Q: What about the bands you used to play with in the seventies, like the Mighty Cloud Band for instance? A: Yeah, me used to play with Mighty Cloud, me an' Ernest Wilson's bredda, Leonard Wilson. Q: And the leader for that band was George McLean, also known as Bobby Mack. A: Yeah. George McLean, 'Bobby Mack', yeh. Me used to sing with the band, vocalist, an' one day we're going to the studio an' I was always bangin' the piano. So when I going to the studio in the morning now, the keyboard player never turn up. So when the keyboard player never turn up, them call me an' seh, "Al, come here. All the while I hear yu bangin' the piano, come now an' ting, see if yu can hold this riddim ya for me". So me say, "Well, me is a one-hand player, yunno, me cyaan play with two hand". So him seh all right. So, him show me the key an' how the intro start an' the firs' song whe we play is a tune like 'If yu waan hear the duppy laugh, come a riverside Sunday morning...'. And the song was a number one in a Jamaica for weeks! Q: That was this guy called Levi Williams. A: Yeah. Q: 'Duppy Jamboree'. A: Yeh, 'Duppy Jamboree'. An' me play an instrumental with Don D. Jr. Yeah, an' a nex' tune, Leonard Wilson, 'Searching For A Home'. We end up playin' 'pon the tune. So me haffe play the piano two time, put 'pon one bang an' then we fe put 'pon a nex' bang 'pon the nex' track (laughs).

Q: (Chuckles) I see. But that was a nice band, very rootsy or country-ish/country-fied. Also, he had his own imprint, Bobby Mack, the Mighty Cloud label, and a shop bearing the same name. A: Yeah, Mighty Cloud. We used to play like every night. Third World used to be playing over by Tit For Tat, an' we used to play by Neptune Lounge an' sometime we play 'pon El Rancho. And sometime Sly (Dunbar) dem used to play, Skin Flesh & Bones used to play 'pon El Rancho as well, too. An' the whole a we - ca' Red Hills Road comes like Hollywood... Q: The club strip at the time. A: Yeah, club strip, all the Go-Go club, everyt'ing. Q: But you never cut an album's worth of songs for Mighty Cloud? How long did you stay with them? A: I was like a couple years well, yunno. Q: You only sang, never played like guitar or something? A: No, I was just a singer for the band. Q: Who else played in that band? A: A bredda name Lance play bass, and Prince Campbell, who is a relative of mine, I think him ought to anyway (chuckles). Campbell was an Alpha, an' GT Taylor was the MC as well, too. Q: The radio man? A: Yeh, radio man, GT Taylor. Ca' him sing a lickle one tune now and again, that's wha' him can manage (chuckles). You know, dem time deh, man never hold dung money dem time, it's just fe popularity an'... Q: Recognition, for fun, etc. A: Yeah, an' get two girl an' all dem t'ing deh. Q: (Chuckles) Yes. A: Come fe see them play, man (chuckles).

Al Campbell

Q: Right. But what became of Bobby Mack, he left for New York City I heard? A: After a time him turned Christian. Q: Ah. A: An' him own hardware over by Langston Road, Rollington Town. I used to like pass him now an' again, but for a good while now I don't come down there. Q: But he's not in JA anymore. A: I don't think they are, I think the whole a dem migrate. Ca' he was living right at Wareika, over a place name Range (a community bearing that name from the time as an army firing range, now known mainly as Norman Gardens) at the foot of Wareika Hill. Ca' when we used to be in the band, like, a lot of singers was scared to go over there. Q: Scared? A: I used to, like, I don't care, I just go over there inna the back... When me inside the backyard rehearsin', you see like the man dem 'pon the hill with them M16 (American rifle) an' dem SLR (a rifle used by the JA army) an' dem gun, an' dem a request tune like it's a jukebox (laughs)! Q: (Laughs) A: An' the cop, a dem use to say, "Yo, gimme a 'Party Time' deh!" An' me say, "Bwoy, me no rehearse dat, yunno!" An' him seh, "Wha'! No man, nex' week yu bettah rehearse it, yunno, an' come!" (laughs). Q: OK, quickly. But was that pretty much the same band, later on you changed the name to the Pacesetters? A: Yeh, the same band, we changed the name to Pacesetters, an' then we, like, used to play with head Bim Lewis Production. Q: Bim & Bam. A: Yeah, Bim & Bam, they had a play name 'The Son of Genocide', an' we used to like play the club scene an' be the background for the whole t'ing when you're hearing it, the musical, we used to back up the whole show. Yeah, it was good. And I like come out in the club scene, the MC call me out, "Prince, yu haffe go out an' sing two song", y'know, an' after dem dancin' in the club, club scene, and it was good. And we liked to - all the Jamaican top TV program we come on, come on 'Count Down', 'Where It's At', 'Ring Ding', we come on everyt'ing. So it's like we cover all a dem t'ing deh, all a the hotel scene dem, ca' we play everywhere. All the high school fest dem we play...

Q: Montego Bay, etc.

A: Yeah. Montego Bay, all over, all over - everywhere.

Q: So that's where you honed your skills so to speak.

A: Yeah man, we can hold we own everywhere.

Q: I spoke to Keith Poppin the other day...

A: Yeah, Keith Poppin a me bwoy, man (laughs).

Q: He said he first encountered you working in Phil Pratt's record store, how did you first bump into Pratt?

A: Well, when I leave Downbeat... I was up by Coxson, an' Ernest dem leave Coxson, I mean jus' leave with them too. The other day Coxson ask why I left, an' I say me na know! All now I don't know (chuckles). Through me an' Ernest dem are friends an' them leave Coxson, me jus' left with them, an' Heptones leave Coxson, me just left. Me jus' left with everybody, but Coxson say I should stay, "You shouldn't leave with them, should a stay an' build up, ca' with me in that time you should've built up yourself bigger".

Q: But you didn't get any money for it so why should you stay?

A: No, well, me an' Mr Dodd now, me an' him is different, yunno. An' I na go tell Mr Dodd to give me money, ca' that man na give we money. Sometime Mr Dodd pay me all fe stay home, when him see too much. An' me a go show the soft side a him to the man dem whe never wonder... him pay me all fe stay home, so him seh "Come here!" Him give me 5... no, 2.50 pound, a 5 dollar. "For 5 dollar, don't come check me this week, check me nex' week" (chuckles). And by the time it daylight (laughs)! When Mr Dodd a reach up to the studio, a me open up the gate fe 'im an' let him in. Him seh, "Jackson, is yu yesterday me give some money an' seh to come check me nex' week". I say, "Yes Mr Dodd, but is school holiday today an' me cyaan stay home". An' it come that him laugh, an' him say, "Go aroun' to Mr Morris (engineer Sylvan Morris) an' tell him fe give you four tune 'pon a dub-plate an' go write some new lyrics 'pon it". It goin' like him want fe get rid of me, yunno. So when me go round deh now, an' tek the dub-plate now with the tune, by the nex' day me write the four tune by the night an' come back the nex' mornin' fe voice them. (Laughs) So him seh, "Jackson, a yu again?" So me say yeah. An' him say, "Yu finish yu t'ing?" So me say, "Yeah, me finished with it, me fe sing it". So him seh, "Wha'?" An' him scratch his head an' 'Bwoy, me cyaan get rid of this man', so him jus' send me go round fe voice them. An' inna them time deh, you get ten pound a side, inna that time deh. If you waan reach fe the royalty yu a fe go wait fe t'ree months after the tune release, an' when you know the tune deh released you've got too much artists an' too much competition with them artists deh so, an' them only bother go with the bes' tune. You understan' me? So anyway, when we used to deh-deh now, we get forty pound, an' plus we sing harmony we get thirty shilling a side, fe harmony. An' sometime you a clock all twenty pound fe the week through so much harmony we sing, right (chuckles). An' sometime Mr Dodd a fe owe me, ca' I don't t'ink him hand me too much money at one time, so "All right, me give you fifteen pound this week an' nex' week if you do no more work you have the money dem". So me say all right fe that. An' when me go home my father get - dem time deh a still servant, a get two pound, I t'ink 2. 50 pound or the highest them a get is 3 pound a week. An' when me go 'way with all forty or sixty pound me (inaudible) my father.

Scientist & Al Campbell

Q: So, Pratt now. A: Yeah, after me leave that me a go dung a Pratt now an'... Q: Circa '75 or '76? A: No man, earlier than that, man, inna the early seventies. Q: '73? A: About '70. 'Bout '70, 1970. Phil Pratt now, me leave Coxson an' dung Orange Street an' hang out at Bunny Lee shop an' me say "Pratt..."- no, me see Henry, a youth when me jus' start sing, Henry is a Ranny Williams... the comedian's nephew, he was a bodyguard for Duke Reid. So him is a man me spar with all the while. An' from me a lickle bwoy, the big man dem company me a keep, an' them man deh protec' me 'pon the road, ca' dem a Spanglers too an' dem a badman, too, but no man a do me nutten. But when me say 'badman', that mean seh dem a go... dem no trouble people, but if you come 'pon them turf you have fe 'ave respec' an' dem t'ing deh. So anyway, Henry... Phil Pratt say he build him a riddim, ca' through he did leave Duke Reid too. Ca' he did deh 'mongst Duke Reid too an' did na sing too heavy, so him seh, bwoy, him a branch out too. So him seh, "Wha' 'appen, Al?" Me say, "Nutten". So him seh, "Bwoy, me 'ave a riddim here, yunno, 'Artibella' riddim, an' me waan yu voice a tune 'pon it for me". So me say, "Yeah man, no problem". So me an' him a go dung a Randy's an' - me an' him an' Pratt, an' me put on the lead voice 'pon it, 'im an' Pratt 'pon the harmony. Ca' Pratt sing too, yunno. (Sings): 'Rastaaaa...', 'im an' Henry. It come out an' it start sell, start sell hard an' Pratt seh, "Bwoy, you know wha' 'appen, Henry, me keep da yout' deh, yunno". So when Pratt find me as a yout' who can read an' all a dem sup'm deh an' ting, ca' 'im 'ave a salesman an' the salesman couldn't read, so him aks me fe the salesman job. An' me had jus' left school too, an' him seh, "You know wha' 'appen? Me a go try a lickle t'ing", an' me say 'Yeah, me work with him'. An' me start the salesman work an' me start sell record hard till him 'ave an office. Phantom, he use to bodyguard Michael Manley, Phantom dem keep a spot dung a Orange Street, an' him ply a shop dung deh, an' him seh "Bwoy, I no trust nobody put inna the shop, beca' dem a thief. Only the hungry man me a trust". So me did like the salesman beca' me deh 'pon the road an' me go everywhere, everybody see me, but inna the shop nobody na go see me. An' me did waan go tek him, so him try a couple man before me, a yout' name Bunny who use to work fe Coxson too, an' dem end up thief 'im an' t'ing. An' him find out, and him seh "Bwoy, dem thief all dem bwoy, yu haffe go 'pon it". So me now, me seh bwoy, if me a go inna the office me go get a man an' train him, an' teach him the rudiment vibes. So me train Bingy Bunny, Eric Lamont that play with the Roots Radics? Q: Yes. A: Yeah, me train him fe be a salesman (chuckles), but me teach him fe - ca' Pratt did 'ave a guitar dung deh, an' when him really come in we siddung an' a jam together, an' me start teach him fe play the guitar. An' the man turn one a the wickedest guitarists inna Jamaica. Q: Yeah, great. A: Yeah, every one of my song dem him play 'pon it.

Eric 'Bingy Bunny' Lamont

Q: And Bingy was in the Morwells harmony trio as well, founding member. A: Yeah, in the Morwells, after that the bredda a Morwell. Ca' through him was a good guitarist the more them a use him. All me inna the Morwells, ca' them did have me a train them (chuckles). Q: Yeah? A: Yeah, but me no bother with them. Me sing with Heptones too, yunno. Me sing a whole two albums with the Heptones, the album whe Count Shelly put out 'pon Third World (the UK based label in the 1970's), them have me a sing harmony in a dem deh, me an' Naggo (Morris). Ca' Naggo cyaan sing harmony so good, so me an' Earl (Morgan), yeah, an' Barry (Llewellyn). Q: What really became of Naggo? A: Him deh a Jamaica there somewhere, wha' they call it...? Figurine an' dem sup'm him a do. Q: Nobody hear about him nowadays, he did some good solo shots apart from the Heptones. A: So, a so the Phil Pratt t'ing come 'bout now. Q: 'Gee Baby' was the first song that hit for Pratt? A: No, me sing some tune whe dem big dung a Jamaica before that still, yunno. But first international hit whe it sell a whole heap a thousand, it could a go in the British chart. Ca' the man dem present it whe it sell 75 000 it sell, when it sell over 10 000 it can go in the British chart. And 'Where Were You' was the firs' big hit, it sell a whole heap. An' when me come a Englan' an' come fe the royalty now, the man Mr Coke say "Bwoy, it stick whe everyt'ing is, an' me put it out".

Q: Mr Coke, was that the Jama label (actually the Magnet imprint was owned by Mr Coke)? A: I dunno, I don't remember, maybe. Well, after me come dung an' seek money now, Pratt come runnin' to him, seh bwoy, when me go fe money him waan we fe work again, an' me say me na inna that, a show me a whole TV an' a whole fridge. Yeah, dem people deh, sometime some artists bitter with people an' don't deal with certain people again, they wonder why. Ca' these guys, sometime them know you a 'ave somet'ing with the tune, like even 'Gee Baby', yunno. Or when me in the studio a record the song, Pratt come in an' stop it an say, "Wha' kinda idiot tune you a sing?" Q: (Chuckles) A: Yeah, so me say, "Bwoy, through nobody else never turn up fe come a the session, not Poppins dem an' nobody never turn up through something"... a me alone deh-deh, him seh me na go - the session a get flop, but so 'im say "All right, gwaan, do it, do it". An' the only tune that a save 'im, same tune come back three times, from 1972 it go number one fe thirteen weeks, an' it come back as yet inna the eighties an' go inna the top ten, an' then inna the nineties, early nineties, it come re-release again an' go straight inna the top ten again. An' the same ol' t'ing, an' press, press, press, it sell an' go back. So, that's why them say 'The stone that the builder refuse will be the head corner stone'. Q: Yeah. A: Yeh, sometime you 'ave a lickle artis' round here, an' one day the lickle artis' dem a get big.

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Article: Peter I (Please do not reproduce without permission)