Out of all the people one might imagine would end up involved in pioneering hip-hop, Timothy Westwood was an unlikely candidate – but such was the destiny for the son of Bill Westwood, himself a bishop in the Church of England. Indeed, as Britain’s Daily Mail once put it, “the only ‘hood’ he would have been familiar with growing up was the one on his anorak”.
Having started his career playing reggae and funk in the early 1980s, he eventually ended up on Radio 1 in 1994 – and soon had the most listened to rap radio show in the UK. Even being injured in a drive-by shooting in 1999 – apparently by gang members unhappy by Westwood’s work in the local area – didn’t put him off his stride.
But during the pandemic, allegations of sexual misbehaviour started to emerge – culminating in The Guardian newspaper and the BBC producing a show called Tim Westwood: Abuse of Power. In it, Westwood was accused of sexual misconduct, including predatory and unwanted sexual behaviour and touching, in various incidents between 1992 and 2017 involving seven different women.
Westwood denied the allegations at the time, reiterating this in a video on social media last year. He said “It’s all false allegations. I’ve never done that, period. I will prove that as soon as I get my opportunity and trust me, I am ready” – but with London’s Met Police still probing a number of claims into him, his wait to do so continues.
So what has Westwood been doing since to fill his time? His socials give away little about his current activities, but do reveal that he’s due to appear at Birmingham’s Mango nightclub at the end of the month – his second appearance in recent times at the venue…
The events – dubbed “Gettin’ Litty”, a slang term defined by dictionary.com as “exceptionally great, intense, and fun” – prominently make a point of there being free entry before 12.30am for anyone who obtained an advance ticket. Westwood previously played at the venue back in May – but there is one detail that Ears To The House finds very curious.
Namely, it’s the fact that as far as we can see, the Mango Bar Lounge haven’t advertised Westwood’s appearance anywhere on their own social media pages – although by the looks of it, nor was his May show. The nightclub hasn’t yet responded to a request for comment on this omission…
