Mikey Dread: 1954-2008

Best known in the UK as producer of the Clash, Jamaican born Mikey Dread, who has died aged 54, was a crucial figure during the punk period when fans and musicians alike began to embrace reggae as music of kindred revolutionary spirit. Born Michael Campbell on New Year’s Day 1954 on Jamaica’s north coast, an early interest in electronics saw him running a school radio as well as early forays into MCing with local sound systems like Safari and Sound of Music.

By 1977 he was DJ-ing on the Jamaica Broadcasting Corporation while simultaneously embarking on a musical career where he was encouraged by legendary engineer King Tubby. His first single was the classic Barber Saloon which caused a sensation due to Dread’s original vocal stylings which combined a kind of prototype rapping with more traditional singing.

Meanwhile, Dread’s radio show ‘Dread At The Controls’ was fast becoming a phenomenon. Going out six nights a week into the early hours, it broadcast music exclusively from Jamaica, enabling Dread to engage closely with his listeners many of whom were musicians themselves. Figures like Lee Perry and King Tubby would drop by, bringing with them exclusive dub plates. The show even became an underground hit in the UK, where tapes would circulate among both traditional reggae fans and the newer breed of rebel punk rockers.

Forming his own record label in 1979, he began to produce influential records by he likes of Junior Murvin and Sugar Minott, and his brilliant work with engineer Scientist saw dub become hugely popular with British audiences. Two albums, ‘Dread At The Controls’ and ‘African Anthem’ became instant classics and would later be heavily sampled by a new generation of US hip hop artists.  In 1980, Dread was approached by The Clash and joined them on their ’16 Tons’ tour and producing one of their biggest hits ‘Bankrobber’. "I couldn't understand what Joe [Strummer] was saying," Dread recalled of the two-day session, in which he also supplied backing vocals on the song. "So I told him to slow it down, and we could make it reggae-style."

Dread went on to work with the Clash on ‘Sandanista’ and moved to the UK where he went on to become an accomplished TV presenter and expert on his native country’s music. A further link with UB40 saw him once again tour the UK and enjoy success with the Birmingham band that did much to popularise reggae among a white audience. Moving to the US in the late ‘80s, he continued to release quality material, as well as gaining control over his extensive back catalogue (something all too rare in the shady business world of reggae).  Acclaimed live appearances, including a brilliant set at 2004’s Glastonbury Festival, saw Mikey Dread continue to bring his righteous sound to a whole, new generation of fans.

Sadly, it was not to last and he fell ill with a brain tumour last summer, leading to a move to North Carolina for medical treatment. It was here he died on the 15th March, leaving a wife and six children.