KEY POINTS:
Matt Watson, better known as DJ Big Matt, has died of cancer. He was 42.
Watson began DJing 60s and 70s Jamaican ska and reggae in the 1980s, basing himself at local Auckland clubs such as Quays, Fingerpop, Monitor Room and The Press Club. In the late 80s he co-hosted the Skavoovie Sound, an event held periodically at the Gluepot in Three Lamps. He co-founded Downbeat on bFM in 1994.
Commitments in the film industry meant he had to relinquish the job, but he continued to provide opening sets for touring acts including Mad Professor, LKJ and Dennis Bovel. He co-founded the Bassteppa Soundsystem, a type of music technique for Jamaican sound, and performed regularly until 2005.