Sold Date: March 8, 2024
Start Date: March 1, 2024
Final Price: $12.50 (USD)
Bid Count: 5
Seller Feedback: 6489
Buyer Feedback: 111

When Linton Kwesi Johnson first referred to dub poetry, it was the verbal artistry of the Jamaican toaster, I-Roy, that he had in mind. Roy, who has died of a heart attack aged 55, gained an international following with a series of classic 1970s recordings that mixed witty lyrics with a relaxed, fluid toasting style.

Born Roy Reid, he was a civil servant in Kingston when he first began toasting in 1966. His popularity prompted relocation to Spanish Town, where he later became the star deejay of the Supreme Ruler of Sound and Stereosound systems.

At the start of the 1970s, sound system deejays gained a new prominence after the success of recorded material by Ewart "U Roy" Beckford. U Roy's hits inspired I-Roy to launch his own recording career, and, with work for producer Harry Mudie, he began a meteoric rise. His 1973 debut album, Presenting I-Roy, became enormously popular in Jamaica and Britain, and was followed by the equally strong self-produced set Hell And Sorrow.

A1        Red, Gold And Green
A2        Pusher Man
A3        Black Man Time
A4        Smile Like An Angel
A5        Peace
A6        Coxsone Affair
B1        Screw Face
B2        First Cut Is The Deepest
Written-By – C. Stevens*
B3        Melinda
B4        Tourism Is My Business
B5        Tripe Girl
B6        Cow Town Skank

    Pressed By – Orlake Records
    Printed By – E.J. Day Group
    Made By – E.J. Day Group
    Published By – B & C
    Published By – Mooncrest Ltd.
    Published By – Cat Music (6)

    Producer – Augustus Clarke*
    Written-By – Roy Reid* (tracks: A1 to A6, B1, B3 to B6)

Published by B & C / Mooncrest Ltd., except B2 published by Cat Music