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DJ Ritu MBE

@djritu

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Globetrotting multigenre DJ🎧Broadcaster🎙Producer/Curator 🎶Voiceover🎤Music Chameleon 🌍
A World in London 📻Kuch Kuch Nights
Bookings: [email protected]
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Did someone say Nineties2Noughties DJ night? 😮‍💨 📌 Saturday 24 October 🎧 DJ set 8pm-11.30pm 🍺 Bar open 5pm-1am.  We’ve heard we have some of Hackney’s cheapest lager, and some of the best Margaritas in the area 😉   FREE ENTRY ALL NIGHT. [Image description: Burgundy and red poster with an anatomical heart design and angled cream lettering reading: “24.10. Saturday @ Joiners Heart.”] @djritu is taking over the decks for 3.5hours of nineties & noughties bangers; spinning what might have been played during the Joiners Arms’ heyday!   Expect genres like: Dance, Pop, R&B, and some Housey selection. [Image description: Burgundy and cream Joiners Heart poster advertising “DJ Ritu: Nineties2Noughties” on 24 October. Open 5pm–1am, with DJ Ritu playing 8pm–11.30pm. Text reads: “DJ Ritu will be spinning what might have been played during the Joiners Arms’ heyday! Think big dance tracks by artists like Daft Punk, Bucketheads, Kylie and more. Expect genres like: Dance, Pop, R&B, and some Housey selection.” An anatomical heart design fills the background, with the Joiners Heart logo at the bottom right.] DJ Ritu MBE is an international turntablist, former BBC Radio presenter, and host/producer of music shows, who’s been championing marginalised music for 4 decades. Ritu is a key catalyst of the UK Asian Underground and Bhangra scenes. Her diverse DJ repertoire includes Soul, Disco, Motown, House, Afrobeats, Arabic, and more, whilst her Bollywood- based nights – Club Kali and Kuch Kuch – are the longest-running South Asian clubs in the world. [Image description: DJ Ritu, wearing a yellow shirt and headphones, mixes music behind the decks as a crowd dances with raised hands under red lighting. The Joiners Heart logo appears in the top right corner.] Burgundy and red poster with an anatomical heart design and angled cream lettering reading: “24.10. Saturday @ Joiners Heart.”
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Entering the second half of October with a jam-packed programme of queer activities 🤩 From badge-making with @badgecafe with a nineties-to-noughties night with @djritu straight after, to Karaoke by @dykes_on_mics, and finally our very own “gay Christmas” party, aka HALLOWEEN 👻 Check’em out so you don’t miss out! ❤️‍🔥These events are FREE & NON-TICKETED❤️‍🔥 Come early! The bar is always open 5pm-1am.
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It’s taken me days to write this because I just think words couldn’t describe the depth of emotion I feel. Having grown up adopted and abused, I had to choose my own family, and my second week in London I found them and it’s 13 years later now and still couldn’t feel less connected and grateful. Few people will understand what dear @drukerverle meant to me. @djritu described him as a grandad figure to me - which he sure was. But much more than that he was a teacher, a joker, a friend, a confidant. He knew everything about me on our weekly catch ups over years. He’d advise me laugh with me and tell me when to shove off a bad friend. I felt like his side kick, learning and loving from him. He inspired me and encouraged me to do things I didn’t think I was worthy of. It’s wasn’t for that family I wouldn’t do photography, DJing or radio presenting. I’m sure I can say more another point. But for now, my dear Norm. I love you more than all the noise in the world, and I’ll carry your voice in my mind advising me forever. One of my fav memories is Norman making me laugh opposite him when Ritu was interview people at SOAS, making faces and forever being cheeky. I love him. I love his family. I thank my lucky stars I had Norman for when I did. Of all my life I’ve never seen a stronger happiness in all my pictures - I was genuinely alive and happy and seen in these years.
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Come and join us @unionchapeluk today for a whole day event featuring @cardboardcitz, @institute_of_physics , @steamdown, @djritu and many more! Come and listen to an organ recital at 12 or join in one of our tour guiding sessions. Bring your friends, your little ones, your grandparents and join us for a full day of free fun. We're on from 11am until 9pm and there will be something for everyone: music, art, theatre and community. https://unionchapel.org.uk/.../union-chapel-open-day-2026 https://mailchi.mp/unionchapel/open-day-2026-this-sat
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More incredible pictures from the UK Premiere of Jimmy Somerville - Queer Rebel of Pop at @the_cinema_museum ! Thanks so much to @londonbornqueer for these incredible pictures❤️ @jimmysommervilleofficial @bronskibeatofficial @arte.tv @djritu @chavboy75018 @actup_paris @switchboardlgbt @the_food_chain @ian_m_johns @francksaintemartine @majellawilliams @publictoiletdisco @knayohmi.dj @walaa @baytna4refugees @binnsey3 @georgehousetrust
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Not gonna lie, before I hosted last week's 'A Joiner's History: From Hackney Road to Bohemia Place' for the fantastic @joinersheart launch programme I went for a long walk around the block because it felt so surreal to actually mince into the building that thousands of people had collectivised, fought for and won after a long 12 year campaign. I wrote about this in my book 'United Queerdom - from the legends of the Gay Liberation Front (GLF) to the Queers of Tomorrow' @bloomsburypublishing and am reminded of a specific conversation with key @friendsjoinersarms activist @ph_dyke "Oli what should we be fighting for?" I ask Without hesitating she looks at me with deep conviction and says, "One of the aims of queer activism should be to make spaces and time, and the city of London, more accessible and more inclusive. And what I mean by these things are not just buzzwords, but actually thinking about what the needs of the most vulnerable members of our queer community – which is also an inclusive community that extends far beyond what the acronym ‘LGBTQIA+’ allows us to say and do sometimes. One of the things I’ve learned from being involved in queer activism in London and especially in relation to the Friends of the Joiners Arms campaign, is that often you do things and you don’t know who’s gonna take them up or what’s gonna happen and what they’re gonna look like in the future and you might not even be around to see that happen. But that doesn’t mean it’s not worth it, and actually, there’s incredible queer potential in that act of unlocking possibilities and doors and sort of seeing where they take you. For me that's what queer utopia looks like." Seems like Thatcher's conditioning of 'There's No Such Thing as Society' that the majority of us were brutalised under isn't so watertight after all. Huge love to @leachyy for these fantastic pictures, panellists @djritu, @butch_realnesssss, @zephyr_thomas and @ebony_rose_dark for a spellbinding discussion and performance. Support @joinersheart with all your might. See you on the dancefloor :)
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clips of some tunes I played at @daytimers_uk 6th Birthday 1 and 2 - @hmclive and @mc_juiceman - Mahi Ladoo 3. ??? - Whole Heap a Licks ( ask ISHU @therealiroyx) 4. Panjabi MC - Jinni Marji 5. 4 x 4 - Nach Nach (rare old Punjabi Garage tune) 6. Sukh Knight and Charan B - Red Alert 7. Jamakabi - International Man DJ Squarewave Dubplate 8. Surinder Rattan - Tappe Dub big up @therealiroyx ISHU sick DJ enjoyed the b2b
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Tomorrow Daytimers turns 6 and I play one of my last London sets for a while. For those of you who don’t know I’m moving to Manchester soon and I cannot believe 4 years of living in the big smoke is coming to an end just like that. When I first moved here I genuinely hated this city - the loneliness, work, PUTNEY….. But everything turned around for me pretty quickly when I moved saaf east to brixton (here’s a lil pic of me on acre lane). I found my people, I joined @daytimers_uk and I started playing some of my favorite gigs to date - big up @thecarpetshop.peckham always Tomorrow is gonna be an emotional one for me and I’m so happy I get to celebrate with the @daytimers_uk and share decks with an absolute legend @djsquarewave Actually so proud of this line up 🤩🤩 Gonna dig out some old garage gems (none of that new ukg sorrry not sorry) my grime favorites and dubstep cause why notttt This one’s gonna be for my groupies who have been at my sets from day 1. Cheers London you’ve been an absolute pleasure 🫡🥹 Manchester crew - any recommendations for venues, parties and most importantly food shout me PLS I will love you forever!!
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Last bit of Summer. ☀️🌻 Today - 1-3pm, @nts_radio going b2b with top don, dj and producer @toma_kami Tomorrow - celebrating forever family @daytimers_uk 6th birthday going b2b with yung g @mithun.wav Sunday - playing Notting Hill Carnival at the @sfsc.ldn x @roughbutsweet stage around 1pm and the afterparty at @paradisekensal at 11pm. And just a reminder that I’m playing @waterworksldn at @dametalmessiah x @resident_advisor to close out festival / summer season. Photo by @brennaduncan_
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A Joiners History event tomorrow is almost sold out 💋❤️‍🔥 Panel discussion chaired by Dan Glass with DJ Ritu, Rebecca Zephyr Thomas and Jon Ward. What a lineup! They’ll be chatting about the history of the old Joiners and queer spaces then and now. And to end the evening, a performance by the phenomenal Ebony Rose Dark. >> This event has BSL, live captions and audio description. If you want to book any of these services and/or need a seat reserved, please fill out our access form (link in bio). 🎟️ Tickets on Outsavvy / link in bio. 📸 Cover Photo by @zephyr_thomas at the Joiners Arms (2009) Rebecca Zephyr Thomas, Aotearoa-born photographer shooting the queer community of East London for the last twenty years, with a focus on nightlife around the Hackney Road area, such as the Joiners Arms, The George and Dragon, and The Nelsons Head. Rebecca moved to East London in 2005 and started shooting editorials for iD the next year, always on 35mm film. She did numerous shoots at The Joiners Arms for iD and Vice, and was a regular at the bar as she lived five minutes from the venue and worked part-time at another local gay bar, The Nelsons Head; she even had a queue-jumping membership card for the Joiners Arms (now sadly lost). Rebecca released her self-published zine ‘What Would Julia Do’ featuring five years of photographs of Princess Julia in 2014, she has shown work at The Saatchi Gallery, the iCA and 180 The Strand, shot for magazines including Dazed, British Vogue and Gay Times and was one of the winners Portrait of Britain twice, both times the images featuring icons of the queer community - Princess Julia and drag king Pat Riarchy, both shot in East London. She has an extensive archive spanning the last twenty years, featuring creatives, queer nightlife and subcultures, and is a lifelong animal lover (all animals, not just pets) who wishes she’d taken even more photos. Photo by Frantzesco Kangaris. @friendsjoinersarms campaigners protesting against the closure of the Joiners Arms in 2015. Our host for the panel @danglassmincer. Depending on who you ask Dan Glass is an Activist of the Year, a campaigning role model and BBC Greater Londoner or ‘Sc
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Diggin from my album Laila #shahinbadar #electronicmusic #music #fusion #song
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What a FANTASTIC SunDATE with @nicsgoingglobal @djritu and OUR WONDERFUL hosts @jeangenie90 and @k0h1b4 Day 37 #Livingfully #LovingFully What a brilliant way to spend a Sunday that felt very heavy as we made our way to the BBQ. The laughter, the conversations, and the love were enough and very welcomed amd suddenly it all felt okay. We need more of this.. .. Let's solve the world problems again... Today,focussing on solving Monday 😀 Love love love Thank you to the wonderful hosts! @djritu love always ❤️ Photos: KT. Thank you ❤️
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