Zane Lowe

Zane Lowe (born Alexander Zane Reid Lowe on 7 August 1973) also known as 'Zipper', is a radio DJ and television presenter. He was born in New Zealand, before moving to England]. He currently presents BBC Radio 1's evening show, where he plays a variety of alternative music, including rock, punk, drum and bass, and British hip hop. He is also the presenter of the MTV Two show Gonzo, having been a former VJ on MTV since 1997, where he presented Brand:New.

Before becoming a radio DJ, Lowe was in hip-hop act Urban Disturbance. He is currently a member of Breaks Co-op (with Andy Lovegrove and Hamish Clark), who have released two albums in New Zealand - Roofers (1997) and The Sound Inside (2005).

Before working for the BBC, Lowe worked for many years at London's XFM, showcasing similar styles of music. He has hosted his Radio 1 show since June 2003, taking over from Colin Murray (whose show acted as a stopgap after Steve Lamacq ended his Evening Session radio show). His show initially went out three nights a week on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from 8:00-10:00pm but moved to four nights a week with the additional slot on Mondays from 7:00-9:00pm in July 2004 as part of a dramatic revamp of Radio 1's evening schedule where it remains today.

Lowe is also notable for his live appearances, especially the Home Taping tour in 2005 along with the Gonzo Tour. Lowe has stated that his favourite record of all time, as of September 2006, is Siamese Dream by The Smashing Pumpkins.
Lowe is also known to have provided a warm up DJ Set for bands such as Muse, Foo Fighters and The Killers.

Lowe's method of DJing is rather enthusiastic and fast-paced, similar to many hip hop DJs, with samples of radio stations, interview clips and Radio 1 stings thrown in between songs, along with the occasional sound of Lowe singing along to the music. Some find his technique off-putting and rowdy, whereas others welcome his style, saying that it fits in with the music being played.

He is extremely dedicated to new music, and many of the bands or musicians who won Fresh Meat have gone on to be very successful; Arctic Monkeys, Bloc Party, Editors, Kasabian, The Wombats and Kaiser Chiefs are examples of bands who have benefited.

Zane Lowe is at the forefront of new and exciting music - he played 'Crazy' by Gnarls Barkley for the first time on radio. The song was frequently played on Radio 1 thereafter, helping it to reach number one in the charts on April 2, 2006. 'Crazy' was the first song in British history to go to number one based on sales of legal downloads alone; the download was made available a week before physical copies went on sale. The song also featured in Zane Lowe's TV advert, which aired in early 2006.