Nicky Blackmarket is a jungle and drum and bass DJ whose career is closely tied to Black Market in Soho. Behind its counter, he helped turn the basement into a home for breakbeat records, while his club sets took the music to the crowd.
He and Dave Piccioni took over the lease of the existing shop in 1990. Nicky pushed for a dedicated breakbeat space downstairs; Ray Keith and Clarky later joined the team. Producers, DJs, and listeners could hear new music there as soon as it arrived.
His partnership with MC Stevie Hyper D was another defining part of that period. Recalling their work to Skiddle, Nicky described how closely they followed each other during a set, with the room’s response guiding what happened next.
He also made records. His early Nick OD material began with the Spam EP, recorded at 4hero’s studio and released through Reinforced Records. Reinforced later collected the first two volumes in The Early Plates, including the Tek9 remix of Let Your Mind Be Free. He ran Gyroscope and Kartoons alongside the shop, keeping production and label work moving around the demands of DJing.
