Andrew James Weatherall was born on 6 April 1963, in Windsor, Berkshire, England, to Robert Weatherall and Carol (Spires) Weatherall.[4] During his teenage years, he started going to Funk & Soul Weekenders and disco parties. After leaving the local grammar school, he left home at the age of 18, and worked in a variety of jobs including on building sites, as a carpenter and moving furniture.[5]
He moved to London in the late 1980s, where his record collection and musical knowledge brought him requests to DJ at parties.[2]Terry Farley hired him to play at the Trip club, Weatherall playing mostly northern soul and indie records.[5] Weatherall started writing as a freelance music journalist (using both his own name and the pseudonym "Audrey Witherspoon"). Together with Terry Farley, Cymon Eckel and Steve Mayes, they started Boy's Own, initially as a fanzine commenting on fashion, records, football and other issues.[6]
Weatherall's DJ career started to take off when he met Danny Rampling at skater Bobby's (Bobby Collins) party that he played at in Chapel Market, Islington, and Rampling invited him to play at his club night Shoom.[7] Farley and Weatherall became regular Shoom DJs, playing the upstairs room, and also at Paul Oakenfold's Future/Spectrum nights and Nicky Holloway's Trip. They also did their own parties and started a record label under the name of Boy's Own Recordings.[7] Along with Pete Heller (who was also a Shoom DJ), engineer Hugo Nicolson and singer Anna Haigh, they released two singles as Bocca Juniors on the label, "Raise (53 Steps to Heaven)" and "Substance".[6][7]
In 1992, Weatherall left Boy's Own. He formed the electronic music trio the Sabres of Paradise in 1993, starting a record label under the same name.[6] The Sabres of Paradise released three albums between 1993 and 1995.[12] In early 1996, after shutting down Sabresonic, Weatherall and Keith Tenniswood became Two Lone Swordsmen, signing to Warp.[12] His production of Beth Orton's album Trailer Park helped establish the mix of hip hop and electronica that would later become trip hop.[5] He set up the Rotters Golf Club label in 2001.[13]
In 2006, he released his debut solo EP The Bullet Catcher's Apprentice,[17] followed by his debut solo studio album A Pox on the Pioneers in 2009.[18] Both were released on his Rotters Golf Club imprint.[17] His music has soundtracked commercial advertisements for vehicles; Weatherall's "Feathers" was used for the Volkswagen Tiguan in 2007 and Two Lone Swordsmen's "Shack 54" was used for the Ford Fiesta in 2009.[19] In 2013, the Asphodells, formed by Weatherall and collaborator Timothy J. Fairplay from Battant, released the album Ruled by Passion, Destroyed by Lust on Rotters Golf Club.[20][21][22] On 1 July 2014, Weatherall began hosting a monthly radio show, Music's Not For Everyone, on NTS Radio in London. In 2016, he released a studio album Convenanza,[23] as well as a remix album Consolamentum.[24] In 2017, he released a studio album Qualia on Höga Nord Rekords.[25]
Weatherall cited humour as an important component in his musical ideology.[26] He was known as the Chairman or the Guv'nor.[27]
^Bergen, Andrez (December 2002). "A Complete Rotter". Daily Yomiuri. Yeah, humour's very important. If I didn't see everything as a complete joke, I would've been locked up years ago. I would've gone completely insane.
