Nick Bright

BBC Radio 1Xtra

For your weekend wake up call, catch Nick on 1Xtra from 07.00-10.00 guaranteed to start your mornings with a bang

The brightest spark at 1Xtra is about to explode. Currently starting the mornings with a bang on the coveted Weekend Breakfast slot, the 24-year-old has enjoyed a dizzying rise to national radio.

After a brief dalliance with semi-pro football at his local Portsmouth club, Nick waved goodbye to Moneyfields FC and unknowingly took his first step towards the airwaves. "I always fancied myself as an MC and went on Portsmouth's Express FM in 2006," he laughs. While his MC-ing talents were limited, his on-air potential was recognised and they invited him to become a part of the station as a co-presenter - the Friday night UKG show was born. "I'd always loved Hip Hop since I heard the first Wu Tang album, but from the start I was all about home-grown talent, so we played lots of UK Garage and Grime," says Nick. The show was such a smash that he soon found himself playing nights all over the surrounding area, to great acclaim. In summer 2007 Nick headed out to holiday resort Malia for a season's residency at Camelot Castle Club, warming up for the legendary Tim Westwood. On his return to the UK, it was clear the coast couldn't hold him.

A move back to London saw Nick sign up at Westminster Uni to study Radio Production, where he became the voice of student station Smoke Radio, "I carried on doing the Express FM show, I just had to record it from London," explains Nick. He also moonlighted at Pirate station True 100.2, where he quickly realised he wanted bigger things. After another summer tearing it up in Malia, he began working as a Broadcast Assistant at 1Xtra. Under the tutelage of Mistajam, Twin B, Ronnie Herel, Semtex and Robbo Ranx, Nick polished his already epic radio skills to perfection. It helped him land the Student Radio Award for Best Marketing and Branding in 2009 which meant "I got to go on stage at Indigo2 and pick up an award from Scott Mills and Fearne Cotton," he grins.

By now, his sets in Malia, on True 100.2 and Smoke Radio had secured Nick a large enough fan base to guarantee a following when he played out around the Capital. In an almost unheard of move, 1Xtra asked him to record a pilot just a few months after he'd joined as an assistant. They liked what they heard and gave him the Early Breakfast Show six days a week in April 2010. "I loved it," says Nick. "I just felt comfortable right form the start - no nerves at all."

Recognising that his talents were too good to be squandered on the early birds alone, Nick was promoted to his current slot in January 2011. He explains: "I feel I have a distinctive sound. Plus I've got a unique and direct link into the students. They're a constantly growing market I fit into perfectly." Outside of radio, multi-talented Nick DJs at nights all over the country including sets at R.U.M and Undisputed Events, plus slots at Ministry of Sound's Smoove and RnB Anthems nights playing everything from commercial RnB to Dancehall, Hip Hop and UK Funky. Nick's also part of a production collective called Undisputed, alongside DJ RSI, DJ En-Oh, Joe Tano and MR M making tunes too. But only when he's not busy cracking out remixes and club bangers as one half of BrightSparx with his original DJ collaborator Mikey J.

Even with all this under his belt, Nick's not content. "There's no time left for football," he says, insisting he'd be on a 5-a-side pitch tomorrow if only he had the time. As it is, he has to make do with watching his beloved Arsenal. Come on - how could he not support the Gunners? The man's firing on all cylinders.

Hyper Agency act as live booking agent for Nick Bright. To book Nick Bright for gigs and tours, contact agent Guy Robinson on 020 7099 0050.