DJs too, took inspiration from his capabilities and ravers cite his sets as their favourites on various tape packs. In a time when DJing has become accessible to the point where it has almost lost its mystique, Randall’s technical abilities and level of panache demonstrate why DJing truly can be defined as an artform.

Christened “Too Hot To Handle”, this was not merely a throwaway tag to rhyme with his name, but a serious acknowledgement of his ability to tear up the dance. DJ Randall began making a name for himself on pirate station Centreforce, before becoming part of the team at legendary record shop De Underground in Forest Gate. At the shop he’d be spinning records all weekend, breaking new music and becoming the main attraction at the boisterous hub. “I always remember, we put a tannoy outside the shop because we thought, ‘You know what, with the doors shut, some people might want to hear some music’, just so that people know where we are,” he told The Ransom Note. “Little did we know that this thing was travelling. So, people used to say they would come out of the train station, and they could hear music, and would gravitate to it. So, we got a lot of traffic that way. Until we got letters from the council saying we had to take this tannoy down because a lot of people were complaining.” De Underground, founded by brothers Cool Hand Flex, Mike De Underground and John Aymer (also owner of Reel 2 Reel Records), along with Uncle 22, was an essential spot during the formative years of jungle music, and Randall’s consistent appearances there not only helped raise his profile but also gave him the opportunity to sharpen his skills further. Many tunes were purchased purely off the back of Randall slipping them into the mix at De Underground, a seminal incubator for jungle music.

Before long he was resident at then-fledgling jungle event A.W.O.L (A Way Of Life). The foundational event, held at Paradise Club in 1992, started out with residents Randall along with Mickey Finn, Kenny Ken, Dr. S. Gachet and Darren Jay with MCs GQ and Fearless. Randall’s visionary selections made him a key target for producers who wanted to showcase their new music, and so he’d receive an abundance of dub plates. Often being first to break fresh new tunes. Among those supplying Randall with new music was Goldie, and it was through Randall that he debuted his iconic tune ‘Terminator’. “I remember the day Goldie called me and told me to come over and hear it. I was on my way back from a rave, he was like ‘mate, I made this tune you gotta hear it’. I told him I needed to sleep for a bit and he was like ‘no mate, come over now’. He’d been in the studio for five days and he said ‘sit down and listen to this’. It blew me away. I was like ‘this is a fucking gamechanger, pure and simple’.” he told UKF.

‘Terminator’ was just one of many classics that found their way into Randall’s box, such was the level of respect he had across the jungle and drum ‘n’ bass fraternity. It was said that Marly Marl and Goldie would vie for the opportunity to carry Randall’s records into A.W.O.L. where he would host a weekly masterclass in mashing up the dance. “He absolutely ruled, I’ve never seen a DJ take over a club and rule. They had six other DJs playing in there and no one really gave a shit because they were just waiting for Randall to come on and play,” Fabio said in an interview with Outlook Festival in 2017. “He was doing this mixing thing and I’ve never seen anything like it and he used to have people come from all over England to watch him play… He used to make two tunes sound like one tune.”

When Goldie set up his Metalheadz night at The Blue Note in Hoxton, Randall was among the residents. As a selector who was not only on the cutting-edge, and armed with a plentiful supply of fresh dubplates, but also known for his incendiary performances, Randall was perfect for the groundbreaking night. Throughout the ’90s, Randall’s name could be seen on the posters and flyers for every event that was worth its salt in that era. Jungle Fever, Helter Skelter, Dreamscape, One Nation, Pure Science, World Dance… the list is endless, and he continued to be one of the main players on the scene, all the way up until his tragic passing was confrimed on July 31. He recently appeared at Outlook, where he was a regular face, held down a residency at XOYO in 2023, continued to tour the world, and had a historic moment at Glastonbury this year when he played back-to-back with his son publicly for the first time. Never one to follow the hype or trends, incorporating multiple styles and sub-genres into his sets, always keeping the ravers on their toes and blending it all to perfection - Randall was truly one of a kind.

Randall’s label Mac II Recordings (sometimes referred to as Mac2) lauched in 1996, giving him a platform to further explore his inherent A&Ring skills. The label released music from a wide range of established artists, also supporting new talent, looking forwards to the future as ever with Randall. From old friends like Cool Hand Flex to names like Soul Intent and Rising Sun, Mac II Recordings was a natural extension of Randall’s tastemaker capabilities.

Over the last 30-plus years Randall’s dedication to DJing and supporting new music and new artists has never waned. While drum ‘n’ bass may be enjoying renewed popularity right now, there have been occasions when its popularity dipped, yet Randall was still there, grafting, touring and rolling out his flawless sets. For the majority of his career he was a DJ, with a few dalliances with production - including the seminal ‘Sound Control’ with Andy C and Ant Miles on Ram Records in 1994. The track, which sampled Creative Force’s ‘It’s So Good’, is an early example of Randall’s production prowess, which didn’t really come to the fore until the pandemic.

After years of focusing on DJing, due to the constant flow of new music, he had the space and time in 2020 to immerse himself in production full-time. This led to a steady flow of Randall productions over the past four years, including his debut solo EP ‘Time 4 Da Switch’ in November 2020 on Mac II. More recently he formed the collaborative group Watch The Ride with Bristol’s DJ Die and Dismantle. A further extension of his creative abilities the crew have wowed audiences with their fresh take on breakbeat-influenced music, connecting with artists like Nia Archives and D Double E, and keeping the cross-generational British underground lineage strong.

Alongside all of his achievements and innate abilities, what really shines through most in all the dedications to DJ Randall is his consistently positive persona. A gregarious character and hilarious with a notorious belly laugh and magnetic presence, he was widely loved for being a genuinely lovely person. He was welcoming and supportive to newcomers, connecting with new generation artists, and forming very close bonds with many of the veteran fraternity he came up with. The old adage of “never meet your heroes” simply did not apply to Randall. “He was an inspiration; such a talent, such a good man. I gave him my first tape and the next time I saw him, he had a huge grin on his face and said ‘I loved your tape!’ From then on, I was forever on Mac II’s mailing list and promo list. It was such a momentous milestone for me, as a young teenage, female DJ, who grew up listening to his tapes! He was so generous, so funny, absolutely so respectful at a time when there were only a handful of us females in the scene and I will always be utterly grateful for his kindness and support,” said DJ Empress.

Renowned selector Charlotte Devaney tells a similar story on Instagram, “Thank you for taking me under your wing at the very start of my journey in the scene almost 25 years ago, you were such an important part of my journey that I’ll never ever forget,” she wrote. “We shared so many good times and adventures, you will always be one of my favourite DJs, a true inspiration & mentor giving me my first DJ lesson.”

The widespread outpouring of love and positivity, key memories, stories and, of course, the seminal DJ sets - from studio sets to live recordings - are a testament to how much respect Randall always had, from day one. Not only lauded since his passing, Randall got his flowers time and again during his lifetime. His contribution to electronic music is undoubtedly a gift to us all, and his loss is being felt tremendously by the entire d’n’b community worldwide, and by other adjacent artists and scenes, such as garage icon DJ Spoony and dubstep MC Sgt. Pokes, who highlighted Randall’s influence over him and the DMZ crew.

It’s virtually impossible to quantify the impact he has had, not only on the development of the music and culture, but how much he has touched people’s lives across the UK and the rest of the world. Randall McNeil, a master and innovator of his craft, a forefather of jungle and drum ‘n’ bass music and an all round gent. Rest In Peace.

Marcus Barnes is a freelance writer and regular contributor to Mixmag, follow him on Twitter