Jo Wallace

Jo first got into music watching Ready Steady Go in 1964 and seeing Millie and Marvin Gaye perform. After inheriting her brother’s blues LP collection full of John Lee Hooker and Muddy Waters LPs and a carrier bag full of Motown, Jo found herself lured into the exciting world of black music and began collecting vinyl in earnest. In 1973, she landed her dream job and started work in a record shop and progressed to selling import soul, Philly & jazz funk 45’s. Jo’s illustrious DJ career began in 1976 and it’s been downhill ever since!

In 1983, Jo started work as a goffer/co-presenter on the Rod Lucas show on BBC Radio Kent migrating to commercial radio station, Invicta FM. After 4 years, Jo left the show to gay nights at Chatham’s infamous Ship public house, the gone but never forgotten ‘Baby Janes’ at the Hilltop Club and finally becoming resident at 'Wig N Casino' at the Royal Vauxhall Tavern, London. Running parallel, Jo also ran the ska & rocksteady section during 87/88 in the major reggae record shop, Red Records in Brixton.

Starting in 2001, Jo was Head of Paper Archiving at Universal Music where she compiled and released the Motown CDs, Soul Satisfaction 2-5, Motown Floorshakers, Motown Northern and Motown Love. During this time, she also curated ‘Motown 50th Anniversary’ exhibition and put together the soundtracks for the Versace and Vivienne Westwood exhibitions at the Victoria and Albert Museum.

Her career highlights include her first residencies in ‘81 at Graham Sage’s mod nights at Bogarts in Strood, DJing with Dennis Alcapone in 2016 & Big Youth in 2017 at Dreamland’s ‘Jamaican Independence Day’ celebrations, her 2015 performance at Festival No.6 doing a six hour set on the Stone Boat Stage with Ashley Beedle entitled “The History of Black Music”, closing Glastonbury after the Stones and Stevie Wonder, her residency at Snowboy’s ‘Good Foot’ nights at Madame JoJo’s, Tom Moulton remixing the Motown release ‘Over Again’ by Mr Bird & Greg Blackman, co-hosting the small but perfectly formed London based Northern soul night ‘These Old Shoes’ for six years and in 2018 co-producing [a=Mousse T]'s 'Rock The Mic' ft. Taz and Inaya Day on Motown

Jo continues to DJ and broadcast, most recently on a 2 hour Worldwide FM ‘Ramrock Special’, has an undiminished love affair with vinyl and runs three vinyl record labels, Motown, Motown & Motown and digital/vinyl house label F*CLR, as well as producing tracks with Ashley Beedle and Darren Morris as the North Street crew.

Married to Ashley Beedle.
Runs the Motown and Motown labels.