Bobby Friction

Early life

Friction was born in Hammersmith, West London and grew up in Hounslow. After studying Contemporary Arts at Nottingham Trent University, Friction's career as a DJ started in 1997 with residencies at the ‘Swaraj' night at the Blue Note, Hoxton, and the ‘Shaanti' club at Birmingham’s Custard Factory.

Broadcasting career

BBC Radio 1

Friction joined BBC Radio 1 in 2002 co-hosting Bobby Friction & Nihal Presents with DJ Nihal. In 2003 the show won a Sony Radio Academy Award in the Specialist Music category. In 2004 Friction and Nihal released a compilation album of music featured on the show.

BBC Asian Network

Friction joined BBC Asian Network in 2005, initially presenting the station's Saturday afternoon Album Chart Show and then The Mix on Sunday afternoons. In 2006 he began presenting a weeknightly show, Friction, showcasing new music by British Asian and South Asian artists. Friction moved to a daily drivetime show at the station in 2012, winning Best Radio Show at the Asian Media Awards in 2016. In 2018 his documentary Straight Outta Mumbai explored the history of Indian hip-hop.

Television

In 2004 Friction was one of the judging panel in Channel 4's series Bollywood Star. He went on to present documentaries for the channel including Generation 7/7 and The Countryside Sucks*.* He has also made appearances on The Wright Stuff (Channel 5), The Daily Politics (BBC2) and Sunday Morning Live (BBC1). In 2012 he appeared on Celebrity Mastermind, answering questions on the life and music of Prince.

Other work

Friction presented Friction on EVR, a weekly show on East Village Radio from 2012 and has been featured on streaming service Saavn. He has made regular appearances on BBC 6 Music, presenting a self-titled show, curating a tribute to Prince and sitting in for other presenters in their absence.

In 2015 Friction presented an Asian Network Night at the BBC Proms.

He has presented documentaries for BBC Radio 4 on topics such as pub culture in the West Midlands Punjabi community (so called Desi pubs), the aftermath of the assassination of Indira Gandhi in New Delhi in 1984, and filter bubbles in social media.

References

References

1. [http://www.findmypast.com Births in England and Wales 1837-2006]
2. Patel, Veena. (29 May 2025). "Bobby Friction to host new community show on BBC Radio London". Biz Asia Live.
3. Morris, Sophie. (11 February 2008). "My Mentor: Bobby Friction on John Peel". The Independent.
4. "Hub". Vinny Bhagat.
5. (8 May 2003). "Sony Radio Awards 2003: Winners".
6. (November 2004). "Various - Bobby Friction & Nihal Present...".
7. (19 September 2012). "Radio Today".
8. (28 October 2016). "Asian Media Awards 2016 Winners List". Asian Media Awards.
9. Newsdesk, Asianlite. (31 March 2018). "Straight Outta Mumbai: Story of hip-hop & rap in India". Leading Asian News in the UK.
10. News, Manchester Evening. (19 February 2007). "Telly talk: Bollygood show!". men.
11. (14 March 2017). "Indian music receives a big rap while going desi". asianage.com/.
12. "Bobby Friction - BBC Radio 6 Music".
13. "Bobby Friction sits in, Guy Garvey's Finest Hour - BBC Radio 6 Music".
14. "Prom 8: Late Night with ... BBC Asian Network – Bobby Friction, Naughty Boy, Kanika Kapoor, Benny Dayal, Palak Muchhal, Emeli Sandé & Arrow Benjamin with the BBC Philharmonic & Richard Davis @www.classicalsource.com".
15. "Desi Pubs - BBC Radio 4".
16. "Assassination: When Delhi Burned - BBC Radio 4".
17. "Bursting the Social Network Bubble - BBC Radio 4".