Dubtember 27

Our Dubtember journey for this year is nearing an end. Many are saddened & many are over-joyed. Just rest assured, there are still a few nuggets to be had or bitter pills to be swallowed, depending on your position an this whole Dub thang to which I am addicted. 

 

 

 

One of my favorite gravelly voiced Mystics of Dub, Prince Far I was "a man to grace any style with wisdom, a chanter to quake the walls of the city, a preacher to strike fear in the weak of heart, humble in the garden & proud in the city". 

 

Prince Far I - Dubwise, Front Line CDFL 9019, 1991.
all decryption codes in comments

Throw Away Your Gun    
Throw Away Your Gun Dub
Love Divine Dub    
If You Want to Do Ya Dub    
Jah Do That Dub    
Jah Do That    
No More War    
No More War Dub    
Suru–Lere Dub    
Anambra Dub    
Kaduna Dub    
Oyo Dub    
Borno Dub    
Bendel Dub    
Ondo Dub    
Ogun Dub

 

 

 

 

Prince Far I & the Arabs - Dub to Africa reissue, Pressure Sounds CD PS002, 1995.

Bass Ace    
Dub to Africa    
Good Music Brother    
Glory to God    
Hello, Love Brother    
Cry Tuff & the Originals    
Give Love    
Big Fight Dub    

previously only available as Dub plates -
Internal Dub    
Out of the Abyss

 

 

 

 

On to today's Newcomer to NSS. Hosting a cast of: Ansel Collins; Bo-Pee Bowen, Lloyd Parks, Sly & Robbie; Ronald "Nambo" Robinson, Winston Wright; & more, producer Rodguel "Blackbeard" Sinclair's house band, the Blackbeard All Stars true identy was the Ring Craft Posse.

Under the Ring Craft Posse moniker, they released numerous albums & singles, many on Sinclair's Hulk or Mister Tipsy labels. This one comes from Moll Tonträger's Hamburg, Germany Moll-Selekta label...

All tracks named after districts of Portmore in St. Catherine, Jamaica.

 

 

The Ring Craft Posse - St. Catherine in Dub: 1972-1984, Moll-Selekta 10, 2004.

Westbay    
Garvey Meade    
Passage Fort    
Cumberland    
Caymanas Park    
Waterford    
Edgewater    
Bridge Port    
Braeton    
Portsmouth    
Independence City    
Naggo Head    
Westchester    
Southboro

Dub Onward,
NØ

This Week-end...from JA

Yesterday I replaced a broken motor mount on my Beater BS 7000.

Today I decided to lay about with my girls, get as twisted as I possibly can, & listen to
Michael Campbell, Michael Williams, Vivian Jackson & some great production work by Lowell Fillmore Dunbar & Robert Warren Dale Shakespeare.

Can ya dig it?

Mikey Dread - African Anthem (The Mikey Dread Show Dubwise),  

Dread At The Controls DCLP 002, 1980.

all decryption codes in comments

Stereo Side 1 -
Saturday Night Style
Industrial Spy
Headline News
Mikey Dread in Action

Stereo Side 2 -
Resignation Dub
Technical Selection
Comic Strip
Pre-Dawn Dub
Operators Choice

Prince Far-I - Voice of Thunder, Trojan Records TRLS 204, 1981.

Side One -
Ten Commandments
Tribute to Bob Marley
Hold the Fort
Every Time I Hear the Word
Head of the Buccaneer

Side Two -
Shall not Dwell in Wickedness
Give I Strength
Kingdom of God
Coming in from the Rock
Skinhead

The Yabby You Vibration - Deliver Me from My Enemies, Grove Music GMLP 001, 1977.

Side One -
Deliver Me from My Enemies
Judgement Time
Blood Ago Run Down Kings Street
Love in Zimba
Zion Gate

Side Two -
Lonely Me
Stranger in Love
Pound Get a Blow
Pick the Beam
& Amlak (One God)

Various - Raiders of the Lost Dub, Island Records ILPS 9705, 1981.

Side 1 -
Indiana Jones - The Paragons
Whip that Tarantula - Ijahman Levi
The Monkey is a Spy - Black Uhuru
Pit of Snakes - Burning Spear
Well of Souls - Wailing Souls


Side 2 -
The Dub of Gold - The Viceroys
Who’s in the Tomb - Black Uhuru
Convoy Hijack - Black Uhuru
Bazooka Blast - Junior Delgado
Fire & Brimstone - Black Uhuru

Enjoy,
NØ

Spear of the Nation

Reuploaded 01/02/2026

Originally talked about this when I posted up Warzone by The Missing Brazilians.

From that post –

   "One of the stalwarts of Adrian Sherwood's On-U Sounds Dub revival, Prince Far I, a man to grace any style with wisdom, a chanter to quake the walls of the city, a preacher to strike fear in the weak of heart, humble in the garden & proud in the city, was shot dead in Jamaica, September 15, 1983, one year short of his 40th birthday. "

(Prince) "Far I was close to completing a new album on the day of his murder. It was posthumously released under its working title Umkhonto We Sizewe (Spear of the Nation). Prince Far I's last session included the recording of a track called "Special Request" which "felt like he was saying goodbye" states Roy Cousins, lead singer of The Royals & producer of Far I's final recordings, who had been with Prince Far I that day in the studio. Cousins continues: "The next day I went to meet Prince at the studio but Jim Brown stopped me at Randy's Record Shop and told me that Far I had been shot last night and passed away. I was shocked and could not believe it, so I went to his home in Edgewater and found a large crowd, everyone filled with grief."

Roy made sure this final statement reached our ears. garychching from my blogging past (Always Searching For Music) made sure it reached my ears. Now I'm passing on the favor & hoping it reaches your ears.

Prince Far I – Umkhonto We Sizwe (Spear of the Nation),
Kingdom Records KVL9016, 1984.
decryption code in comments

Side One –

Survival

Ask Ask

African Queen

Side Two –

Stop the War

Jerry Doghead

Special Request

Prince Far I with Roots Radics Band & backing vocals by The Viceroys, Jah Lloyd, & Winston Jarrett. Recorded at Channel One, September 1983 by Hopeton Overton 'Scientist' Brown. 

All tracks contain Dub versions.

From the back of the cover "Prince Far I tragically died before completing these, his final works."

NØ

This One's On-U

 

A friend of mine who had been MIA for a couple years recently contacted me. It was great to hear from him again. He, like myself, is a big fan of all things On-U Sound.

 

In the past I have posted a good amount of Singers & Players, but like my friend, Vacuum Pumping has been missing in action here. Jonder asked if I would rectify that short-coming & I am only too glad to oblige.

Singers & Players – Vacuum Pumping, On-U Sound On-U LP39, 1988.
all decryption codes in comments

Side A –

Run Them Away

Lighthouse / Dreamworld

Holy Scripture

To Be Fee

Side B –

I Don’t Want AIDS

Boof Um Baff Um

Pneumatic

These Eyes

While I’m at this thing, here are a few other On-U treats for you to enjoy.

In 1982 Adrian & Co. issued the Discoplate series of 10" singles, DP1 – DP6. There are actually only five 10" releases. I don’t know why, but DP5 is a 12" EP of three tunes from Mark Stewart & Maffia. Here we go…

Prince Far I / Singers & Players - DP1.

Side A –

Prince Far I / Singers & Players – Virgin

Side AA –

Singers & Players – Danger

Bim Sherman / Singers & Players - DP2.

Side A –

Revolution

Side AA –

Too Much Work Load

Creation Rebel – DP3.

Side A –

Independent Man

Side AA –

Creation Rebel

London Underground – DP4.

Side A –

Strange Things / Conspiracy

Side AA –

Why Do Fat Men Have Such Skinny Thoughts?

Mark Stewart & Maffia – Jerusalem EP DP5.

Side A –

Jerusalem

High Ideals & Crazy Dreams

Side B –

Welcome to Liberty City

Noah House of Dread – DP6.

Side A –

Murder

Side AA –

Stand Firm

Next I thought I’d offer my friends, visitors, lurkers, & leechers Andy Fairley’s only credited 'solo' album, System Vertigo from 1992. 

 

The late Andy Fairley had probably the most distinctive vocal style of any artist to record for Adrian Sherwood. In the early 1980s, art school dropouts Howard Purse & Doug White landed in Bristol, UK. There they masterminded the creation of the band Fish Food. Joined by local drummer Dan Swan, ex-Cortinas, & poet Andy Fairley, the group began cooking up their fractured slices of surreal beat. Always on the fringe of the Bristol scene, the four rehearsed in their squat, a haunt for the likes of The Pop Group, Pig Bag, & Scream & Dance.

Andy Fairley was a modern-day poet; a shrewd observer of the injustices & insanities of the modern world. His lyrics tackled issues such as the state of politics, privatization, & the plight of the under-classes. His raw vocal delivery perfectly & powerfully complimented the issues he addressed.

During the 1989-1993 period his voice was a familiar feature of Sherwood productions: Gary Clail; Dub Syndicate; & Keith LeBlanc among others. When not reciting his own verse in full, he was often sampled for use in-the-mix, often regaling the sonic qualities of the recording or giving a MC-like shout to the artist, On-U Sound, or Sherwood personally.

Here are a few that anyone familiar with the On-U catalogue have probably heard:

"This sound system comes to you with fuel injection!"
"Your head will become a crazy bulbous punch bag of sound!"
"Targeting your brain with sonic thrust!"
"This is the precinct of system. This is the precinct of sound!"

System Vertigo is a collection of his writings set to solid rhythms built by Adrian Sherwood & the Little Axe alums Skip McDonald & Doug Wimbish with a cast of others.

Fairley left On-U in the mid 1990s & vanished back into the Bristolian aether from which he had emerged. Sadly little else was heard from or about him until news of his death in 1999.

Andy Fairley – System Vertigo, On-U Sound ON-U LP61, 1992.

Side 1 –

I Stopped the Clock

System Vertigo

Ghost

The Election Pt. 1

Side 2 –

You Look at Life

Audio Visual Attack

The Election Pt. 2

A Nation Responds

Fun & Games

The Song of the Phoenix

False Start

Finally, a compilation of various On-U Sound celebrities on On-U Sound Celebration.

Various – On-U Sound Celebration, Trance Records TCCD 9 00662 O, 1988.

Tracklist –

The Deal (intro)

Stopping & Starting – Voice of Authority

Quante Jubila – Prince Far I & Creation Rebel

Dreams are Better – London Underground

Silent Mover – Playgroup

Last Sane Dream – Creation Rebel / New Age Steppers

Make a Joyful Noise – Singers & Players

AllaLa Dreadlocks Soldier – Singers & Players

Love I Can Feel – Creation Rebel

Creative Involvements – Creation Rebel

Deep & Mintyful - Playgroup

The Dice – Judy Nylon

Woodpecker Sound – Jah Woosh

Final Frontier – Creation Rebel / New Age Steppers

Independent Man pts. 1 & 2 – Creation Rebel

Epic Sound Battles – Playgroup

Feeling Wild – Voice of Authority

Knock the House Down – Voice of Authority

Thanks, Jonder, for the nudge,

NØ