The 57-year-old began collecting music in his early teens and was hosting small parties in London by the late 1970s and into the early 1980s, before moving to New Zealand.
Lemon was contracted by Te Papa to act as subject expert for the New Zealand leg of Reggae Xplosion in 2001 in what he describes as "a very challenging but very rewarding project".
His life was turned on its head in April 2014 when an arsonist set fire to a Kilbirnie storage facility where he had several thousand records under lock and key. More than 250 people were affected by the fire, with other members of Wellington's music community also losing possessions.
"I was in shock afterwards. The collection I lost included thousands of 7" singles and 12" reggae singles. An entire deep house collection of about 2500 12"s... jazz, soul... I was devastated," he said.
Lemon's global network of music friends responded to his immense loss with a charity website (www.dannylemon.com), a benefit event at which he DJed, and dozens of donated records flooding in to him. Among those who helped Lemon rebuild his lost collection was Jeff Neems, a Hamilton-based collector and DJ who had met Lemon years before and has maintained a close friendship. Neems has been the Saturday night resident DJ at Wonder Horse for several years.
"Danny is a tremendous guy with a huge amount of knowledge and love of music to share, and I have always been thrilled by the records he has played whenever I've been 'in the dance' with him," said Neems.
"Anybody with an appreciation for black music really should come and check these records because Danny's selections are always top-drawer."
Despite the loss of huge amount of his collection, Lemon says much of his spare time is spent perusing a myriad of internet websites and blogs for obscure records.
"I've got a collection to rebuild!" he says, and he has just embarked on a new radio project on recently established Rough Peel FM, hosting DJ Danny Lemon's Authentic Selection: The People Wanna Know, a specialist reggae show, on alternate Wednesdays from 11am and livecast on the internet. The show is generating listeners from around the world.
"The new show has really revitalised me in a way I didn't imagine, giving me a new found sense of musical direction. I've been floundering after the fire, but it would be irresponsible to just give up. Music is a life force and with the overwhelming encouragement I have had, to stop bringing my selections to the attention of people is not an option! People should hear this stuff - it can change lives!" he said.
Authentic Selection, with Danny Lemon and Jeff Neems, October 1 from 9pm, at Wonder Horse, Victoria St.
