Ashley Beedle

Ashley Beedle (born 25 November 1962, Hemel Hempstead, England) is a British music DJ, producer and remixer. People often confuse him for being of Asian origin, but his ethnicity is partly Barbadian.

Beedle first began DJing in the early 1980s but first began making a name for himself during the heyday of acid house. After hearing Norman Jay on KISS FM (a pirate radio station), he became more interested in deep disco. In the early 1990s, he teamed up with Rob Mello and John Howard to form the first incarnation of the Black Science Orchestra, who released several classic club hits in the 1990s ( "Where Were You?", "Strong", Philadelphia and the "New Jersey Deep").

While working with the Black Science Orchestra (whose debut full-length arrived late in 1994), Beedle also started a project with Dave Hill, Uschi Classen and Rocky & Diesel, known as The Ballistic Brothers. The resulting LP, 1995's London Hooligan Soul, was a major dance music hit.

Around the same time, he was active in the group X-Press 2, which consisted of Beedle, Rocky and Diesel and had club and chart action through the nineties and noughties with tracks such as Muzik Xpress, London Xpress and a number 2 in the national charts with the track Lazy, a collaboration with the Talking Heads' David Byrne. X-Press 2 also released two albums, Muzikisum and Makeshift Feelgood.

The Ballistic Brothers returned in 1997 with a second full-length, Rude System, and alongside them Beedle released two solo EPs.

Beedle continued to remix and produce acts through the 2000s, and headed the labels Soundboy Entertainment, Afroart, and Ill Sun. He now runs the label Out Hear Audio which showcases his own productions.

In 2005, Beedle remixed Bob Marley's "Get Up, Stand Up" to create a mashup with Damian "Junior Gong" Marley's "Welcome to Jamrock" for the Bob Marley compilation album, Africa Unite: The Singles Collection, released in the United States on 8 November 2005. The Beedle remix is titled, "Stand Up Jamrock (Ashley Beedle Remix)."

Ashley has also released an album on Strut/K7 with singer Horace Andy in the Inspiration Information series.

Beedle is referenced in the Daft Punk song "Teachers."

• Slip 'n' Slide Volume One (1994)
• Inspiration Information (2009)
• Yardism 2 (2013)