IT’S a long way from the mean streets of London’s East End to the leafy glades of the Forest Dean.

But that was the leap of faith made by Ska and Reggae DJ and music shop owner Ali Skabo earlier this year - and he’s ‘luvvin’ it’.

Ali moved to Lydbrook in January when he opened his Bigger Boss music shop in Lydney High Street, near the Town Hall.

Since then, he has quickly established a reputation as a magnet, not not just for Ska and Reggae fans but also for supplying classic Gibson and Fender guitars and vinyl records.

“Moving to the Forest was a very random process based mainly on having come here on holiday over the years with my family,” he said.

“It is so different from East London and I really love it now. When I walk down the street passers by say ‘hello’. You wouldn’t do that in London because you don’t known what you might be getting into.

“I lived in my last address in London for 15 years and barely knew my neighbours. But the people here are really nice.

“The business has been going in fits and starts but it’s getting better all the time. We are beginning to attract people from a wider catchment area.

“I am planning to expand the shop into the back room to increase the stock of musical instruments and records we have for sale.

“I am also a promoter. The latest event at the Miner’s Arms in Whitecroft at the weekend was a sell-out.

“I have found that there is a fantastic musical tradition in the Forest of Dean. There is so much music going on.

“I still do DJ jobs in London, like the London International Ska Festival, which attracts some of the really big bands like, the Beat, the Selecter and Aswad.”

And while Ali may have left most of his Eastenders identity behind him, there is one aspect of life there that will never leave him.

“I have been a huge Arsenal fan for 25 years,” he said. “Those are the two big passions in my life - music and football.”