Q: A few of the early tracks you did for Pratt, they were cut at the Black Ark? A: Yeah, we record some a dem at Black Ark too. Q: Like 'Take These Shackles'. A: Yeah, 'Shackles', and one named 'Three Babylon'. Me have two, two tune 'pon the same riddim. 'Three Babylon', 'Go A Zion Fe Go Ride Natty Dread Bandwagon', an' one called 'One By One They All Fall Down', 'pon the same riddim. Q: You voiced them over at the Ark? A: Yeah. Everyt'ing voice an' record over there. Q: How do you remember the scene over there? A: Black Ark was lovely. Scratch a the most talented producer, beca' you know why? Beca' Scratch is an artist also, an' him know whe an artis' want. You see how Bob Marley - a fe him style, Bob Marley tek him style an' reach big, yunno. An' whe him get da sound now is Scratch. Ca' Scratch tell yu one t'ing, him say "Al, inna this business yu cyaan jus' sound one way. You have a nice voice an' yu sing nice, but yu cyaan jus' sing straight so a gwaan, yu 'ave to have sup'm to distinguish it whe people dem can hear it. An' some sound, yu 'ave to sound wild!" (chuckles). You cyaan sound too samey. But Scratch know 'bout the music business more than many a the man dem. Some a dem is just a financer. Q: True. A: Yeah, them start with a lickle money an' the musician an' artis' really a do the work to tell you the truth, nobody else, dem nuh know one t'ing whe dem a do. More than them come book some studio an' dem go 'Bwoy, go rehearse, me soon come back', an' gone an' left a few yards. An' when you do it you no get no credit fe the work whe you do, ca' dem say dem a producer. An' you put dem 'pon top an' dem cyaan even know A from B.

Q: But Pratt was more an artist than many others though. A: Yeah, Pratt was an artis' too... Q: You feel he gave you something, coaching you, assisting you creatively? A: No sah, when me a go fe Pratt me already learn from the greatest dem inna the business. Me learn from Junior Menz from the Techniques, him a true musician, an' me learned from Ernest Wilson who is very good. When me go a Pratt, yunno, me go there ready to record, me no fresh inna the business. Q: But then after Pratt and the LP you did for him you left there and went to Bunny Lee, you felt he could break you bigger? A: No, no, no, nothin' like that. How it go now, me go 'mongst Bunny Lee. He did 'ave a yout' name Gungo a work with him, a salesman an' Gungo inna him shop. But when Bunny Lee go a foreign an' come back, the shop eat dung an' gone dung to zero an' no money no deh-deh. An' when Pratt come from foreign, Pratt seh a whole heap a money when me run Pratt business, him come back an' see money. Ca' Pratt go an' live a Englan' fe 'bout six months an' come back, an' when him come back him come back without not even a penny. An' when him come an' look an' him just see how much money it deh ya; every bill paid, records sell, everyt'ing, an' everyt'ing up to date. Him know seh the business run good, so Bunny Lee want a man like that round 'im. So Bunny Lee now, me start spar with Bunny Lee dem ca' Bunny Lee an' my sister dem used to go a school, yunno, Greenwich Farm School, so me start spar with Bunny Lee dem now after a time. Ca' you know when an artis' expec' certain t'ings fe gwaan, an' him see nutten no gwaan fe him much. Beca' artists, yunno, me tell yu 'bout artists: Artists are one of the most ungrateful people dem yu can find (laughs)!

Q: (Laughs) A: Ca' when you spend 'pon them an' when they see somebody can get dem a better deal, them gone left you. Yes, fe real (chuckles). Q: Right. A: But some a dem all right, dem a bear it out with you. Like me, me have patience with people. When it's one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten t'ings, me jus' think seh, well, no better na come for you, so me leave you. Q: OK. A: But anyway, me leave... Q: Pratt. A: Pratt, and Pat Kelly come check me one day, me an' Pat Kelly go dung a Tubbys or Bunny Lee there an' some work a deh-deh, an' a jump out. So Bunny Lee liked when me deh-deh, ca' when him gone t'ings run good too. An' we do the whole a the Lovers Rock series dem, me an' Pat Kelly siddung an' me write out the song dem, the foreign song dem, an' lay the riddim tracks whe supposed to be on some a dem. A so me get 'Late Night Blues' an' dem tune deh, ca' Bunny Lee say, "Jus' take some riddim offa it then". An' me an' Pat Kelly do an album, an' Bunny Lee tek the album an' carry come sell it, jus' three different people him sell it to. Yeh, him sell it to Trojan, him sell it to Rohit, an' sell it to a nex' company. An' me an' Pat Kelly do it for ourselves, is our lickle t'ing that. So, a the truth, the truth cyaan hide, yunno. If a man vex him waan vex, but a truth.

Q: There was several albums at that time, 'Ain't That Loving You' for Bunny, 'Loving Moods Of Al Campbell' and... A: Yeah, my t'ing dem deh. Q: So he wanted to have you more as a Lovers Rock singer than the cultural material you got your name with for Pratt? A: Who that? Q: Bunny Lee. A: No, no. Him have nutten to do with it, me a tell you. Q: But at least more than doing the social content of your previous recordings. A: Bunny Lee, the tune me do for Bunny Lee now, 'Everybody Need Love', yunno, an' 'No Man Is An Island', but them two tune me never sing for Bunny Lee. The nex' tune is not Bunny Lee tune, is me an' Pat Kelly. Is not Bunny take me an' shape me as an artis', me already mek it when Bunny Lee find me, a hit a'ready. No shape me as an artis'. Bunny Lee boost Johnny Clarke an' dem man deh. Q: Yes. Then there was the 'Mr Music Man' album on the Hit Sound label. A: Yeah, me an' U Brown, U Brown an' me that now again. Me an' him on that 'Mr Music Man'. Q: I see. Wasn't it you and him producing the 'Rainy Days' album? A: No man, 'Mr Music Man' come first, an' then the 'Rainy Days' is a different album. A two album me an' U Brown do, 'Mr Music Man' an' 'Rainy Days'. Q: I think many regard your 'Rainy Days' album as one of the most solid albums so far. A: Is two album me an' him have, yunno, an' then me start different... Then we do 'Tribute To Coxson', the LP deh? Q: Yeah. A: Yeah man, them tune ya more terrible right ya now.

Q: But do you personally rate 'Rainy Days' in this time as one of your better productions? A: Yeah, it was a good album, with 'No Children A Cry' an' dem tune 'pon it, dem tune deh buss inna Jamaica an' mek me live 'pon a heights fe a good while inna the dancehall, ca' when you come a the dancehall prime time, sometime artists come a dancehall an' hear my song dem an' a pure war an' fight, an' fight the deejay dem an' say "Mighty tune yu a play deh so". All over the world, that time Ranking Joe, U Roy an' dem man deh, U Brown too, an' Trinity dem an' Dillinger hold the mic in the dance, a my selection dem call for. Brigadier Jerry 'pon Jah Love, dem draw Al Campbell an' turn over sound. Q: So U Brown was in the main responsible for the production on it, how do you feel about his abilities? A: Well, to tell you the truth, yunno, U Brown nuh know nutten 'bout producing, is really Sly dem, a me an' Sly dem. A me produce that t'ing, is just that some people put their name 'pon it, an' through dem form a lickle... A me no have no money either, ca' through Sly - Sly woman an' him a kinda half-sister, so dem use fe give him some time in the studio, even Jo Jo (Hookim) sometime, an' we work 'pon it. Him come to me an' say, "Bwoy, man do somet'ing". An' him did have riddim an' dem t'ing deh, him mek album fe Virgin, him did sign with Virgin (the album 'Can't Keep A Good Man Down' on Front Line). An' him use me, a use him use me, an' him sell all me tune to everybody. Yeah, an' give me a pocket dollar, pocket the money.

Bunny Tom Tom aka Crucial Bunny (Photo: Mari Toft | www.itdread.com)

Q: And Crucial Bunny mixed that record. A: Yeah, Crucial Bunny. Q: Also known as Bunny Tom Tom. A: Bunny Tom Tom, you know 'bout him. Q: What happened to him? A: Him deh a Miami, yunno, me get some work fe him when me deh 'mongst Skeng Don one time (late eighties), a next t'ing that really (chuckles). Q: You cut an LP for Linval Thompson, 'Diamonds'. A: Well, dem time deh when it come about, Linval no know 'bout production. Him jus' mek some money a New York an' come, is me an' Trinity. A really Trinity was him henchman, an' Trinity did draw me. An' when him come a Englan' an' nutten a gwaan fe him, an' me go back a Jamaica an' mek 'La La La I Love You' me voice, an' mek 'Diamonds' dem an' t'ing, an' come to me an' license. An' from deh so him na look back. But when the money start makin' them no remember nobody, all a dem, a so dem stay. You deh 'pon dem face an' nutten a gwaan fe dem but when money start mek dem buy the biggest car an' the biggest jewellery them reach for, so therefore... you know? But is me do all a the work dem.

Linval Thompson

Q: It went down pretty fast in the studio in those days, sometimes way too fast... Like for instance this LP 'More Al Campbell: Showcase' on the Ethnic label. A: Yeah, 'Down In A Babylon' an' dem tune deh, man. Q: Sounds like a rush job to my ears. A: It wasn't supposed to be no LP, yunno, jus' some single me did do. Q: There's no consistency over the album. A: No, is because it's not an LP, I just do that through bad mind through me a tell yu 'bout how some people stay. A company call me now at the time deh fe sign me up an' do some album deal with me, him now hear 'bout it an' run behind me back with that, an' it never work. An' the company shoulda wait, ca' them a say, bwoy, who an' who have an LP with me, an' them tellin' everybody. An' me never mention him ca' him never have no LP with me, all me do is couple 45. Q: Just trying to capitalise on that. A: Yeah, yeah, an' mash up the whole t'ing. Q: But 'Down In A Babylon' was a good track though. A: Yes.

Q: Then after this you hooked up with D. Brown and Castro Brown for the 'Showcase' LP on his DEB label. A: You know how that come about? 'Junjo' Lawes, him there a Jamaica an' him come check me fe voice some tune. So me tell him seh me voice the tune but him haffe give me a cut of it fe myself. So me voice five tune, an' Junjo have his share fe Jamaica, an' me an' him have America, Canada, and me have Englan'. So when me come over ya me give Castro Brown fe release an' put it out. And it go number one, straight a number one it go! Yeah, and you see how much people me bring inna the business, me bring Junjo Lawes in the business. Me is one a the man who bring him inna the business. An' Jacob Miller again, me take him from school an' carry him come dung to Coxson. Roman Stewart again, a me, same t'ing. Meditations an' we, Meditations come to me an' sing 'Woman Is Like A Shadow' an' Pratt fe record the tune with the man, an' Pratt a grown, grown, grown with the man. So me jus' tell Meditations seh, "Watcha, hear this, it look like Pratt no really ready fe that tune, yu haffe deh a Channel One". Me send them a Jo Jo an' them go by Channel One an' Channel One tek the tune. And everyone know that that is the baddest tune Channel One ever put out. So me as an artis' on a whole, me know each tune an' me know everyt'ing 'bout music. Nuff man a tek credit an' talk some bullshit an' talk as if dem a do it, dem know nutten 'bout music. When you check those people, dem a joker. Yeah man, fe real, man. But we a the man though. Q: Right. So what about shows in those days, did you have a proper management set up, were you able to work overseas? A: Yeah, me work anywhere me feel like, but sometime nuff man don't want to pay the right money. So me have some friend who would a tell them seh "Bwoy, no man can rob my friend, yunno". So more time them no waan fe even bother with me, ca' through dem know them cyaan trick you. Q: There's so much albums if we look back on your most fruitful period of the late seventies and up to the mid eighties. Like 'Late Night Blues' on the JB label, who was behind JB? A: JB is a bredda name Junior Boot, him use to do somet'ing with Duke Reid - not the Duke Reid of Treasure Isle, but...

Q: The late Charles Reid, yes, 'Duke Reid International'. A: That one, yeah. The Duke Reid whe live a Englan'. Him used to buy some car-parts an' sell a Jamaica, an' him record Keith Poppins an' the whole a dem artists deh. Well, Duke Reid come to me an' ask me fe sing two tune fe him, an' me deh a Jamaica an' nutten a gwaan, so me name him a money an' t'ink seh him na go pay me, me name a big money an' him fe come give me the money an' me go voice the tune deh. An' him come back again an' me see it is an LP him did a look, so me swingin' (chuckles). Ca' me is a man who like too common 'bout the place. An' so JB put out the 'Like You Girl', an' it run whey! An' when me come a Englan' now me go meet JB, that time me come with 'Late Night Blues'. An' me start playin' with Soferno B sound an' Big Youth dem, Shabba Youth, an' dem yout' deh from Brixton. We later tek Soferno B sound an' build a sound name Stereograph, which was one of the baddest sound inna Englan'. That sound deh kill every top sound, all Shaka, it kill Jah Shaka, we beat up Coxsone (Sir Coxsone Outernational), we beat up Quaker City, we beat up a sound from dung a Birmingham way, name Earthquake. We beat all of the bad sound when we go over the channel an' meet them, ca' guess wha'? We had all a the bad dub-plate dem, ca' when we go a Tubbys a night-time round deh, we jus' cut off every tune.

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