 Annie MacManus was the first of her kind. Back in the noughties, with the lingering stench of 1990's lad culture still very much in the air, Annie was cutting through a chorus of men on the radio, and was certainly one of very few women on the decks as a fully-fledged, famous DJ. The Annie Mac show burst onto BBC radio in 2004, cementing the Dublin-born DJ as an understated national music treasure – especially for young women. With drum n' bass sets, red lippy, and an untethered knowledge of music alongside a natural talking confidence, she was just… cool. And she still is. 'In the noughties, I was always an anomaly I suppose for being a female DJ. There was a certain element of curiosity around me, which really benefitted me in a way,' Annie said in an exclusive chat with Metro.co.uk alongside long time pal and fellow radio legend Nick Grimshaw. Quite apart from all the alleged noughties sexual harassment horror stories we've heard of late, Annie was 'lucky'. Annie says she was 'lucky' with her experience (Picture: Jim Dyson/Redferns) Because there were hardly any female DJ's at the time, Annie thinks her gender actually benefitted her career (Picture: Samir Hussein/Getty Images for Advertising Week) 'I know this is not something I should assume,' Annie began, 'But I didn't suffer from any overt misogyny or sexual harassment or anything like that, which was incredibly lucky.' Having her BBC Radio 1 job gave her a 'protective shield,' against misogyny and harassment, Annie reckons. 'I didn't really suffer being a woman in any way. I think in a way it was a benefit to me because people were curious, and they wanted to find out more about me and stuff.' Fast forward to now, and things have 'definitely changed,' Annie said. 'I've seen this surge of young female DJs coming up the ranks.' She added: 'It's a slow change. I'd like to see it happen quicke){kind=link}
NEWS… BUT NOT AS YOU KNOW IT
Annie MacManus was the first of her kind.
Back in the noughties, with the lingering stench of 1990’s lad culture still very much in the air, Annie was cutting through a chorus of men on the radio, and was certainly one of very few women on the decks as a fully-fledged, famous DJ.
The Annie Mac show burst onto BBC radio in 2004, cementing the Dublin-born DJ as an understated national music treasure – especially for young women.
With drum n’ bass sets, red lippy, and an untethered knowledge of music alongside a natural talking confidence, she was just… cool. And she still is.