Q: What about the writing process. You wrote with much input from Bunny, or did you and Linval collaborate on a lot of those songs? A: Yeah man, sometime, beca' as I tell you seh is a togetherness t'ing. Ca' more time me a come with my tune an' if my tune nice an' t'ing, is jus' timing. Bunny is a man now whe him jus' go mek all a riddim, yeh the music deh we call a 'riddim'. An' sometime 'im 'round deh an' put the tune together an' is a man whe all deh-deh too with we, an' put in two punch with we an' t'ing, an' all man like Tappa Zukie an' all them man deh too a deh-deh, an' Dillinger too yunno. So, bwai, you see 'im put in this too, an' that's thru man an' man a deh-deh yunno. An' everybody a hear, every man a know when we go over the tune, it mek people jump up. Q: You did a combination with Dillinger, 'Commercial Locks' (also one called 'Babylon Yard'). A: One o' them days deh was like when we run cover version, a combination. Ca' is combination time when somet'ing - remember seh is a stable t'ing, man an' man deh an' so them time we waan somet'ing to be done, we jus' call upon a one. Beca' whether a man a work ya so every man used to deh-deh, beca' from them enter - as me say from this studio is not open for the outside people, but like you is a man whe inna the stable. You're not recordin' at the time, you is not a man whe - like maybe the session is all me an' three other artists a go do some tune. But all other artists, like Dillinger an' all certain man, like Zukie an' all them man deh, them man deh can come on deh still an' hear wha' gwaan. Ca' they work too, an' mebbe they put in all a punch whe - or maybe they might jus' seh, bwoy, we go try like when all them deh ya, we go try like a combination. You know them way deh? But it never a plan, but through 'im deh 'pon there inna the area yunno, so we no mind when them man deh used to come aroun' when we a do our t'ing, ca' them man deh more fe put (inaudible) to it. Yeah, but is not fe the outside, not everybody come an' jus' pack up inna the place, y'know wha' me a seh? Them no come in there yunno.

Dillinger

Q: Right, 'Commercial Locks' was an attack, it served as some criticism of Jacob Miller at the time, for being a folly boy, a follow-fashion type somehow, right? A: No, no, a that we no want to. Beca' two a them a fuss an' deal with wha' them a talk 'bout, beca' wha' happen is that wha' them man deh used to throw word an' a gwaan fe them t'ing deh too, them over deh fe them camp yunno. So now, mebbe the producer a hear that now an' jus' come an' seh, bwoy, me hear it so come mek you tell it wha' gwaan. An' seh now, bwoy, is like so them a gwaan an' jus' mek we do certain t'ing, an' the man them seh sup'm. And so we say, yeah, mek we do somet'ing 'pon them. Q: More like a joke. A: Yeah man, but through them a lick t'ing them a gwaan like them a send certain lickle vibes an' we jus' a send back, like we a send back a t'ing at them. Beca' them know wha' them a do, them a do it fe we notice an' all them a do is seh alright, hear where we are right now, we a know an' we lick back. A lick back t'ing, y'know them way deh? You a lick back an' a launch somet'ing, an' we show them seh, bwoy, we na siddung an' a tek it so yunno. So we show you seh we can do somet'ing 'bout it, so we do 'bout it an' when we gwaan them hear we gwaan with it. Ca' them gwaan with somet'ing too, a no only we yunno. Q: You recall how Jacob reacted to that tune? A: Yeah man, them is the firs' whe used to gwaan, man, a them firs' whe do certain t'ing, the same 'peace t'ing' deh whe them a gwaan yunno. Q: Right, he did 'Peace Treaty Special', and the One Love Peace Concert. A: From them time deh. And them a build the tune an' seh certain t'ing an' we took it up, an' we come with our t'ing too. So it's like a lick back t'ing. Yeah, and when man buck up, man jus' pass certain lickle talk an' seh certain t'ing, an' we talk it over an' man jus' more use up their mouth more than throw blows, you understan', it was not a fist t'ing. Q: More a 'friendly' level to it, like internal joke. A: Yeah, yeah. Q: What about the cover material, you did a lot of that. Who chose most of it, it was basically Bunny? A: Some of them me choose an' some of them mostly Bunny still, beca' him always jus' fe cover tune. Just fe he say tune, me 'ave the vibes, 'im believe inna me voice yunno. And still a man when 'im hear a tune him jus' feel like say, bwoy, if it's all me do a tune deh, bwoy, then we could do so an' so and jus' come check we. And we do it fe 'im, and him loved that. Beca' him know how it sound a'ready, it's like him know wha' him expec' a'ready, wha' him a go get from me. So 'im jus' run come with it yunno, to learn it an' study it.

Q: Looking back, do you think you cut too much of the cover type stuff for Bunny? I mean it's a wealth of material out there now. A: Too much? Yeah, well, but at the same time that 'appen now, highly respected ya right now still in this time ya now. Ca' when a man know seh, whenever, we never deh a loaf inna them time deh, beca' as a youth deh now we so active ya now. But the youth them now come up too an' know really seh man did out deh a sing them tune. That's why them respec' me all now yunno. Yeah, beca' them seh we never a loaf, as much as we did that different from a man whe did labour. Ca' right now, if you notice now you cyaan do it ya right now, so give thanks me did that too from them time deh. Beca' wha' we a do from them time deh is like, as I told you, out there an' highly respected now. An' wha' you a do now? Wha' you a do now still is jus' come like giving them this live an' direc' now still, an' let them know seh, well, is all 'bout live an' direc' ya now. But we never did hang aroun', whenever we did deh 'bout, we never did hang aroun' or a sing 'One-One Cocoa Full Basket'. Jus' like a flood, we jus' haffe sing them - fling dung nuff teasers yunno. Tune whe we handle, like shot a fire wide yunno. Yeah, so we jus' a fling dung tune, tune jus' a gwaan. Jus' pick out a we mout' yunno. Q: But you did get some problems with the Marley clan for doing 'No Woman No Cry' at the time, didn't you? A: If it's a conflic'? Then it's a inside conflic', it's a conflic' whe a man keep inside. But them man deh never really come confront me. Q: So he didn't? A: People always a seh they hear this and hear that, but mebbe the people them always a talk 'round the corner, an' a talk an' mebbe them did waan launch an attack, an' it's jus' a talkin'. But they never try it, if you understan' me? Q: Yes. A: You know, them never try it, beca' maybe them feel seh they never done fe fight. But them never even did try that, beca' every man - me never really sing a man tune an' go name it as my own, an' that a the biggest trespass inna the music business. If you sing a man tune an' go put your name too as if you own it, so you cyaan be like a man free fe sing... Is jus' a man inna 'im own self, maybe that's why a man used to jus' talk an' no man a come try nutten. Ca' man inna 'im own self check 'imself an' know seh, bwoy, inna you 'eart you know seh it no right. You na fe come 'pon a man, man a sing tune an' every man free fe sing a tune. Ca' nuff people sing my tune, an' me never say nutten to them. When you had this girl, a name which name a no call, this white girl, we jus' see her outta the airport an' she say right away: "Some of your tune them me a come upon fe sing over too". Me never say nutten to her, me jus' say 'Yeah man, a so it go'. Yeah. So we cyaan stop a man from sing my tune. Jacob Miller sing my tune for the people, Dennis Brown used to sing my tune 'pon stage upon Sunsplash, all him a sing 'pon Sunsplash an' do 'None Shall Escape The Judgement' an' all them t'ing deh, me never worry. So if you sing a man tune an' a man go deh, y'know, it no worry. Just like maybe you would worry, you shouldn't worry. Maybe some people a seh t'ings an' you hear wha' them a seh, or maybe them a say them a talk 'bout the talking in my favour, an' you no check 'bout that still, you see.

Q: What became of the contract to Virgin Records in '76, did you get anything substantial out of that deal? A: Yeah, with all them tune, with them contrac' deh still - with that contrac' deh, we didn't do them contrac'. But we jus' do some albums whe them have right now, turn it out inna CD. Q: Did they compensate you for that? Sort of the obligatory question here. A: Well, not really. We na really deal with nutten the way how them should be dealt with, so money is like peanuts yunno. So all them t'ing deh we nuh know. Ca' right now, this time now we shoulda did mek certain t'ing so we can siddung an' jus' feel good. Certain money a man can give you whe as you look 'round an' you spend out, as you see you make up your face, you 'ave people can give you money whe fe years you a smile. You understan' me? Yeah, an' a man can give you somet'ing whe by this evening you give this man an' by this evening you a look 'round again. Yeah, you haffe know wha' you a do when you deal with them man deh fe keep up an' show seh you're a highly respected person. You never have me as a beggar, a man respec' me an' lickle more you see man 'pon the street a beg. Q: I guess a lawyer have to be involved to get something moving there. A: All that, that is being dealt with. Q: The same thing happened to the 'Put It On' album, that was on another major label at the time, Polydor, but something blew it. I believe Junior Lincoln's Vulcan had a finger in that. A: Yeah. Right now Polydor an' them man deh now, I dunno, mebbe them outdated. Ca' the only time when a man can get anywhere, ca' sometime the only t'ing a man can do is get 'im fe run yunno, jus' a run an' run outta town an' go hide themselves. If you don't go so you will no get to them, but if you stan' up we go find you, we go catch you. So man a know, man get bummy an' run an' run an' run an' run outta slide.

Q: The albums you did for the late Brad Osbourne, the Clocktower label, I know you rate them a lot. A: Yeah, well, beca' wha' me haffe seh, certain people tek it up an' get it upfront whe we really find out wha' them really up to. Right now it seems as if them people, as me seh, certain people inna certain t'ing an' when you find out them run an' hide. Ca' that is the same kinda vibe, they're runnin' and hidin' yunno. As they say, 'hide an' seek', y'know wha' I mean? So, them deh 'pon the 'hide an' seek', y'know wha' me a seh. Q: Those albums are still out there, 'Rock With Me Baby', 'Sings In Fine Style', and arguably the best one, 'Originally Mr Clarke'. A: Yeah, but as me say them man deh, them man deh 'im hide behind the corner. Q: There is one guy up in Canada who puts them out up to this day, Abraham. A: Yeah, as me say 'im deh-deh, them do wha' them a do. But one time we fe reach them, the more them a do the more we haffe catch up on them. So sometime me a go reach deh too an' them haffe mek a run fe it yunno. Q: You went to England in the early eighties, like 1981/82, and sort of lived in 'exile'. How did the political violence in Jamaica affect you at that time? A: No, man. 1982/83 Jamaica was nice, man. Ca' wha' me a say, there was a change an' t'ings did kinda come back 'pon a level. So inna the eighties it nice up back again, so we never 'ave no need fe going. In them time deh when we a come, people a come down back. You no 'memba? Q: Yes, but you went there for a while anyhow. A: No, I wasn't coming from England. Yeah, well, we went to England but it wasn't for any 'politics' t'ing, it was before that when Jamaica did get kinda rough.

Q: Right, the 1980 elections, pure bloodshed. A: Before that, the time before the election them a went, the streets them a block up an' a whole heap a war an' crime an' whole heap a other t'ings. Music business did get crash an' mash up all inna dance still, a so you'd find seh the new era a the business come change. Ca' them did crash dung one side a the business, an' then now when t'ings lively up back now, the music mek a different trend with the changes. Ca' the change did create other changes, you understan', ca' there was changes in the eighties, a no so? Q: Sure, it turned the music into something else, totally. A: So right deh so it a whole different change arrived, so the music an' everyt'ing run in a sequence yunno, everyt'ing a run 'pon the same level. Yeah, beca' even the music business, everyt'ing did crash, it all kinda crash dung, right dung inna the last part a certain time. Q: Entertainers became targets for what they had 'stood up for' some time before that? A: Well, yeah, an' the whole music business, if you'd notice the new trend, the trend whe the music tek, when the music - 'memba seh before that yunno, there was a different type a reggae music. There wasn't even this 'dancehall style' we make, so when t'ing start get back 'pon the level, it turns again. An' the music different, people start come inna the music an' music tek a next turn. So it a different style start create.

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